This paper evaluates effects of the Duru-Nuri Program (a social insurances
subsidy program of the Korean government for low-wage workers) on a
worker’s probability to join the national employment insurance (EI) and
national pension system (NPS), and employment. Estimates using the
difference-in-differences method suggest that its pilot program increased the
number of the EI subscribers by 2.4% and that of the NPS subscribers by
3.1%, while it failed to affect employment. The main program implemented
from July 2012 increased the number of the EI subscribers by 2.68% and that
of the NPS subscribers by 2.04%, while it had no effect on employment. The Duru-Nuri Program is unique in that it has adopted an experimental design of
the modern program evaluation literature, making possible a scientific
evaluation of the performance of the program and offering a good guideline for
the design of micro-level programs of the government.