Welfare sanctions, that is, benefit cuts for not meeting job-search requirements, do more than push individuals into work. They also affect partners within the same household, with important gender and family implications. When one partner is sanctioned, their likelihood of finding a job increases. But there are spillover effects: if the sanctioned person is a man, his female partner is also more likely to enter employment; the reverse is not observed. Sanctions also make the other partner less likely to be penalized later, suggesting that households respond by increasing compliance to avoid further income loss. Hence, welfare policies influence not just individuals but entire households, shaping labor supply, gender roles, and family behaviour. Sanctions may thus have wider impacts than intended. Policymakers should therefore design sanction systems with household dynamics in mind, rather than treating beneficiaries as isolated individuals.
WORLD OF LABOUR
Benefit sanctions affect not only recipients but also their partners, who often take up work to offset lost income.
