market and, on rigid labor markets, for unemployment. Exploiting variation in exit-exam systems across German states, we find … subsequent earnings. We suggest that labor-market effects may be more imminent for students leaving school directly for the labor … that central exams are indeed associated with higher earnings for students from school types directly bound for the labor …

Germany can be regarded as a showcase for labor market reforms. Moreover, its labor market responded only mildly to the … Great Recession. This paper assesses the role of the labor market reforms for the latter development. Against this …