This study analyzes the treatment effects of public training programs for the unemployed in Germany. Based on propensity score matching methods we extend the picture that has been sketched in previous studies by estimating treatment effects of medium-term programs for different sub-groups with...

Mit der Hartz-Reform wurden auch im Bereich der beruflichen Weiterbildung grundlegende Neuerungen eingeführt. Dazu gehören vor allem die Einführung von Bildungsgutscheinen als neuem Allokationsinstrument, das den potentiellen Teilnehmern Wahlfreiheit bei der Auswahl der Bildungsanbieter...

We evaluate a pilot workfare project of a Berlin city community to integrate young people in social assistance into the labor market. Reference data are generated in collaboration with the German Employment Office. The participation effect is found to be positive and of relevant size, but not...

Wir berichten über die Evaluation des Pilotprojektes eines Berliner Sozialamts zur Integration junger Sozialhilfeempfänger in das Erwerbsleben. Dem Workfare-Prinzip folgend war die Teilnahme an dem Programm für die ausgewählten Personen verpflichtend. Wer die Teilnahme verweigerte, erhielt...

The evaluation of labor market policies has become an important issue in many European countries. In recent years, a number of them have opened their administrative databases for evaluation studies. The advantages of administrative data are straightforward: they are accurate, contain a large...

This paper studies the role of training vouchers and caseworkers in public training programs. Using a rich administrative data set, we apply matching and regression methods to measure the effect of the Hartz reform in Germany, which introduced training vouchers and imposed more selective...

Social welfare systems usually imply specific obligations for benefit recipients. If a recipient does not comply with these obligations, a sanction involving a punitive benefits reduction may be imposed. In this paper we give an overview of the literature on the effects of sanctions in social...

It is often argued that the high level of welfare claims in Germany causes little incentive for workers with low productivity to seek for a job. We examine the influence of the ratio between estimated potential labor income and the welfare payment level on the probability of leaving social...