This paper examines the effect of the introduction of permanent benefit reductions for early retirees (i) on the duration until retirement entry and (ii) on the duration until exit from gainful employment. I estimate discrete time duration models using different error term specifications....

The present paper studies the role of social security in an economy populated by overlapping generations of individuals that have time-consistent or time-inconsistent preferences, face mortality and individual income risk, borrowing constraints as well as progressive income taxes. Our...

Many European countries are currently transferring their pay-as-you-go public pension system to a three-pillar-system of public, occupational, and private pensions. In Germany, economists expect a pension gap for future retiree cohorts as public pensions will decrease and private old age...

We investigate whether a cut in unemployment benefit payout periods affected older workers' labor market transitions. We apply rich administrative data and exploit a difference-in-differences approach. We compare the reference group of 40-44 year olds with constant benefit payout periods to...

Between 1960 and 1979, 93 new universities opened in Germany. Using this large tertiary education expansion, I estimate the effect of a university opening on the probability of obtaining a university degree in the local population. I exploit the geographical variation in local university access...

How did the introduction of the Bachelor-degree system affect students in Germany? Combining rich data on university students with administrative data on universities' study programs, we exploit variation in the timing of Bachelor-degree implementation across departments. To account for...

I investigate the incentive effects of disability pensions on the labor supply decision of the elderly in Germany. In the year 2001, a reform decreased the level of benefits and tightened the criteria of eligibility. The purpose of this paper is twofold: First, I estimate transition rates into...

Uncertainty shocks are found to adversely affect labor market outcomes. Most studies attribute labor adjustments costs for the propagation of macroeconomic uncertainty to the labor market. Given that large establishments in Germany face higher labor adjustments cost, they should be affected more...

Naturalization may be a relevant policy instrument affecting immigrant integration in hostcountry labor markets. We study the effect of naturalization on labor market outcomes of immigrants in Germany. We apply recent survey data and exploit a reform of naturalization rules in an instrumental...