We empirically investigate the distributional consequences of the Riester scheme, the main private pension subsidization program in Germany. We find that 38% of the aggregate subsidy accrues to the top two deciles of the population, but only 7.3% to the bottom two. Nonetheless the Riester scheme...

In this paper, we assess the impact of major German structural reforms from 1999 to 2008 on key macroeconomic variables. By many, these reforms, especially the Hartz reforms on the labor market, are considered to be the root of observed imbalances in the Euro Area. Our simulations within a...

We present the estimated large-scale three-region DSGE model GEAR picturing Germany, the Euro Area and the Rest of the world. Compared to existing models of this type, GEAR incorporates a comprehensive fiscal block, involuntary unemployment and a complex international structure. We use the model...

Nach der Einführung der Zinsschrankenregelung in 2008 ist ein EBITDA-Vortrag eingeführt worden, durch den das nicht genutzte Zinsabzugsvolumen in die folgenden fünf Wirtschaftsjahre vorgetragen wird. Durch diesen Vortrag soll die Wirkung der Zinsschranke gemildert oder vollständig vermieden...

Der Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über den Stand der Wirkungsforschung zum Recht. Ausgehend von der Bedeutung von Wirkungsanalysen für die politischadministrative Praxis erläutert er die Verfahren der prospektiven Gesetzesfolgenabschätzung und der ex-post Evaluation von Gesetzen....

This study investigates firm survival and employment growth of start-ups by unemployed people in East and West Germany as promoted by the Work Support Act (so called bridging allowances). In 1994, the services provided were improved considerably, which led to a sharp increase in the number of...

This paper analyzes the determinants, work-time and income effects of continuous vocational training in West-Germany on the basis of a 70% sample of the German Microcensus 1991 - a representative 1% cross-section sampIe of all German households. Several hypotheses about the influence of...

The paper analyses the applicability of vocational training and the earnings of apprentices using survey data from West Germany in 1979, 1985/86 and 1991/92. The applicability has decreased remarkably between 1979 and 1991/92. The objective of the analysis is a survey-data-based assessment of...

The impact of technology on the demand for heterogeneous labor is controversely discussed throughout the literature. New technology which is said to favor high skilled labor and to substitute low skilled labor is often considered as the main reason for the decline in relative demand for low...

In this paper, four commonly provided explanations for the shift in labour demand for different skill groups are investigated: the substitutability of inputs; the own-price sensitivity for different types of labour; the effect of economic growth and the impact of technological change. In...