Due to labor market reforms in Germany some years ago, the incentives to work changed. The paper analyzes the effects on the reservation wages for specific groups. It is assumed that reservation wages are determined by the replacement rates implied by the system of unemployment benefits and by...

The income tax rate structure introduced in 2007 was changed in 2009. The income tax rates will be lowered in 2010, too. The effects on the wage income tax revenues and on the incentives to work are analyzed. It turns out that "bracket creep" will remain a problem in Germany.

The difference between the potential net wage income (including family allowances etc.) and the social welfare payments is measured for a large number of types of private households in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1998. It is shown that the difference is small for households consisting of...

The difference between the potential net wage income and the social welfare payments is measured for different types of private households in Germany. In 2001, the difference is small for households consisting of at least three persons. For three types of households the difference is calculated...

Facing very modest GDP growth in Germany in 2001 and 2002, it is investigated if potential output will – as usually expected – grow by 1.5 to 2.0 percent until 2005. The incentives to work and to invest and their changes in the nineties are analyzed. Given the foreseeable changes of these...

Based on a description of the German system of taxes and transfers, the incentives to work are analyzed for several groups of the labor force. The effects of the ?Hartz IV? reform (effective from 2005 onwards) on the incentives receive particular attention. It turns out that the marginal...