"Empirical studies indicate that the gender wage gap is lower under collectively negotiated contracts than in firms not bound by such contracts. It is, however, a largely open question, how the organization and the process of collective negotiations affect the gender wage gap. In the period from...

"We analyse the impact of retraining for the unemployed on future labour market success, and estimate effects separately for different target occupations. We use German registry data and apply statistical matching methods. The results show that on average, after a period with strong lock-in...

"Between 2005 and 2007 the German government raised a per-capita amount of around 10.000 Euros for each transition out of unemployment benefit receipt into basic social care, to be paid by the unemployment insurance. The so called 'Aussteuerungsbetrag' set strong incentives that investments in...

"For Germany, our study estimates average effects of further vocational training, short training and job creation schemes on the employment prospects of participants. We compare participation in each programme with non-participation as well as with participation in one of the other programmes....

"This article provides a result-oriented view on the current status of German active labor market policy evaluation. The literature shows that nearly all groups of instruments positively affect the labor market prospects of at least particular groups of participants. However, regarding the...

"In der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA) wird derzeit ein System der quantitativen Wirkungsanalyse arbeitsmarktpolitischer Maßnahmen entwickelt, das in Zukunft die operative Steuerung unterstützen soll. Wichtiger Bestandteil ist die neu aufgebaute Datenbank des Projektes 'Treatment Effects and...

"Substantial evidence shows that North Americans are generally more accepting of the market than Europeans and attribute market outcomes to a larger degree to effort or skill. This article discusses the perceived fairness of layoffs and pay cuts in North America and Germany. We expect North...

"One of the most far-reaching proposals for reform in the field of labour market policy is to link the receipt of transfer payments in general to a 'service in return' from the recipient. This concept operates under the name of workfare. This paper examines the possibilities and limits of...

"The gender wage gap in Germany is smaller in firms covered by collective contracts or having a works council, partly because these institutions are associated with lower unobserved productivity differences and less wage discrimination, partly because they compress the distribution of wage...

"In Germany, targeted wage subsidies to employers are an important instrument of active labor market policy. This paper utilizes process generated data of the German Public Employment Service to compare the wages of individuals taking up a subsidized job with those of otherwise similar...