Taking an international comparative perspective, this paper deals with driving forces of and potential obstacles to the labor market participation of older workers. It focuses in depth on four case studies that appear to be prototypical for different contexts. Given the high variance of cultures...

The international literature studies non-take-up behavior of eligible populations to evaluate the effectiveness of government programs. A major challenge in this literature is the measurement error regarding benefit take-up. Measurement error is typically addressed by structural assumptions in...

As long as their asylum application is not approved or their duration of stay does not exceed 15 months, asylum-seekers who require doctor visit have to claim it either by the local authority for foreigners or the responsible social assistance office in Germany. Since 2016 several Federal states...

The surge in women's participation in the workforce has been a defining feature of advanced economies in recent decades. This paper explores cross‑country variations in the relationship between service sector expansion and female employment in Europe and the US. We estimate the elasticity of...

Although the labour market situation of older workers has significantly improved over time, opportunities to work at older age still vary considerably across EU countries. To trace diverging developments and to assess what works best in retaining employment and bringing older unemployed back to...

Two stylised facts of the German labour market are that first, the demand for highskilled labour has been growing rapidly for a number of years and second, the country is facing a particularly strong demographic change with the expected size of the population decreasing rapidly and the average...

Fast zwanzig Jahre nach der deutschen Wiedervereinigung gibt es immer noch erhebliche regionale Einkommensunterschiede zwischen West- und Ostdeutschland. Der Artikel soll zeigen, wie die Transferzahlungen des Staates diese Einkommensdisparitäten ausgleichen. In einem ersten Schritt untersuchen...

Das bevorzugte Rentensystem der meisten Industrienationen ist das 'pay-as-you-go'-System (PAYGO), bei dem die eingezahlten Beiträge mit Eintritt in die Rente sofort ausgezahlt werden. Hierbei bemisst sich die Rentenhöhe an den vorigen Löhnen und Gehältern, aber nicht an der Zahl der Kinder....

Gender gaps in employment have narrowed but remain substantial, particularly among couples. To estimate how improved female wage opportunities influence partners' employment choices, I exploit demand-driven wage changes in job tasks and German administrative data. Results indicate women respond...

This article investigates the employment development of Czech-based firms in German ownership in the years around the Great Recession of 2008/2009. The intense involvement of German firms in the economy of the neighboring country via foreign direct investment (FDI) raises the question whether...