According to the aims of the labour market reforms of the 90s implemented in many European countries, workers may stay at their first job for a shorter time, but should be able to switch jobs easily. This would generate a trade-off between job opportunities and job stability. This paper...

Germany has always been one of the prime examples of institutional complementarities between social insurance, a rather passive welfare state, strong employment protection and collective bargaining that stabilize diversified quality production. This institutional arrangement was criticized for...

Over the last year the German government has introduced a comprehensive set of labor market policy reforms, the so-called Hartz reforms, which aim at a significant reduction of unemployment. To this end, (a) many of the existing instruments of active labor market policy are modified...

Having faced high unemployment rates for more than a decade, the German government implemented a comprehensive set of labour market reforms during the period 2003-2005. This paper describes the economic and institutional context of the German labour market before and after these so-called Hartz...

Germany and France are both Continental European welfare states with severe labor market problems such as low employment and high and persistent unemployment which can be explained by labor market institutions that inhibit labor market adaptability. This paper analyzes recent reforms in core...

In view of the demographic trends, most EU countries face the problem of a declining work force in the future. Understanding the interaction between income support systems (such as unemployment benefits, social assistance, early retirement and pension systems) and total labor supply is of...

Ergänzend zu den Beiträgen im Schnelldienst Nr. 15/2002 nimmt Prof. Dr. Hans-Werner Sinn, ifo Institut und Universität München, kritisch zu den Vorschlägen der Hartz-Kommission Stellung. Seiner Ansicht nach "sind die Vorschläge der Hartz-Kommission im Grundsatz zu begrüßen, weil sie...

Eine Reform des Arbeitsmarktes ist überfällig. Im Verlaufe des Jahres 2002 sind dazu mehrere grundlegende Vorschläge vorgelegt worden - unter anderem vom ifo Institut, der Hartz-Kommission und vom Sachverständigenrat -, die das Instrument der Leiharbeit nutzen wollen, um Arbeitlose in den...