The book presents the economic policy model known as “Social Market Economy” in Germany, the country where it originated. Although the model has since been adopted as core objective in the EU Treaty of Lisbon, experts still disagree on its exact nature. The author contributes to this debate...

This book explores the role of national fiscal policies in a selected group of Euro-area countries under the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). In particular, the authors characterize the response of output to fiscal consolidations and expansions in the small Euro-area open economies...

For selected target groups, such as unemployed and disadvantaged youth, Christoph Ehlert demonstrates that flexible and well-targeted programmes significantly improve employment chances. To be effective, these programmes must combine individual coaching, classroom training and temporary work....

Real estate is the biggest real asset class in an economy, and Germany is the biggest economy in Europe. This implies opportunities as well as specific risks for investors and policy makers. As the German real estate markets have by and large been spared severe disruptions in the course of the...

This work exploits the natural experiment provided by the unexpected disintegration of socialist East Germany to study the impact of the mass immigration of East Germans on housing rents in West German metropolitan areas. Using a spatial correlation approach, annual district-level migration data...

Introduction -- Background for the Empirical Analyses: Institutional Details and Data -- Centralized versus Decentralized Welfare Administration -- The Employment Effects of an Intensified Use of Benefit Sanctions -- The Effectiveness of Temporary Extra Jobs and Short-Term Training Programs --...

The evaluation of labour market and other public policies has become increasingly important in recent years. In an era of tight government budgets, a thorough analysis of these measures is imperative. This book provides a comprehensive overview and assessment of the most relevant...

This book analyses the employment effects of job creation schemes for the participating individuals in Germany. Programmes provide subsidised jobs that are additional in nature and of value for society to hard-to-place individuals. International evidence on the effectiveness suggests that...

Using organisational economics theory, the author develops a conceptual framework for analysing the effectiveness and efficiency of public services delivery. The framework also provides a means for examining existing organisations and blueprints of future organisations, allowing for conclusions...