"We present first estimates of rates of non-take-up for social assistance in Germany after the implementation of major social policy reforms in 2005. The analysis is based on a microsimulation model, which includes a detailed description of the German social assistance programme. Our findings...

"Up until now, our knowledge on the consumption patterns of recipients of Unemployment Benefit II, the means tested basic security system for employable persons in Germany, is rather restricted. This comes somewhat as a surprise, since analyses of consumption are highly relevant for setting...

"We present first estimates of rates of non-take-up for social assistance in Germany after the implementation of major social policy reforms in 2005. The analysis is based on a microsimulation model, which includes a detailed description of the German social assistance programme. Our findings...

We present first estimates of rates of non-take-up for social assistance in Germany after the implementation of major social policy reforms in 2005. The analysis is based on a microsimulation model, which includes a detailed description of the German social assistance programme. Our findings...

Microsimulation studies typically assume that all entitlements to means-tested benefits are actually claimed by eligible households, despite a large body of research that suggests that take-up rates are substantially below 100%. The assumption of full take-up tends to exaggerate the simulated...

We present first estimates of rates of non-take-up for social assistance in Germany after the implementation of major social policy reforms in 2005. The analysis is based on a microsimulation model, which includes a detailed description of the German social assistance programme. Our findings...

We study a set of hypothetical reforms of child benefits in Germany, using a static tax-benefit microsimulation model augmented with endogenous labour supply and take-up choices (IAB-MSM). We distinguish between a reform of the universal non-means-tested child benefit, a reform of the...

Since Germany’s social assistance reform (“Hartz-IV-Reform”) in 2005 there has been a strong increase in the number of working poor and long-term unemployed. This development is often attributed to the remaining disincentives of the reformed social assistance to take up a low-paid full...

We present first estimates of rates of non-take-up for social assistance in Germany after the implementation of major social policy reforms in 2005. The analysis is based on a microsimulation model, which includes a detailed description of the German social assistance programme. Our findings...

Trotz der hohen konzeptionellen Bedeutung, welche die Analyse von Konsumausgaben bei der Festlegung der SGB-II-Regelsätze hat, liegen bisher kaum Forschungsergebnisse über den Konsum der Leistungsempfänger selbst vor. Ausgehend von dieser Forschungslücke analysieren wir im vorliegenden...