We study the political determinants of policy experimentation during the US welfare reform. Among other changes, this reform shifted the autonomy to implement welfare policies from the federal government to the individual states. In line the predictions from a political agency model, we find...

Many governments have introduced generous childcare subsidies to allow all children access to early childhood education. The effects of these costly programs are however still debated. In this paper, we use the introduction of free public childcare in several states in Germany to analyze its...

We study whether the option to naturalize improves social and cultural integration of immigrants in the host country. The empirical analysis relies on two immigration reforms in Germany, a country with a traditionally weak record of immigrant integration both in terms of labor market performance...

We study the political economy of policy innovations during the U.S. welfare reform in 1996. Specifically, we investigate how reputation concerns among governors influence the decision to experiment with welfare policies. In line with a political agency model, our empirical results suggest that...

Politicians, the media, and the public express concern that many immigrants fail to integrate economically. Research shows that the option to naturalize has considerable economic benefits for eligible immigrants, even in countries with a tradition of restrictive policies. First-generation...

Immigrants in many countries have lower employment rates and lower earnings than natives. In this paper, we ask whether a more liberal access to citizenship can improve the economic integration of immigrants. Our analysis relies on two major immigration reforms in Germany, a country with a...

Immigrants in many countries have lower employment rates and lower earnings than natives. We study whether a more liberal access to citizenship improves the economic integration of immigrants. Our analysis relies on two major immigration reforms in Germany, a country with a weak record of...

Immigrants in many countries have lower employment rates and earnings than natives. We study whether the option to naturalize improves immigrant assimilation. The empirical analysis relies on two major immigration reforms in Germany, acountry with a weak record of immigrant integration. Using...

Seit 2008 kamen - vor allem aus der Europäischen Union - zunehmend mehr Einwanderer nach Deutschland als wegzogen. Motiviert waren diese nicht wie befürchtet durch die großzügigen Sozialleistungen, sondern durch die Aussicht auf Arbeit. Gleichzeitig mit der Struktur der Herkunftsländer hat...

This paper analyzes how enforcement along the U.S.-Mexican border has affected the market for migrant smugglers. Using a unique dataset that links border crossing histories from illegal Mexican migrants to aggregate enforcement and punishment statistics, we find that the effect of enforcement on...