Sunk firing costs shelter employment and this effect is typically amplified by uncertainty due to an option value of waiting. Thus, if sunk firing costs are high, e.g. due to a employment protection legislation, and if recession related losses are with a high probability expected to be only...

This paper reviews the current state of knowledge about the effect of new business formation on regional development. After a brief sketch of the origins of research on this issue, the main results of different lines of inquiry are discussed. Main issues are the development of start-up cohorts,...

There remains great uncertainty about the economic consequences of co-determination in German supervisory boards. Because employee representation on company boards is mandatory, depending on the legal form and size of the company, a direct comparison of those companies that apply...

Arbeits- und sozialrechtlichen Schwellenwerten wird häufig unterstellt, dass sie einen Einfluss auf die Arbeitsplatzdynamik in mittelständischen Firmen haben. Schwellenwerte geben an, ab welcher Beschäftigtenzahl ein bestimmtes Gesetz oder eine Regelung in einem Betrieb zur Anwendung kommt...

This paper focuses on the question of whether improving the competence of new business founders by means of coaching and training programs enhances the duration of self-employment. In our analysis we focus on support activities that are provided in addition to a financial subsidy and which...

This paper explores whether wage, employment and tenure outcomes of workers taking up a job subsidized by the German Federal Employment Agency differ by industry. The analysis utilizes administrative data and statistical matching tech-niques; it covers an observation period of 3.5 years. First,...

The aim of this paper is to formalise a two-country model of trade liberalisation and technical change with heterogenous firms and search-and-matching frictions in the labour market. By considering different sectors and factors of production we allow for comparative advantages and study the...

As a reaction on high and persistent unemployment in Germany, the largest labour market reforms in post-war history were implemented between 2003 and 2005. We analyse the impact of the reform and its coincidence with an economic expansion on the efficiency of matching out of unemployment....

Bringing welfare recipients into jobs is a major goal of German labour market policy since a reform of the year 2005. Direct job creation providing participants with tem-porary subsidized jobs mainly in the non-profit sector plays an important role for achieving this goal. There are three...

Der Beitrag gibt einen ergebnisorientierten Überblick über den Stand der Evaluation der aktiven Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland. Die Befunde weisen darauf hin, dass keine der bisherigen Instrumentengruppen überflüssig ist. Die meisten Maßnahmen können die Beschäftigungschancen...