IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/diw/diwwpp/dp685.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

And Then There Were Four ...: How Many (and Which) Measures of Active Labor Market Policy Do We Still Need? ; Finding a Balance after the Evaluation of the Hartz Reforms in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Werner Eichhorst
  • Klaus F. Zimmermann

Abstract

Through the Hartz reforms, German active labor market policy was fundamentally restructured and has since been systematically evaluated. This paper reviews the recent evaluation findings and draws some conclusions for the future setup of active labor market policies in Germany. It argues in favor of a reduced range of active labor market policy schemes focusing on programs with proven positive effects (that are wage subsidies, training, start-up grants and placement vouchers) and calls for a systematic evaluation of all instruments not scrutinized so far.

Suggested Citation

  • Werner Eichhorst & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2007. "And Then There Were Four ...: How Many (and Which) Measures of Active Labor Market Policy Do We Still Need? ; Finding a Balance after the Evaluation of the Hartz Reforms in Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 685, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp685
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.56541.de/dp685.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fitzenberger, Bernd & Speckesser, Stefan, 2000. "Zur wissenschaftlichen Evaluation der aktiven Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland: Ein Überblick," ZEW Discussion Papers 00-06, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Marco Caliendo & Viktor Steiner, 2007. "Ich-AG und Überbrückungsgeld: neue Ergebnisse bestätigen Erfolg," DIW Wochenbericht, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 74(3), pages 25-32.
    3. Bernd Fitzenberger & Reinhard Hujer, 2002. "Stand und Perspektiven der Evaluation der Aktiven Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 3(2), pages 139-158, May.
    4. Peter Dolton & Donal O'Neill, 2002. "The Long-Run Effects of Unemployment Monitoring and Work-Search Programs: Experimental Evidence from the United Kingdom," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(2), pages 381-403, Part.
    5. Hujer, Reinhard & Caliendo, Marco, 2000. "Evaluation of Active Labour Market Policy: Methodological Concepts and Empirical Estimates," IZA Discussion Papers 236, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Werner Eichhors & Hilmar Schneider & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2006. "Konzentration statt Verzettelung: Die deutsche Arbeitsmarktpolitik am Scheideweg," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 7(3), pages 377-394, August.
    7. Deeke, Axel, 2005. "Kurzarbeit als Instrument betrieblicher Flexibilität : Ergebnisse aus dem IAB-Betriebspanel 2003," IAB-Forschungsbericht 200512, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    8. Michael Fertig & Jochen Kluve, 2006. "Alternative Beschäftigungsformen in Deutschland: Effekte der Neuregelung von Zeitarbeit, Minijobs und Midijobs," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 75(3), pages 97-117.
    9. Rafael Lalive & Jan C. van Ours & Josef Zweimueller, "undated". "The Impact of Active Labor Market Programs on the Duration of Unemployment," IEW - Working Papers 041, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.
    10. Lalive, R. & van Ours, J.C. & Zweimüller, J., 2000. "The Impact of Active Labor Market Programs and Benefit Entitlement Rules on the Duration of Unemployment," Discussion Paper 2000-41, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    11. Kettner, Anja & Rebien, Martina, 2007. "Soziale Arbeitsgelegenheiten : Einsatz und Wirkungsweise aus betrieblicher und arbeitsmarktpolitischer Perspektive," IAB-Forschungsbericht 200702, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    12. Marco Caliendo & Viktor Steiner, 2005. "Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland: Bestandsaufnahme und Bewertung der mikroökonomischen Evaluationsergebnisse," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 515, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    13. Ammermüller, Andreas & Zwick, Thomas & Boockmann, Bernhard & Maier, Michael, 2007. "Do hiring subsidies reduce unemployment among the elderly? Evidence from two natural experiments," ZEW Discussion Papers 07-001, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    14. Sarah Bernhard & Ursula Jaenichen & Gesine Stephan, 2006. "Eingliederungszuschüsse bei Einarbeitung und erschwerter Vermittlung: Matching-Analysen auf der Basis von Prozessdaten," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 75(3), pages 67-84.
    15. Bonin, Holger & Schneider, Hilmar, 2006. "Workfare: Eine wirksame Alternative zum Kombilohn," Wirtschaftsdienst – Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspolitik (1949 - 2007), ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 86(10), pages 645-650.
    16. Jacobi, Lena & Kluve, Jochen, 2006. "Before and After the Hartz Reforms: The Performance of Active Labour Market Policy in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 2100, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Jacobi, Lena & Kluve, Jochen, 2006. "Before and After the Hartz Reforms: The Performance of Active Labour Market Policy in Germany," RWI Discussion Papers 41, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung.
    18. Hilmar Schneider, 2006. "Die Förderung der beruflichen Weiterbildung und ihre Reform," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 75(3), pages 85-96.
    19. repec:zbw:rwidps:0041 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Kruppe, Thomas, 2006. "Die Förderung beruflicher Weiterbildung : eine mikroökonometrische Evaluation der Ergänzung durch das ESF-BA-Programm," IAB-Discussion Paper 200621, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    21. Konle-Seidl, Regina, 2005. "Lessons learned: Internationale Evaluierungsergebnisse zu Wirkungen aktiver und aktivierender Arbeitsmarktpolitik," IAB-Forschungsbericht 200509, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marco Caliendo & Alexander Kritikos, 2010. "Start-ups by the unemployed: characteristics, survival and direct employment effects," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 71-92, July.
    2. Caliendo, Marco & Lee, Wang-Sheng, 2013. "Fat chance! Obesity and the transition from unemployment to employment," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 121-133.
    3. Annette Bergemann & Marco Caliendo & Gerard J. van den Berg & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2011. "The threat effect of participation in active labor market programs on job search behavior of migrants in Germany," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(7), pages 777-795, October.
    4. Michael Stuetzer & Martin Obschonka & Udo Brixy & Rolf Sternberg & Uwe Cantner, 2014. "Regional characteristics, opportunity perception and entrepreneurial activities," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 221-244, February.
    5. Caliendo, Marco, 2009. "Income Support Systems, Labor Market Policies and Labor Supply: The German Experience," IZA Discussion Papers 4665, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Marco Caliendo & Jens Hogenacker, 2012. "The German labor market after the Great Recession: successful reforms and future challenges," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-24, December.
    7. Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2008. "Drei Schritte vor und zwei zurück: Agendapolitik am Scheideweg: Editorial," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 77(1), pages 5-7.
    8. Eichhorst, Werner, 2007. "Der Arbeitsmarkt in Deutschland: Zwischen Strukturreformen und sozialpolitischem Reflex," IZA Discussion Papers 3194, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Wolfgang Nagl & Michael Weber, 2014. "Unemployment compensation and unemployment duration before and after the German Hartz IV reform," ifo Working Paper Series 186, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    10. Kloß, Michael & Nagl, Wolfgang, 2013. "Unemployment compensation and unemployment duration - Evidence from the German Hartz IV reform," VfS Annual Conference 2013 (Duesseldorf): Competition Policy and Regulation in a Global Economic Order 79711, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    11. Ulf Rinne & Marc Schneider & Arne Uhlendorff, 2011. "Do the skilled and prime-aged unemployed benefit more from training? Effect heterogeneity of public training programmes in Germany," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(25), pages 3465-3494.
    12. Wolfgang Nagl, 2014. "Lohnrisiko und Altersarmut im Sozialstaat," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 54.
    13. Fitzenberger, Bernd, 2008. "Nach der Reform ist vor der Reform? Eine arbeitsökonomische Analyse ausgewählter Aspekte der Hartz-Reformen," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-011 [rev.], ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    14. Konle-Seidl, Regina, 2008. "Changes in the governance of employment services in Germany since 2003," IAB-Discussion Paper 200810, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    15. Zimmermann, Klaus F., 2013. "Labor Market Reforms and the Great Recession," IZA Policy Papers 75, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Christian Hundt & Rolf Sternberg, 2016. "Explaining new firm creation in Europe from a spatial and time perspective: A multilevel analysis based upon data of individuals, regions and countries," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(2), pages 223-257, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Werner Eichhorst & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2007. "And Then There Were Four...How Many (and Which) Measures of Active Labor Market Policy Do We Still Need?," Applied Economics Quarterly (formerly: Konjunkturpolitik), Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 53(3), pages 243-272.
    2. Eichhorst, Werner & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 2007. "Dann waren's nur noch vier… Wie viele (und welche) Maßnahmen der aktiven Arbeitsmarktpolitik brauchen wir noch? Eine Bilanz nach der Evaluation der Hartz-Reformen," IZA Discussion Papers 2605, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Ebbinghaus, Bernhard & Eichhorst, Werner, 2006. "Employment Regulation and Labor Market Policy in Germany, 1991-2005," IZA Discussion Papers 2505, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Bernhard, Sarah & Hohmeyer, Katrin & Jozwiak, Eva & Koch, Susanne & Kruppe, Thomas & Stephan, Gesine & Wolff, Joachim, 2008. "Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland und ihre Wirkungen," IAB-Forschungsbericht 200802, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    5. Eichhorst, Werner, 2007. "Wachstumsaspekte der Arbeitsmarktpolitik - Von den Nachbarn lernen," IZA Research Reports 13, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. repec:aia:aiaswp:wp52 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Caliendo, Marco & Steiner, Viktor, 2005. "Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland : Bestandsaufnahme und Bewertung der mikroökonomischen Evaluationsergebnisse (Active labour market policy in Germany * review ans assessment of the microecono," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 38(2/3), pages 396-418.
    8. Caliendo, Marco & Steiner, Viktor, 2005. "Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland : Bestandsaufnahme und Bewertung der mikroökonomischen Evaluationsergebnisse (Active labour market policy in Germany * review ans assessment of the microecono," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 38(2/3), pages 396-418.
    9. Caliendo, Marco & Steiner, Viktor, 2005. "Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland : Bestandsaufnahme und Bewertung der mikroökonomischen Evaluationsergebnisse (Active labour market policy in Germany * review ans assessment of the microecono," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 38(2/3), pages 396-418.
    10. Reinowski, Eva & Schultz, Birgit, 2006. "Microeconometric Evaluation of Selected ESF-funded ALMP-Programmes," IWH Discussion Papers 17/2006, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    11. Biewen, Martin & Fitzenberger, Bernd & Osikominu, Aderonke & Waller, Marie, 2007. "Which Program for Whom? Evidence on the Comparative Effectiveness of Public Sponsored Training Programs in Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 07-042, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    12. Reinhard Hujer & Uwe Blien & Marco Caliendo & Christopher Zeiss, 2006. "Macroeconometric Evaluation of Active Labour Market Policies in Germany. A Dynamic Panel Approach Using Regional Data," AIEL Series in Labour Economics, in: Floro Ernesto Caroleo & Sergio Destefanis (ed.), The European Labour Market. Regional Dimensions, edition 1, chapter 14, pages 287-309, AIEL - Associazione Italiana Economisti del Lavoro.
    13. Stefanie Behncke & Markus Frölich & Michael Lechner, 2006. "Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland und der Schweiz: eine Gegenüberstellung," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 75(3), pages 118-154.
    14. Moritz Zöllner & Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2016. "An Evaluation of German Active Labor Market Policies and its Entrepreneurship Promotion," Jena Economics Research Papers 2016-022, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    15. Michael Lechner, 2002. "Mikroökonometrische Evaluation arbeitsmarktpolitischer Massnahmen," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2002 2002-20, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.
    16. Johannes Schweighofer, 2013. "Erzielen die Programme der aktiven Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Österreich ihre beabsichtigten Wirkungen?," Working Paper Reihe der AK Wien - Materialien zu Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 120, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik.
    17. Michael Lechner, 2002. "Eine wirkungsorientierte aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland und der Schweiz: Eine Vision – zwei Realitäten," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 3(2), pages 159-174, May.
    18. Bibek Adhikari & Romain Duval & Bingjie Hu & Prakash Loungani, 2018. "Can Reform Waves Turn the Tide? Some Case Studies using the Synthetic Control Method," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 879-910, September.
    19. W. Eichhorst & M. Grienberger-Zingerle & R. Konle-Seidl, 2008. "Activation Policies in Germany: From Status Protection to Basic Income Support," Springer Books, in: Werner Eichhorst & Otto Kaufmann & Regina Konle-Seidl (ed.), Bringing the Jobless into Work?, pages 17-67, Springer.
    20. Bruno Crépon & Muriel Dejemeppe & Marc Gurgand, 2005. "Counseling the unemployed: does it lower unemployment duration and recurrence?," Working Papers halshs-00590769, HAL.
    21. Bernd Fitzenberger & Reinhard Hujer, 2002. "Stand und Perspektiven der Evaluation der Aktiven Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 3(2), pages 139-158, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Active labor market policy; Germany; evaluation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy
    • H43 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp685. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Bibliothek (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/diwbede.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.