2012 hat die Bundesregierung eine Demografiestrategie formuliert und einen entsprechenden Gipfel organisiert. Der Strategie fehlt allerdings eine Leitlinie, die angesichts der nach 2020 zu erwartenden demografischen Probleme sehr dringend benötigt würde. Vor allem müssen institutionelle...

Der deutsche Arbeitsmarkt zeichnet sich durch hohe Beschäftigung und niedrige Arbeitslosigkeit aus. Doch in den nächsten Jahren werden sowohl die Demografie als auch die Digitalisierung zwei wesentliche strukturelle Herausforderungen sein, die es zu bewältigen gilt. In diesem Beitrag werden...

Abstract Recipients of public assistance and unemployment benefits face an effective marginal tax rate of (almost) 100%, since these payments decline in a ratio of one by one when own income is earned. The metaphor of an “unemployment trap” describes this labour supply disincentive quite...

Abstract Johann Eekhoff deals with the employment of low skilled workers. He recommends not to subsidize recipients of social security, but to offer them unpaid jobs, so that they get a chance to render their services in return of the received social aid, to train their skills, and to improve...

Summary An important feature of the European unemployment problem is the disincentive to supply labour for low-productivity workers due to generous levels of non-labour income in conjunction with marginal effective tax rates of around 100 % for low levels of income (poverty trap). Targeted...

The German government plans to introduce a minimum wage from 2015. This must be understood as a response to the decline in collective bargaining coverage and the marked increase in employment in the low-wage sector. The authors discuss how many workers are affected by this new regulation and...

How can Germany maintain its high standard of living as its workforce decreases in number and there are ever fewer skilled workers available? The economic challenge associated with demographic change is to achieve a productivity increase large enough to prevent a decline in the principal...