Using a Mincer-type wage function, we estimate cohort effects in the returns to education for West German workers born between 1925 and 1974. The main problem to be tackled in the specification is to separately identify cohort, experience, and possibly also age and year effects in the returns....

"This pilot study examines the question of how different strategies and attitudes of caseworkers in German job offices influence the chances of re-employment of the job seekers they counsel. We use data from a standardised survey among caseworkers that we combine with administrative data of the...

"In spite of extensive regulations, Germany's job offices and their caseworkers have substantial discretion in implementing labor market policies. Based on the analysis of combined survey and administrative data, this study compares the effectiveness of different strategies aimed at...

"This paper describes the role of fixed-term employment contracts in the job dynamics of firms in Baden-Württemberg in 2001. Although only 4.4 percent of the workers have a fixed-term contract, more than a quarter of all hirings occur on the basis of such a contract. Fixed term contracts are...

Job search assistance and intensified counseling have been found to be effective for labor market integration by a large number of studies, but the evidence for older and hard-to-place unemployed individuals more specifically is mixed. In this paper we present key results from the evaluation of...

The 2005 reform of the German welfare system introduced two competing organizational models for welfare administration. In most districts, a centralized organization was established where local welfare agencies are bound to central directives. At the same time, 69 districts were allowed to opt...

Moderne Evaluationsmethoden auf der Basis ökonometrischer Verfahren und randomisierter Feldexperimente machen es für immer mehr Politikbereiche möglich, die Wirksamkeit wirtschaftspolitischer Maßnahmen zu überprüfen. Gleichwohl sind diese Methoden in der deutschen Evaluationspraxis nicht...

This study addresses the impact of offshorability (a job characteristic indicating how easily a job can be offshored) on employment changes and worker mobility in Germany. A composite measure of offshorability for German data is used which broadens existing measurements such as Blinder (2009)....

"The introduction of the minimum wage in the German painter and varnisher trade in 2003 is used as a natural experiment to study the effects of minimum wages on wages and employment. We find a significant positive effect on the average hourly wage of skilled workers in East Germany, but not in...

The authors examine job durations of German workers using the Linked Employer-Employee Data of the Institute of Employment Research (LIAB). Results indicate that exit rates are strongly influenced by firm characteristics, such as the existence of works councils and the opportunity for further...