This paper discusses the reasons for the dismal labor market performance of Germany over the last three decades along with potential remedies. It argues that labor market rigidities along with a generous welfare state in conjunction with certain changes in the economic environment are important...

Die Familienpolitik ist in jüngster Zeit ins Zentrum der wirtschaftspolitischen Debatte in Deutschland gerückt. Der Beitrag analysiert, ob es aus ökonomischer Sicht Gründe dafür gibt, dass der Staat familienpolitische Verantwortung übernehmen sollte und welche Reformen im...

Die Familienpolitik ist in jüngster Zeit ins Zentrum der wirtschaftspolitischen Debatte in Deutschland gerückt. Der Beitrag analysiert, ob es aus ökonomischer Sicht Gründe dafür gibt, dass der Staat familienpolitische Verantwortung übernehmen sollte und welche Reformen im...

The literature on unemployment has mostly focused on labor market issues while the impact of capital formation is largely neglected. Job creation is often thought to be a matter of encouraging more employment on a given capital stock. In contrast, this paper explicitly deals with the long-run...

While policymakers in Europe were busy implementing EMU during the past decade, persistently high unemployment, which should have been the main policy issue from a normative point of view, was essentially left untackled in most continental European countries. This poses the urgent question of...

EMU started with eleven member countries as scheduled on January 1, 1999. The paper shows that the primacy of politics over economics in this decision could have serious consequences concerning the stability of EMU in the transition phase. Speculative attacks against currencies which are in...

The literature on unemployment has mostly focused on labor market issues while the impact of capital formation is largely neglected. Job-creation is often thought to be a matter of encouraging more employment on a given capital stock. In contrast, this paper explicitly deals with the long-run...