This paper examines the effect of copayments on doctor visits using the German health care reform of 2004 as a natural experiment. In January 2004, copayments of 10 euros for the first doctor visit in each quarter have been introduced for all adults in the statutory health insurance. Individuals...

In Germany we observe a decline in regular employment and an increase in atypical forms of employment. Especially marginal part-time employment which is characterized by lower tax rates and lower social security contributions increased substantially after a reform in 2003 made this type of...

Young adults are the most hit by the current economic crisis. This can be observed in high youth unemployment rates in countries like Spain. At the same time fertility is relatively low in the most concerned countries whereas those in their fertile phase experience high unemployment rates. Based...

"On January 1st, 1997, minimum wages were introduced in the German main construction sector. We examine the effects of this wage regulation on various aspects of the labour market of this sector, particularly the effects on wages and employment. In East Germany, at the time of its introduction,...

The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) is a rotational panel provided by Eurostat that covers variables with a high potential for comparative European labour market and social research. Unfortunately, its current availability limits its potential research...

Since ethnic clustering is common in Germany, a better understanding of its effects on the integration of immigrants could be important for integration policies, especially in the light of rising immigration and a skilled worker shortage. Yet, both economic theory and empirical research for...

Geringfügige Beschäftigungsverhältnisse, sogenannte Minijobs, sind inzwischen ein nicht unerheblicher Teil abhängiger Beschäftigung in Deutschland. Das RWI hat im Jahr 2012 sowohl eine Befragung von geringfügig beschäftigten Arbeitnehmern als auch Arbeitgebern mit Minijobs in...

Using a linked employer-employee data set on the German construction industry, we analyse the effects of the introduction of minimum wages in this sector on labour market dynamics. In doing so, we focus on accessions and separations, as well as the underlying labour market flows, at the...

Using a linked employer-employee data set on the German construction industry, we analyse the effects of the introduction of minimum wages in this sector on labour market dynamics. In doing so, we focus on accessions and separations, as well as the underlying labour market flows, at the...

Using data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), this paper investigates wage inequality and wage mobility in Europe. Decomposing inequality into within and between group inequality, we analyse to what extent wage inequality and mobility can be explained...