In Chapter 1 of the dissertation, the role of social networks is analyzed as an important determinant in the search behavior of the unemployed. Based on the hypothesis that the unemployed generate information on vacancies through their social network, search theory predicts that individuals with...

This paper studies the effectiveness of vacancy information from the public employment services (PES) in Germany, focussing on vacancy information obtained early in the unemployment spell. As in many other countries, the German activation practice combines information provision with monitoring...