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Government schemes that compensate workers for the loss of income while they are on short hours (known as short-time work compensation schemes) make it easier for employers to temporarily reduce hours worked so that labor is better matched to output requirements. Because the employers do not lay off these staff, the schemes help to maintain permanent employment levels during recessions. However, they can create inefficiency in the labor market, and might limit labor market access for freelancers and those looking to work part-time.

The EU's largest economy, Germany, has managed to find an effective and unique combination of flexibility and rigidity in its labor market. Institutions that typically characterize rigid labor markets are effectively balanced by flexibility instruments. Important developments since 2000 include steadily decreasing unemployment rates (since 2005), increasing participation rates, and (since 2011) moderately increasing labor compensation. The German labor market was remarkably robust to the impacts of the Great Recession, thus providing a useful case study for other developed countries.

Since the internet’s earliest days, firms and workers have used various online methods to advertise and find jobs. Until recently there has been little evidence that any internet-based tool has had a measurable effect on job search or recruitment outcomes. However, recent studies, and the growing use of social networking as a business tool, suggest workers and firms are at last developing ways to use the internet as an effective matchmaking tool. In addition, job boards are also emerging as important for the statistical study of labor markets, yielding useful data for firms, workers, and policymakers.

Global value chains (GVCs) describe the cross-national activities and inputs required to bring a product or service to the market. While they can boost exports and productivity, the resulting labor market impacts vary significantly across developing countries. Some experience large-scale manufacturing employment, while others see a shift in demand for labor from manufacturing to services, and from lower to higher skills. Several factors shape the way in which a country’s labor market will be impacted by GVC integration, including the type of sector, lead firms’ strategies, domestic skills base, and the institutional environment.

Die Gr�ndungsf�rderung der Bundesagentur f�r Arbeit ist im Rahmen der aktiven Arbeitsmarktpolitik im Rechtskreis SGB III nach wie vor eines der bedeutsamsten Instrumente. Zum 1. August 2006 l�ste der Gr�ndungszuschuss (� 57 SGB III) seine beiden Vorg�nger, das �berbr�ckungsgeld und den Existenzgr�ndungszuschuss ("Ich-AG") ab. Ziel der Reform war neben der Erh�hung der Transparenz und �bersichtlichkeit vor allem eine Entlastung der Arbeitsverwaltung und eine effizientere Ausgestaltung des F�rderinstruments. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Studie zeigen, dass das neue Programm wie erwartet �hnliche Teilnehmerstrukturen wie das �berbr�ckungsgeld aufweist und somit nicht mehr die Breite der beiden Vorg�ngerprogramme abdeckt. Die degressive Transferentzugsrate hat entgegen anf�nglichen Bef�rchtungen keinen ma�geblichen Einfluss auf den Zeitpunkt der Gr�ndungsentscheidung. Eine vertiefende Betrachtung des F�rdergeschehens zeigt ebenfalls, dass sich der Gr�ndungszuschuss durch beachtliche Verbleibsquoten (75-84%) in Selbst�ndigkeit auszeichnet, die zum Teil deutlich �ber denen der Vorg�ngerprogramme liegen. Im Hinblick auf die vieldiskutierten Mitnahmeeffekte im Bereich der Gr�ndungsf�rderung, deuten deskriptive Auswertungen darauf hin, dass Mitnahmeeffekte im Zusammenhang mit dem Gr�ndungszuschuss eine geringere Bedeutung haben als vielfach angenommen.

In 1994, Blanchflower and Oswald reported that they have found an �empirical law of economics� � the Wage Curve. According to their empirical results, the elasticity of wages with respect to regional unemployment is -0.1. This holds especially for the Anglo-Saxon countries. Our paper reconsiders the western German Wage Curve using disaggregated regional data and is based on a random sample of 974,179 employees drawn from the employment statistics of the Federal Employment Services of Germany (Bundesagentur f�r Arbeit) over the period 1980-2004. We find that the wage equation is highly autoregressive but far from unit root. This means that this wage equation is not a pure Phillips curve, nor a static Wage Curve, and one should account for wage dynamics. The unemployment elasticity is significant but relatively small: only between -0.02 and -0.04. We also check the sensitivity of this wage elasticity for different population groups (young versus old, men versus women, less educated versus highly educated, German native versus foreigner). We confirm that the wage elasticity is more flexible the weaker the bargaining power of the particular group.

Mit der Hartz-Reform wurden auch im Bereich der beruflichen Weiterbildung grundlegende Neuerungen eingef�hrt. Dazu geh�ren vor allem die Einf�hrung von Bildungsgutscheinen als neuem Allokationsinstrument, das den potentiellen Teilnehmern Wahlfreiheit bei der Auswahl der Bildungsanbieter gew�hrt, sowie eine st�rker an der Wiedereingliederungsprognose ausgerichtete Auswahl der Teilnehmer. Wir untersuchen f�r die Phasen vor und nach der Reform die Wirkung der Teilnahme an berufsbezogener und -�bergreifender Weiterbildung, dem quantitativ bedeutsamsten FbW-Programmtyp. Dabei greifen wir auf Verwaltungsdaten der Bundesagentur f�r Arbeit zur�ck und sch�tzen ausgehend von einem konditionalen Propensity-Score-Matching die durchschnittlichen Teilnahmeeffekte mittels nicht-parametrischer Vergleiche der Zustandwahrscheinlichkeiten sowie mittels semi-parametrischer �bergangsratenmodelle. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Teilnahme bereits vor der Reform zu einem Anstieg der Besch�ftigungswahrscheinlichkeit gef�hrt hat. Die Ergebnisse f�r die relativ kurze Beobachtungsperiode nach der Reform deuten darauf hin, dass die Effektivit�t der Ma�nahme zugenommen hat, wobei der Reformeffekt in erster Linie auf eine Verk�rzung des Lock-In Effekt zur�ckzuf�hren ist.

The so-called Hartz reform has introduced fundamental changes for publicly sponsored training in Germany. This concerns primarily the emission of training vouchers as an exclusive allocation device, allowing potential participants free choice among training providers within a given training target range. In addition, delivery of training vouchers is conditioned on sufficient re-employment prospects of a job-seeker. We comparatively examine the impact of participation for the quantitatively most important type of training programs before and after the reform by using administrative data of the Federal Employment Agency. Based on conditional propensity score matching, we investigate average treatment effects by means of non-parametrically estimated state probabilities and semi-parametrically estimated transition rates. Our results show that participation in training programs had a positive impact on employment prospects already before the reform. Results for the relative short observation period since the reform are pointing to a further increase of effectiveness. The driving force behind this seems to come from reducing the duration of training programs, which has decreased the lock-in effect without affecting the program effect.