Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/71626
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 7260
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Germany's recovery from an unemployment disease and its resilience to the Great Recession is remarkable. Its success story makes it a showcase for labor policy and labor market reforms. This paper assesses the potential of the German experience as a model for effective, evidence-based policymaking. Flexible management of working time (through overtime and short-time work, time accounts and labor hoarding), social cohesion and controlled unit labor costs, combined with a rigid, incentive-oriented labor policy supported by effective program evaluation, define the characteristics of a strong reference model. Austerity, sometimes seen as core to the German model, is not viewed as a key element.
Subjects: 
labor market reforms
labor policy
unemployment
Great Recession
Germany
austerity
JEL: 
J68
J21
P52
O57
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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