Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/177104 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 11300
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper explores the effects of a major reform of unemployment benefits in Germany on the labor market outcomes of individuals with some health impairment. The reform induced a substantial reduction in the potential duration of regular unemployment benefits for older workers. This work analyzes the reform in a wider framework of institutional interactions, which allows us to distinguish between its intended and unintended effects. Our results provide causal evidence for a significant decrease in the number of days in unemployment benefits and increase in the number of days in employment. However, they also suggest a significant increase in the number of days in unemployment assistance, granted upon exhaustion of unemployment benefits. Transitions to unemployment assistance represent an unintended effect, limiting the success of a policy change that aims to increase labor supply via reductions in the generosity of the unemployment insurance system.
Subjects: 
policy evaluation
labor market reform
unemployment insurance
difference-in-differences
JEL: 
I1
J2
J65
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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