Zitatform

Cho, Yoonyoung & Ummul Ruthbah (2018): Does workfare work well? The case of the employment generation program for the poorest in Bangladesh. (IZA discussion paper 11473), Bonn, 38 S.

Abstract

"Evidence on the effectiveness of workfare as an anti-poverty program in developing countries is weak compared with the relatively well-established role of public works during economic crisis as a social safety net. This paper contributes to evidence building by examining the impact of a large-scale workfare program in Bangladesh, the Employment Generation Program for the Poorest. Taking advantage of the program's distinguishable feature of direct wage transfer to a person's bank account, the paper uses accessibility to local banks as an instrumental variable to identify the program's impacts on rural social assistance beneficiaries. Based on locality-by-time fixed effects models over two rounds of locality panel data, the analysis finds that the Employment Generation Program for the Poorest has contributed to increasing overall household consumption and reducing outstanding loans. In particular, expenditures on quality food and health care have significantly increased, which likely helps individuals continue to engage in income-generating activities in the labor market. However, the implementation costs and poor quality of public assets built through work projects could potentially undermine the program's efficiency. Moreover, further evidence is required on the impacts of work experience through workfare on subsequent labor market outcomes and the value of public assets, to assess the program's effectiveness compared with administratively simpler alternative instruments such as unconditional cash transfers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Gerlitz, Jean-Yves (2018): Rising in-work poverty in times of activation. Changes in the distributive performance of institutions over three decades, Germany 1984-2013. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 140, H. 3, S. 1109-1129. DOI:10.1007/s11205-017-1816-9

Abstract

"In-work poverty contradicts the belief that a job should provide a decent standard of living. Nevertheless, the share of working poor in most European countries has risen. Studies show that the development of in-work poverty is attributable to changes in the distributive performance of the labour market, households and the welfare state, as measured by their ability to prevent people from falling below the poverty line. However, such studies have been limited to standard employment and did not address activation, i.e., welfare state transformation through deregulation, recommodification, and social investment. Taking the case of Germany, I analyse changes in the distributive performance of institutions within the context of activation policies (Hartz reforms) for employees that differ in work duration and intensity. Based on descriptive trend analysis of data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, I retrace the process of income distribution and look at how institutional changes have contributed to the development of in-work poverty. I find that an increase of in-work poverty can be attributed to a decrease of the distributive performance of the labour market after the implementation of the Hartz reforms; that individuals in non-standard employment were more affected than people in standard-employment, and that increases in the performance of households and the welfare state do not absorb this development. Activation has shifted responsibility from the labour market to the other distributive institutions." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

Zitatform

Jessen, Robin, Davud Rostam-Afschar & Viktor Steiner (2017): Getting the poor to work: three welfare increasing reforms for a busy Germany. In: Finanzarchiv, Jg. 73, H. 1, S. 1-41. DOI:10.1628/001522117X14864674910065

Zitatform

Jessen, Robin, Davud Rostam-Afschar & Viktor Steiner (2015): Getting the poor to work: three welfare increasing reforms for a busy Germany. (SOEPpapers on multidisciplinary panel data research at DIW Berlin 781), Berlin, 39 S.

Abstract

"We study three budget-neutral reforms of the German tax and transfer system designed to improve work incentives for people with low incomes: a feasible flat tax reform that provides a basic income which is equal to the current level of the means tested unemployment benefit, and two alternative reforms that involve employment subsidies to stimulate participation and full-time work, respectively. We estimate labor supply reactions and welfare effects using a microsimulation model based on household data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and a structural labor supply model. We find that all three reforms increase labor supply in the first decile of the income distribution. However, the flat tax scenario reduces overall labor supply by 4.9%, the reform scenario designed to increase participation reduces labor supply by 1%, while the reform that provides improved incentives to work full-time has negligible effects on overall labor supply. With equal welfare weights, aggregate welfare gains are realizable under all three reforms." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Reimann, Axel (2015): Herausforderungen für die Weiterentwicklung der Alterssicherung. In: Sozialer Fortschritt, Jg. 64, H. 8, S. 202-205. DOI:10.3790/sfo.64.8.202

Abstract

" Mit den Reformmaßnahmen in der Alterssicherung zu Beginn des Jahrtausends trat das Leitbild der Lebensstandardsicherung aus mehreren Säulen an die Stelle der lebensstandardsichernden Rente. Vor dem Hintergrund veränderter Rahmenbedingungen (u. a. Kapitalmärkte, Verbreitung zusätzlicher Vorsorge) sind die Maßnahmen teilweise in Kritik geraten. Vor der Diskussion einer Neujustierung des Drei-Säulen-Systems sollte jedoch die konsequente Umsetzung des aktuellen Leitbildes stehen. Nachholbedarf besteht in der zweiten und dritten Säule u. a. bei der Absicherung des Erwerbsminderungsrisikos und von Hinterbliebenen. Herausforderungen für die Alterssicherung liegen darüber hinaus u. a. in den Bereichen Niedriglohn und Alterssicherung, der Alterssicherung nicht obligatorisch gesicherter Selbständiger und der Rentenangleichung Ost / West. (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Chowdry, Haroon (2012): Time-limited in-work benefits in the UK. A review of recent evidence. In: National Institute Economic Review, Jg. 219, H. 1, S. R53-R64. DOI:10.1177/002795011221900106

Abstract

"This paper reviews three UK-based welfare-to-work programmes featuring time-limited financial incentives to leave out-of-work benefits for employment. The policies considered are (i) the Employment Retention and Advancement demonstration, aimed at lone parents and the long-term unemployed; (ii) In-Work Credit, aimed at lone parents on welfare; (iii) Pathways to Work, aimed at recipients of incapacity benefits. I illustrate the difficulties in extrapolating from specific findings to general policy-relevant conclusions. Finally, I depict the challenge facing evaluators in future and point to the directions in which evaluation will need to develop if it is to contribute more fully to policy-relevant evaluation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Alber, Jens & Jan Paul Heisig (2011): Do new labour activation policies work? A descriptive analysis of the German Hartz reforms. (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung. Discussion papers SP 1 2011-211), Berlin, 54 S.

Abstract

"Die von der rot-grünen Bundesregierung nach der Jahrtausendwende durchgesetzten Hartz-Reformen sind Teil eines allgemeinen Musters der Aktivierungspolitik, die von mehreren sozialdemokratischen Regierungen Europas unter dem Stichwort 'new labour' betrieben wurde. Das Ziel dieser Reformpolitik war es, die Abhängigkeit von staatlichen Transferzahlungen zu mindern und das Beschäftigungsniveau zu steigern, indem Arbeit im Niedriglohnsektor mit Hilfe von Subventionen attraktiver gemacht und der Sozialstaat von einer reaktiven Instanz des sozialen Schutzes zu einem befähigenden Instrument sozialer Investition umgebaut wurde. Die deutsche Variante dieser Politik schaffte die einkommensbezogenen Leistungen für Langzeitarbeitslose ab, fusionierte die soziale Sicherung der Arbeitslosen teilweise mit der Sozialhilfe und erhöhte den Aktivierungsdruck auf die Leistungsempfänger durch eine Politik des 'Forderns und Förderns', die neue Sanktionsmöglichkeiten mit verbesserten Bildungs- und Vermittlungsdiensten verband. Auf der Grundlage einer Beschreibung der wichtigsten institutionellen Reformen zeigen wir, dass die an Bedürftigkeitstests gebundene Grundsicherung heute die bei weitem häufigste Transferzahlung für Arbeitslose darstellt. Das Beschäftigungsniveau ist seit den Reformen insbesondere im Niedriglohnsektor beträchtlich gestiegen. Da vor allem diverse Formen atypischer Beschäftigung zugenommen haben, zählt ein wachsender Teil der Erwerbstätigen zur Gruppe der arbeitenden Armen, die ihr Erwerbseinkommen mit Leistungen der Grundsicherung aufstocken. Auf der Basis von SOEP-Daten zeigen wir, dass die arbeitenden Armen nicht nur zufriedener, sondern auch in vielfältiger Weise besser sozial integriert sind als vergleichbare nicht arbeitende Arme. Wie wir am Beispiel der Lebenszufriedenheit von Männern zeigen, hängen die positiven Effekte der Erwerbstätigkeit allerdings entscheidend von der Entlohnung und anderen Aspekten der Arbeitsplatzqualität ab. Die Wohlfahrtsbilanz der Hartz-Reformen könnte deshalb ungünstiger ausfallen, als die Beschäftigungsentwicklung vermuten lässt, da Arbeitsuchende nun eher zu Konzessionen bereit sind und auch schlechtere Stellenangebote akzeptieren." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Blundell, Richard & Andrew Shephard (2011): Employment, hours of work and the optimal taxation of low income families. (IZA discussion paper 5745), Bonn, 48 S.

Abstract

"The optimal design of low income support is examined using a structural labour supply model. The approach incorporates unobserved heterogeneity, fixed costs of work, childcare costs and the detailed non-convexities of the tax and transfer system. The analysis considers purely Pareto improving reforms and also optimal design under social welfare functions with different degrees of inequality aversion. We explore the gains from tagging and also examine the case for the use of hours-contingent payments. Using the tax schedule for lone parents in the UK as our policy environment, the results point to a reformed non-linear tax schedule with tax credits only optimal for low earners. The results also suggest a welfare improving role for tagging according to child age and for hours-contingent payments, although the case for the latter is mitigated when hours cannot be monitored or recorded accurately by the tax authorities." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Blundell, Richard, Marco Francesconi & Wilbert van der Klaauw (2011): Anatomy of welfare reform evaluation. Announcement and implementation effects. (IZA discussion paper 6050), Bonn, 60 S.

Abstract

"This paper formulates a simple model of female labor force decisions which embeds an in-work benefit reform and explicitly allows for announcement and implementation effects. We explore several mechanisms through which women can respond to the announcement of a reform that increases in-work benefits, including sources of intertemporal substitution, human capital accumulation, and labor market frictions. Using the model's insights and information of the precise timing of the announcement and implementation of a major UK in-work benefit reform, we estimate its effects on single mothers' behavior. We find important announcement effects on employment decisions. We show that this finding is consistent with the presence of short-run frictions in the labor market. Evaluations of this reform which ignore such effects produce impact effect estimates that are biased downwards by 15 to 35 percent." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Brett, Craig & Laurence Jacquet (2011): Workforce or workfare? (CESifo working paper 3463), München, 16 S.

Abstract

"This article explores the use of workfare as part of an optimal tax mix when labor supply responses are along the extensive margin. Particular attention is paid to the interaction between workfare and an earned income tax credit, two policies that are designed to provide additional incentives for individuals to enter the labor force. This article shows that, despite their common goal, these policies are often at odds with each other." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Dietz, Martin, Susanne Koch, Helmut Rudolph, Ulrich Walwei & Jürgen Wiemers (2011): Reform der Hinzuverdienstregeln im SGB II. Fiskalische Effekte und Arbeitsmarktwirkungen. In: Sozialer Fortschritt, Jg. 60, H. 1/2, S. 4-15. DOI:10.3790/sfo.60.1-2.4

Abstract

"Im September 2009 gab es in Deutschland knapp 1,4 Millionen erwerbstätige Hilfebedürftige, die gleichzeitig ein Erwerbseinkommen und Leistungen der Grundsicherung nach dem Sozialgesetzbuch II (SGB II) beziehen. Aktuell wird im politischen Raum diskutiert, ob man durch eine Veränderung der Hinzuverdienstregeln im SGB II Anreize für eine Arbeitsaufnahme erhöhen und damit eine stärkere Arbeitsmarktintegration erreichen kann. Der Beitrag beschäftigt sich ausgehend vom Status Quo mit verschiedenen politisch machbaren Variationen der Hinzuverdienstregeln. Die Analysen basieren auf dem IAB-Mikrosimulationsmodell und umfassen Arbeitsmarktwirkungen sowie fiskalische Effekte. Die Berechnungen zeigen, dass die Arbeitsangebotseffekte der Regeländerungen eher gering sind. Den heterogenen Problemlagen in der Grundsicherung kann man nicht allein mit einer Reform der Hinzuverdienstregeln begegnen. Sie erfordern vor allem integrierte Ansätze, die an den spezifischen Hemmnissen der Menschen ansetzen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Blumkin, Tomer, Yoram Margalioth & Efraim Sadka (2010): The desirability of workfare as a welfare ordeal - revisited. (IZA discussion paper 5130), Bonn, 30 S.

Abstract

"In this paper we challenge the conventional wisdom that using workfare as a supplementary screening device to means-testing is socially undesirable when the government objective is welfarist, namely, to ensure that all members of society will attain some minimal level of utility. Our argument suggests that when misreporting of income by welfare claimants is sufficiently manifest, introducing work requirements for welfare eligibility economizes on government expenditure and is socially desirable." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Bosch, Gerhard, Ronald Schettkat, Ekkehart Schlicht, Boris Hirsch, Andreas Peichl & Hilmar Schneider (2010): Nach welchen Regeln werden Arbeitsleistungen vergütet? Zeitgespräch. In: Wirtschaftsdienst, Jg. 90, H. 4, S. 215-234.

Abstract

"Die aktuelle Diskussion über zu hohe Managergehälter am oberen und zu niedrige Löhne am unteren Ende der Gehaltsskala führt zu den Grundregeln der Lohnbildung. In der ökonomischen Theorie stehen dabei vor allem individuelle Produktivitätsunterschiede als Ursache von Lohnunterschieden im Vordergrund. Wenig - wie einige Ökonomen finden zu wenig - wird dabei auf die Machtstrukturen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt geachtet." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Damgaard, Bodil & Jacob Torfing (2010): Network governance of active employment policy. The Danish experience. In: Journal of European social policy, Jg. 20, H. 3, S. 248-262. DOI:10.1177/0958928710364435

Abstract

"The recent reform of the Danish governance system in the field of active employment policy has been subject to fierce criticism, as many commentators fear that it is the beginning of the end of the Danish Model of active stakeholder involvement. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data, this study aims to analyse the impact of the governance reform by assessing the initial experiences with the Local Employment Councils (LECs). The analysis shows that the LECs are relatively well-functioning and contribute to an effective and democratic governance of local employment policy. Furthermore, the tight metagovernance of the LECs does not seem to straight-jacket the LECs as there is a considerable scope for local policy making which makes it worthwhile for the social partners to participate in the local networks." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Dockery, Alfred Michael, Richard Seymour & Rachel Ong (2010): Life on the minimum wage in Australia. An empirical investigation. In: Australian Journal of Labour Economics, Jg. 13, H. 1, S. 1-26.

Abstract

"From 2006 to 2009, Federal minimum wages in Australia were set by the Australian Fair Pay Commission. This paper uses data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia panel survey to investigate the circumstances of persons who are paid at or near the minimum wage, and thus potentially affected by the wage determinations. Net disposable incomes for actual and potential minimum wage workers are modelled in and out of work to investigate the implications of the wage determinations on work incentives. In addition, a range of measures of socioeconomic status and wellbeing are inspected. Comparisons are made with selected groups of non-employed persons and those with higher earnings to highlight the potential costs and benefits for affected individuals, and hence the potential trade-offs faced in setting minimum wages if we accept that increases in minimum wages reduce employment opportunities." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Hendra, Richard, Keri-Nicole Dillman, Gayle Hamilton, Erika Lundquist, Karin Martinson & Melissa Wavelet (2010): How effective are different approaches aiming to increase employment retention and advancement? Final impacts for twelve models. The Employment Retention and Advancement Project. Washington, D.C., 540 S.

Abstract

"Research completed since the 1980s has yielded substantial knowledge about how to help welfare recipients and other low-income individuals prepare for and find jobs. Many participants in these successful job preparation and placement programs, however, ended up in unstable, low-paying jobs, and little was known about how to effectively help them keep employment and advance in their jobs. The national Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project sought to fill this knowledge gap, by examining over a dozen innovative and diverse employment retention and advancement models developed by states and localities for different target groups, to determine whether effective strategies could be identified.
Using a random assignment research design, the ERA project tested the effectiveness of programs that attempted to promote steady work and career advancement for current and former welfare recipients and other low-wage workers, most of whom were single mothers. The programs -- generally supported by existing public funding, not special demonstration grants -- reflected state and local choices regarding target populations, goals, ways of providing services, and staffing. The ERA project is being conducted by MDRC, under contract to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, with additional funding from the U.S. Department of Labor. This report presents the final effectiveness findings, or impacts, for 12 of the 16 ERA programs, and it also summarizes how the 12 programs were implemented and individuals' levels of participation in program services." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Holzner, Christian, Volker Meier & Martin Werding (2010): Workfare, monitoring, and efficiency wages. In: Journal of macroeconomics, Jg. 32, H. 1, S. 157-168. DOI:10.1016/j.jmacro.2009.05.002

Abstract

"The impact of a stronger work requirement for welfare recipients in a workfare program is studied in an efficiency wage model where a representative firm chooses its level of monitoring activities. A stricter workfare policy raises employment and monitoring activities. It typically increases profits and reduces the tax rate. The impact on the net wage is ambiguous. Utility levels of employed workers and welfare recipients may increase even if the net wage declines. The utility differential between these two groups of workers shrinks." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Miller, Cynthia, Victoria Deitch & Aaron Hill (2010): Paths to advancement for single parents. The Employment Retention and Advancement Project. New York, NY, 84 S.

Abstract

"Between 2000 and 2003, the Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project identified and implemented a diverse set of innovative models designed to promote employment stability and wage or earnings progression among low-income individuals, mostly current or former welfare recipients. While the main objective of ERA was to test a range of program approaches, the data collected as part of the evaluation provide an important opportunity to look in depth at the work experiences over a three-year period of the more than 27,000 single parents targeted by the programs. As single parents - most of whom were current or former welfare recipients - many of them faced considerable barriers to work and advancement.
This report augments the ERA project's experimental findings by examining the work, education, and training experiences of single parents targeted by the programs studied. Specifically, these analyses identify the single parents in the study who advanced, and it compares their experiences with the experiences of parents who did not advance. Although the analyses are descriptive only and cannot be used to identify the exact causes of advancement, examining the characteristics of single parents who advance and the pathways by which they do so can inform the design of the next generation of retention and advancement programs." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Peichl, Andreas, Hilmar Schneider & Sebastian Siegloch (2010): Reform der Hinzuverdienstregeln in der Grundsicherung. Kein Entkommen aus der Transferfalle. (IZA Standpunkte 26), Bonn, 14 S.

Abstract

"Das Urteil des Bundesverfassungsgerichtes zur Höhe der Regelsätze in der Grundsicherung hat in Deutschland eine breite öffentliche Diskussion über Arbeitsanreize im Niedriglohnbereich ausgelöst. Der BDA und das IW haben in diesem Zusammenhang einen Vorschlag in die Diskussion eingebracht, der zum Ziel hat, die bisherige Förderung von Kleinstjobs zu überwinden. Die FDP hat diesen Vorschlag aufgegriffen und propagiert nun ihrerseits zwei mögliche Varianten. Wir untersuchen die potenziellen Beschäftigungseffekte dieser Vorschläge und ergänzen sie in einem zweiten Schritt jeweils um eine Arbeitszeitbedingung. Diese soll etwaige Mitnahmeeffekte verhindern, die durch die großzügigere Ausgestaltung der Hinzuverdienstregeln insbesondere für Zweitverdiener entstehen könnten. Unsere Simulationsergebnisse zeigen die bekannten Probleme von Kombilohnreformen: Ohne Arbeitszeitbedingung führen die vorgeschlagenen Änderungen der Hinzuverdienstregelung zwar tendenziell dazu, dass es für Aufstocker mäßig attraktiver wird, ihre Arbeitszeit auszuweiten, so dass insgesamt mehr gearbeitet wird als im Status Quo. Doch je attraktiver die Anrechnungsregeln ausgestaltet werden, desto stärker wird der Staatshaushalt belastet. Zum einen wächst die Bedeutung von Mitnahmeeffekten, zum anderen schränken bei großzügigeren Hinzuverdienstmöglichkeiten tendenziell vor allem Zweitverdiener ihre Arbeitszeit ein, um von den Anrechnungsregeln zu profitieren. Die Transferabhängigkeit wird nicht überwunden, sondern sogar noch verstärkt. Mit einer Stundenrestriktion ließen sich solche Effekte einschränken, so dass wesentlich günstigere Arbeitsmarktwirkungen und damit zusätzlich deutlich geringere fiskalische Kosten erzielbar wären. Die praktische Umsetzung dürfte dennoch schwierig sein, da Arbeitszeitbedingungen in der Praxis leicht unterlaufen werden können." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Steiner, Viktor & Florian Wakolbinger (2010): Wage subsidies, work incentives, and the reform of the Austrian welfare system. (IZA discussion paper 5191), Bonn, 26 S.

Abstract

"We analyze the labor supply and income effects of a needs-based minimum benefit system ('Bedarfsorientierte Mindestsicherung') to be introduced in Austria by the end of this/beginning of next year. The aim of this reform is to reduce poverty as well as increasing employment rates of recipients of social assistance. On the basis of a behavioral microsimulation model we show that this new system will slightly increase incomes for the poorest households and slightly reduce labor supply due to the generous allowances for marginal employment under the current and the planned regulations of unemployment assistance. As an alternative, we analyze a reform proposal which reduces financial incentives for marginal employment not covered by social security, and rewards working longer hours by a wage subsidy. Although this alternative reform would yield modest positive labor supply effects, a relatively large number of households would suffer income losses." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))