Reform der Arbeitsmarktpolitik: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen?

Abstract

: The German labour market is in dire need of regulatory changes. The Hartz Commission was assigned the task to provide measures for the reform of German labour market policy. This paper, analyses whether the suggestions of the commission promise a substantial improvement of labour market policy with the intended effect of a large decrease in unemployment. To check this, results from theoretical and empirical labour market research are used to create a benchmark. The suggestions of the commission are checked against this benchmark. The result is, however, that the suggested policies of the commission are not well suited to provide a substantial reduction of unemployment. In the final part of the paper, the reason for political failure in this area is analysed as well as the role of commissions.