Zitatform

Grabbe, Christina (2023): Free movement and access to social security in the EU: The challenge of exporting unemployment benefits. In: European Journal of Social Security, Jg. 25, H. 1, S. 20-40. DOI:10.1177/13882627231161926

Abstract

"The freedom of movement of EU workers and access to national welfare state systems has become a controversial topic among policymakers in recent years. To understand this, the article analyses the positions of Western European states towards the proposal of the European Commission to reform the European social security coordination. The structural problems of this reform and the current Regulation (EC) 883/2004 can be seen in the discussion on the export of unemployment benefits. Although Western European states have similar insurance-based and comprehensive unemployment systems, they have conflicting views on this issue. The article presents a comparative case study of Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany. Data was generated via expert interviews and policy documents and analysed through institutionalist approaches. By tracing the debates on the export of unemployment benefits, the article makes a more general argument about the debate on the free movement of workers and social security in the EU. It explains that policymakers’ main concern is not only the financial burden on their welfare systems, but also that the current Regulation (EC) 883/2004 and the reform proposal are incompatible with national monitoring and enforcement systems, which are designed to work best when the worker is in the Member State of last employment. This incompatibility of the coordination rules with national rules creates opposition among policymakers to the access of EU workers to national welfare systems." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Intersentia, Ltd.) ((en))

Zitatform

Ignaszak, Marek, Philip Jung & Keith Kuester (2023): Federal Unemployment Reinsurance amid Local Labor-Market Policy. (CRC TR 224 discussion paper series 419), Bonn, 87 S.

Abstract

"Consider a union of atomistic member states. Idiosyncratic business-cycle shocks cause persistent differences in unemployment. Private cross-border risk-sharing is limited. A federal unemployment-based reinsurance scheme can provide transfers to member states in recession, which helps stabilize local unemployment. Limits to federal generosity arise because member states control local labor-market policies. Calibrating the economy to a stylized European Monetary Union, we find that moral hazard puts notable constraints on the effectiveness of federal reinsurance. This is so even if payouts are indexed to member states usual unemployment rate or if the federal level pays only in severe-enough recessions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Voivozeanu, Alexandra & Jean-Michel Lafleur (2023): Welfare brokers and European Union migrants' access to social protection. In: The British journal of sociology, Jg. 74, H. 4, S. 717-732. DOI:10.1111/1468-4446.13021

Abstract

"In spite of the existence of an extensive national and supranational legal framework, European Union (EU) citizens who exercise their right to freedom of movement to work in another Member State face numerous hurdles in accessing social protection. While recent scholarship on street-level bureaucracy and on migration and welfare has shed light on the role of discretion and stereotypes in access to rights, little is known about the processes through which such hurdles are overcome. In this article, we focus on a specific strategy which is the recourse to what we call “welfare brokers”. These actors offer assistance to EU migrants to overcome specific cross-border administrative challenges in the area of social protection that derive from their use of the right to freedom of movement. Relying on qualitative data collected with brokers and Romanian migrants working in Germany, the article also demonstrates that welfare brokers attempt to transform the norms, bureaucratic practices and representations that condition access to these entitlements. The article concludes by underlining how the existence of a brokerage industry is a sign of existing inequalities in the exercise of freedom of movement within the EU." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

Zitatform

Ábrahám, Árpád, João Brogueira de Sousa, Ramon Marimon & Lukas Mayr (2023): On the design of a European Unemployment Insurance System. In: European Economic Review, Jg. 156. DOI:10.1016/j.euroecorev.2023.104469

Abstract

"We study the welfare effects of both existing and counter-factual European unemployment insurance (UI) policies using a rich multi-country dynamic general equilibrium model with labour market frictions. The model successfully replicates several salient features of European labour markets, in particular the cross-country differences in the flows between employment, unemployment and inactivity, as a result of labour market and UI policy differences across euro area countries. We find that mechanisms like the recently introduced instrument for temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency (SURE), which allows national governments to borrow at low interest rates to cover expenditures on unemployment risk, yield sizeable welfare gains. Furthermore, we find that, in spite of the calibrated heterogeneity across euro area countries, there is a common direction in which they can improve their UI policies; in particular, a harmonized benefit system that features a one-time payment of around three quarters of income upon separation is welfare improving in all euro area countries relative to the status quo." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2023 Elsevier) ((en))

Zitatform

D'Ambrosio, Anna & Vincenzo Scrutinio (2022): A few Euro more: benefit generosity and the optimal path of unemployment benefits. (CEP discussion paper 1835), London, 56 S.

Abstract

"In this paper, we exploit the provision of higher UB at different points of the unemployment spell to shed light on the relative cost of insurance at different horizons after the job loss. First, we exploit a double cap system in an RDD setting to study the effect of higher benefit levels in the early part of unemployment spell on time on benefits and non-employment. We find that higher benefits increase the time spent on benefits and in non-employment, with no impact on new job quality. Second, we exploit an age-based discontinuity in benefit duration, which determines higher benefits later in the spell, to compare the behavioural and mechanical costs of these two variations in benefits. We find that the moral hazard costs are greater for higher benefit levels early in the spell. In addition, we provide evidence of a slight negative selection in long term unemployment and argue that the long-term unemployed face higher uncertainty in their employment prospects. These findings suggest that higher benefits later in the unemployment spell generate lower costs and would provide higher insurance. Our results question the optimality of strongly declining schedules for unemployment benefit levels." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Fenge, Robert & Max Friese (2022): Should unemployment insurance be centralized in a state union? Unearthing a principle of efficient federation building. In: The Swedish Journal of Economics, Jg. 124, H. 2, S. 363-395. DOI:10.1111/sjoe.12466

Abstract

"Our study compares the efficiency of unemployment insurance programs in a state union. A centralized insurance will pool the cost of unemployment; this results in a collective bargaining in the member states, which leads to excessively high wages and inefficient insurance. Those high wages attract workers who reduce the outsourced economic cost of unemployment. Only with perfect mobility, this opposing migration effect completely outweighs the pooling effect, and the insurance is no longer inefficient when centralized. Furthermore, we conclude that a principle of efficient federal systems might be that fiscally linked economic policies and institutions should be governed on the same federative level." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

Zitatform

Lefebvre, Mathieu & Agathe Simon (2022): The impact of a European unemployment benefit scheme on labor supply and income distribution. (French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2022 14), Marseille, 58 S.

Abstract

"This presentation investigates the effect of the introduction of a European unemployment insurance scheme (EMU-UI) on the labor supply and the income distribution in the Eurozone countries. Based on a structural estimation of the labor supply and using the European tax-benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD, I simulate various scenarios of reform. The results show that the labor supply response to the introduction of an EMU-UI differs substantially across countries and depends on the design of the EMU-UI. I find that a flat EMU-UI scheme implies very strong disincentive to work but reduces poverty. On the contrary, a fully contribution-related EMU-UI system limits much more the distortions on the labor market in most countries but has limited effects on poverty and inequality. An EMU-UI with a common replacement rate, articulated with floor and ceiling amounts, would allow for upward convergence because it would strongly reduce poverty and inequality in several countries while not inducing important labor supply reduction." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Ábrahám, Árpád, João Brogueira de Sousa, Ramon Marimon & Lukas Mayr (2022): On the design of a european unemployment insurance system. (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Department of Economics and Business. Working paper 1826), Barcelona: Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 52 S.

Abstract

"We study the welfare effects of both existing and counter-factual European unemployment insurance policies using a rich multi-country dynamic general equilibrium model with labour market frictions. The model successfully replicates several salient features of European labor markets, in particular the cross-country differences in the flows between employment, unemployment and inactivity. We find that mechanisms like the recently introduced European instrument for temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency (SURE), which allows national governments to borrow at low interest rates to cover expenditures on unemployment benefits, yield sizable welfare gains, contradicting the conventional classical view that costs of business cycles are small. Furthermore, we find that a harmonized benefit system that features a one-time payment of around three quarters of income upon separation is welfare improving in all Eurozone countries relative to the status quo." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Aspachs, Oriol, Ruben Durante, Alberto Graziano, Josep Mestres, Marta Reynal-Querol & Jose G. Montalvo (2021): Tracking the impact of COVID-19 on economic inequality at high frequency. In: PLoS ONE, Jg. 16, H. 3. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0249121

Abstract

"Pandemics have historically had a significant impact on economic inequality. However, official inequality statistics are only available at low frequency and with considerable delay, which challenges policymakers in their objective to mitigate inequality and fine-tune public policies. We show that using data from bank records it is possible to measure economic inequality at high frequency. The approach proposed in this paper allows measuring, timely and accurately, the impact on inequality of fast-unfolding crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic. Applying this approach to data from a representative sample of over three million residents of Spain we find that, absent government intervention, inequality would have increased by almost 30% in just one month. The granularity of the data allows analyzing with great detail the sources of the increases in inequality. In the Spanish case we find that it is primarily driven by job losses and wage cuts experienced by low-wage earners. Government support, in particular extended unemployment insurance and benefits for furloughed workers, were generally effective at mitigating the increase in inequality, though less so among young people and foreign-born workers. Therefore, our approach provides knowledge on the evolution of inequality at high frequency, the effectiveness of public policies in mitigating the increase of inequality and the subgroups of the population most affected by the changes in inequality. This information is fundamental to fine-tune public policies on the wake of a fast-moving pandemic like the COVID-19." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Enders, Zeno & David Vespermann (2021): Cross-country unemployment insurance, transfers, and trade-offs in international risk sharing. (Beiträge zur Jahrestagung des Vereins für Socialpolitik 2021: Climate Economics), Kiel, 53 S.

Abstract

"We assess to which degree an international transfer mechanism can enhance consumption risk sharing as well as allocative efficiency and apply our results to a potential European unemployment benefit scheme (EUBS). Specifically, we first develop a simple model with nominal rigidities to build intuition by deriving analytical results. We then use a rich DSGE model, calibrated to the Core and the Periphery of the euro area, to quantitatively analyze the changing dynamics that a EUBS brings about. We find that a EUBS can provide risk sharing by stabilizing relative consumption as well as unemployment. Following supply shocks, however, the cross-country transfer embodied in the unemployment benefits is spent to a large degree on relatively inefficiently produced goods in the receiving countries. This renders the allocation even more inefficient by opening country-specific labor wedges further, also after government-spending shocks. Yet, since this trade-off between allocative efficiency and consumption risk sharing does not exist after certain demand shocks, the welfare effects of a EUBS depend on the cause for international unemployment differentials. A EUBS that is only active after specific shocks would therefore maximize overall welfare. Even without this feature, a EUBS would raise welfare in the Core, leaving the Periphery’s welfare almost unchanged." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Mailand, Mikkel (2021): Commission entrepreneurship and EU employment policy – The fate of a former darling. In: European journal of industrial relations, Jg. 27, H. 3, S. 249-267. DOI:10.1177/0959680120963531

Abstract

"An ongoing disagreement between researchers of EU decision-making processes is about who primarily drives the development – the Commission or the member states. The present article addresses this issue within the context of EU employment policy, a cornerstone in Social Europe. Research has often pointed to a gradually weakening and subordination of these policies to economic policies. However, recent in-depth studies have found a progressive ‘socialization’ taking place in the European Semester. In this article, it is argued that Commission entrepreneurship has been relatively successful and that the Commission stands out as the most important actor in a partial comeback of EU employment policy, which has taken place since the 2010s." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Nelson, Kenneth & Rense Nieuwenhuis (2021): Towards a new consolidated framework for analysing benefit coverage. In: Journal of European Social Policy, Jg. 31, H. 3, S. 352-362. DOI:10.1177/0958928721996653

Abstract

"The conceptualisation and measurement of benefit coverage is muddled with considerable confusion. In this forum contribution, we propose a new consolidated framework for the analysis of benefit coverage. Three sequential steps in measurement are suggested, involving the calculation of coverage rates, eligibility rates and take-up rates in social protection. Each step of the analysis focuses on particular aspects of programme legislation and implementation, and together the new framework will substantially improve the possibilities of research to inform policymaking. We provide an empirical illustration of our approach based on Swedish data, and highlight how our new consolidated framework for analysing benefit coverage provides a reorientation of the research agenda on benefit coverage." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Jara, H. Xavier, Katrin Gasior & Mattia Makovec (2020): Work Incentives at the Extensive and Intensive Margin in Europe: The Role of Taxes, Benefits and Population Characteristics. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 152, H. 2, S. 705-778. DOI:10.1007/s11205-020-02462-0

Abstract

"Tax and benefit systems play an important role in determining work incentives at both the extensive and the intensive margin of labour supply. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive comparative analysis of work incentives in Europe. Our analysis makes use of microsimulation techniques and representative household surveys from all 27 EU countries and the UK to compare the distribution of short- and long-term participation tax rates and marginal effective tax rates across population subgroups. We focus on people currently in work and characterise the population facing low work incentives in each country. Our results highlight the large variation in the distribution of work incentives across European countries, explained not only by differences in the design of tax-benefit systems, but also by the characteristics of the labour force across countries. Unemployment insurance benefits contribute substantially to short-term participation tax rates and explain on average a 20 percentage point difference between work incentives of short- versus long-term unemployment. Our analysis further highlights the need to use microdata to study differences across countries in terms of the population subgroups facing low incentives to work with the aim to inform the policy debate on potential reforms to make work pay." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

Zitatform

Jara, H. Xavier & Agathe Simon (2020): The Income Protection Role of an EMU-wide Unemployment Insurance System: the Case of Atypical Workers. (EUROMOD working paper 2021,06), Cambridge, 48 S.

Abstract

"This paper evaluates the potential of a common unemployment insurance system for the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU-UI) to improve income protection of atypical workers, namely those in part-time and temporary contracts. We use EUROMOD, the European tax-benefit microsimulation model, to simulate entitlements to national and EMU-UI and assess their effects on the household disposable income of atypical workers in the event of unemployment. Our results show that there are sizable gaps in the coverage of national UI schemes between countries, with atypical workers having particularly low coverage rates. The introduction of an EMU-UI would reduce coverage gaps and increase net replacement rates, especially for atypical workers, and would protect a large share of the workforce against the risk of poverty. Extending eligibility for the EMU-UI to the self-employed would further improve income protection, reducing their risk of falling into poverty in the event of unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Kaufmann, Christoph, Maria Grazia Attinasi & Sebastian Hauptmeier (2020): Macroeconomic stabilisation properties of a euro area unemployment insurance scheme. (European Central Bank. Working paper series 2428), Frankfurt am Main, 45 S. DOI:10.2866/657604

Abstract

"In this paper we use a medium-scale DSGE model to quantitatively assess the macroeconomic stabilisation properties of a supranational unemployment insurance scheme. The model is calibrated to the euro area's core and periphery and features a rich fiscal sector, sovereign risk premia and labour market frictions. Adopting both simple policy rules and optimal policies, our simulations point to enhanced business cycle synchronisation and interregional consumption smoothing. Depending on the exact specification, the results suggest a reduction in the volatility of consumption by up to 49% at the region-level, while the cross-regional correlation of unemployment and inflation increases by up to 52% and 27%, respectively, compared to the decentralised setting. The higher degree of inter-regional risk-sharing comes at the cost of sizable fiscal transfers. Limiting such transfers via claw-back mechanisms implies a much weaker degree of stabilisation across countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Kleif, Helle Bendix & Jacob Nielsen Arendt (2020): Incentive effects of cash benefit among low-skilled young adults: Applying a regression discontinuity design. In: PLoS ONE, Jg. 15, H. 11. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0241279

Abstract

"In 2014, the Danish Government implemented an active labour market reform directed at unemployed young adults under 30 years of age with low educational qualifications. The reform replaced the (unemployment) cash benefits with a lower education benefit for many of the unemployed aged under 30 and obliged the low-skilled in this group to enrol in a regular general or vocational (VET) education program. This paper exploits the sharp discontinuity that occurs at age 30 to estimate the joint effect of higher benefits and the cessation of educational obligations on the share receiving cash benefits and the share enrolled in education. We estimate the effects by applying a regression discontinuity design. We report results for the group of low educated young adults and for subgroups facing different economic incentives. The results establish that reaching age 30 creates an incentive to apply for cash benefits, and we find strong evidence that a significant increase in the share of cash benefit recipients relates to a corresponding reduction in the share of young adults enrolled in education. When including subgroups the size of the effect increases, and the results demonstrate that the effects are strongest among previous education benefit recipients. This indicates that the results are mainly driven mainly by individuals reverting to cash benefits." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Neumann, Henriette & Livia Hentschel (2020): Für ein stabiles und soziales Europa. Einführung einer europäischen Arbeitslosenrückversicherung. Mindeststandards bei nationalen Arbeitslosenversicherungssystemen notwendig. In: Soziale Sicherheit, Jg. 69, H. 1, S. 36-42.

Abstract

"Am 1. Dezember 2019 hat die neue EU-Kommission ihre Arbeit aufgenommen. Als neue Kommissionspräsidentin hat Ursula von der Leyen den europäischen Bürgerinnen und Bürgern versprochen, eine europäische Arbeitslosenrückversicherung vorzulegen. Was ist damit gemeint? Was soll diese Rückversicherung bewirken? Und an welche Bedingungen müssen die nationalen Arbeitslosenversicherungssysteme geknüpft werden, damit eine europäische Arbeitslosenrückversicherung erfolgreich sein kann? Diesen Fragen wird im Folgenden nachgegangen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

O'Leary, Christopher J., Burt S. Barnow & Karolien Lenaerts (2020): Lessons from the American federal-state unemployment insurance system for a European unemployment benefits system. In: International social security review, Jg. 73, H. 1, S. 3-34. DOI:10.1111/issr.12226

Abstract

"Dieser Artikel untersucht die Praxis im nationalen Arbeitslosenversicherungssystem der Vereinigten Staaten bezüglich Anspruchsberechtigung der Antragsteller, Leistungsgroßzügigkeit, Leistungsfinanzierung und Notfallmaßnahmen, um Lehren für eine mögliche Europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung für die Mitgliedsstaaten der Europäischen Union zu ziehen. Dabei wird die Arbeitslosenversicherung im amerikanischen System analysiert und es werden Bereiche benannt, in denen der Staat bestimmend ist. Das System der Vereinigten Staaten liefert zwar einige gute Ideen für die Einrichtung einer Europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung, aber es zeigen sich auch Mängel in der amerikanischen Umsetzung. Wir liefern eine Übersicht über die bestehenden nationalen Arbeitslosenunterstützungssysteme in der EU und über die Debatte über eine Europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung. Dabei werden Bereiche individueller und institutioneller Risiken in einem mehrsäuligen Arbeitslosenversicherungssystem analysiert, und es werden Beispiele für Kontrollmechanismen und Anreize zur Eindämmung dieser Risiken gegeben. Wir schlagen einen Ansatz vor, bei dem das System schrittweise entwickelt wird, und befürworten eine Ausrichtung auf die unteren Säulen, die Finanzierung der Leistungen und Maßnahmen gegen regionale und systemweite Arbeitsmarktkrisen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons)

Zitatform

Schmid, Günther (2020): Beyond European unemployment insurance. Less moral hazard, more moral assurance? In: Transfer, Jg. 26, H. 4, S. 465-480. DOI:10.1177/1024258920952666

Abstract

"Nach einer langen Debatte über eine europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung tauchte eine europäische Arbeitslosenrückversicherung als Kompromiss auf. Konkrete Schritte in diese Richtung wurden jedoch erst unter dem pandemischen Schock von COVID-19 als Katalysator unternommen. Zweifel, ob “moral hazard” unter Kontrolle gehalten werden kann, sind ein Grund für dieses Zögern, die enorme Diversität von Deckungsgrad und Niveau des Sozialschutzes in EU-Mitgliedstaaten ein anderer. Dieser Essay hebt einen dritten Grund für das lange Patt hervor: die Vernachlässigung von “moral assurance” als Gegengewicht von “moral hazard”. Er argumentiert, dass das Konzept der Arbeitslosenversicherung selbst einer fundamentalen Revision bedarf. Moderne Arbeitsmarktpolitik sollte nicht nur Einkommensrisiken bei Arbeitslosigkeit decken, sondern auch andere ernsthafte Einkommensrisiken bei kritischen Übergängen im Lebensverlauf. Er schlägt vor, den Europäischen Sozialfonds zu einem Europäischen Beschäftigungs- und Sozialfonds mit Elementen einer Arbeitslebensversicherung und einer Rückversicherung für Schock-Absorption zu erweitern." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Tálos, Emmerich (2020): Ein Jahrhundert Arbeitslosenversicherung (1920-2020). In: WISO, Jg. 43, H. 2, S. 35-52.

Abstract

"Nach der Konstituierung der österreichischen Sozialpolitik in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jhdts. erfolgten wichtige Ausbauschritte am Beginn der Ersten Republik, insbesondere in den Jahrzehnten nach 1945. Dies wird im Beitrag an einem der zentralen Bereiche des Sozialstaates näher aufgezeigt: der Arbeitslosenversicherung, die vor hundert Jahren eingeführt wurde. Die aktuelle Corona-Krise unterstreicht nicht nur deren Wichtigkeit, sondern auch Reformbedürftigkeit." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku, © ISW-Linz)

Zitatform

Blum, Johannes, Anna Dudel, Björn Kauder, Manuela Krause & Niklas Potrafke (2019): Reformvorschläge zur Eurozone. Eine gemeinsame europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung als Lösung? In: Ifo-Schnelldienst, Jg. 72, H. 2, S. 55-61.

Abstract

"In der Dezember-Umfrage des Ökonomenpanels von ifo und FAZ wurden Professoren für Volkswirtschaftslehre an deutschen Universitäten nach ihrer Meinung bezüglich verschiedener Reformvorschläge für die Eurozone sowie insbesondere zur Schaffung einer gemeinsamen europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung befragt. Die Mehrheit der Befragungsteilnehmer ist mit den Reformen nicht zufrieden." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Buxhoeveden, Mathias von (2019): Unemployment insurance and wage formation. (Working papers / Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy 2019,13), Uppsala, 44 S.

Abstract

"Wage setting models typically posit a tight relationship between the generosity of unemployment insurance (UI) and equilibrium wages. This paper estimates the effect of UI on workers' wages. I build on a unique feature of the unemployment policy in Sweden, where workers can opt to buy supplement UI coverage above a minimum mandated level. In January 2007, the government sharply increased the price of UI, and the share of workers with supplement coverage fell from 90% to 80%. I exploit variation in the price of UI across industries to measure the effect of industry level UI-coverage on wages. My estimates suggest that a 10 percentage point reduction in the share of workers covered by supplement UI reduce wages by 5%. Since I rely on variation in UI-coverage at the industry level, these estimates contain wage adjustments from collective and individual level bargaining. Finally, I use the estimated UI-wage effect to derive bounds on worker bargaining power in a simple DMP model and find that it can be at most 0.12. This evidence support wage setting mechanisms that tie wages to the generosity of UI." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Carriero, Renzo & Marianna Filandri (2019): Support for conditional unemployment benefit in European countries. The role of income inequality. In: Journal of European social policy, Jg. 29, H. 4, S. 498-514. DOI:10.1177/0958928718815624

Abstract

"This article investigates attitudes towards the conditionality of benefits targeted to a specific needy group, the unemployed, and analyses their relationship with the structure of income inequality. The focus is on the deservingness of welfare recipients. The public seems to use five criteria to define deservingness and, consequently, the conditionality to which public support is subjected: need, attitude (i.e. gratefulness), control (over neediness), reciprocity (of giving and receiving) and identity, that is the similarity or proximity between the providers of public support (the taxpayers) and the people who should receive it. People's willingness to help depends on how close they consider benefit recipients to be to themselves (i.e. the extent to which they belong to the same in-group). The identity criterion is the main object of our investigation. We argue that the operation of this criterion at the micro-level can be affected by macro-level variables. Specifically, we focus on different measures of the structure of income inequality which are indicators of the social distance between welfare recipients and taxpayers. Based on data from three waves of the European Values Study (1990-2008) collected in 30 countries, the study offers a comparative and longitudinal analysis. The picture emerging from the within-country analysis - which removed much of the between-country heterogeneity - shows that when the social distance grows, it is more difficult for the majority of citizens (upper and middle classes) to identify with the unemployed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Morel, Nathalie, Chloé Touzet & Michaël Zemmour (2019): From the hidden welfare state to the hidden part of welfare state reform. Analyzing the uses and effects of fiscal welfare in France. In: Social policy and administration, Jg. 53, H. 1, S. 34-48. DOI:10.1111/spol.12416

Abstract

"This article argues that fiscal welfare in Europe not only forms part of the 'hidden welfare state' (Howard, 1997), but also constitutes an important yet understudied -- and therefore hidden -- element of welfare state reform. Using the example of France, and relying both on available data and on an exhaustive database of social tax expenditures (STEs) compiled for 2014, the article begins by providing an overview of the structure of STEs in France (section 2). It then analyzes the specific uses and effects of STEs in the fields of employment, health care, and pensions. In particular, it shows, first of all, how STEs have constituted a privileged instrument for circumventing certain institutional features such as high levels of minimum wage and of social security contributions in the field of employment (section 3). Second, it also shows that STEs have been used to quietly divert resources away from the earmarked social security funds and into collective private insurance funds, thus fueling their development, in the case of health care and pensions (section 4). Lastly, the article engages with the notion of the 'social division of welfare' (Titmuss, 1958) by considering some of the distributional effects of fiscal welfare in France (section 5), before concluding (section 6)." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

Zitatform

Moyen, Stéphane, Nikolai Stähler & Fabian Winkler (2019): Optimal unemployment insurance and international risk sharing. In: European Economic Review, Jg. 115, H. June, S. 144-171. DOI:10.1016/j.euroecorev.2019.03.004

Abstract

"We discuss how cross-country unemployment insurance can be used to improve international risk sharing. We use a two-country business cycle model with incomplete financial markets and frictional labor markets where the unemployment insurance scheme operates across both countries. Cross-country insurance through the unemployment insurance system can be achieved without affecting unemployment outcomes. The Ramsey-optimal policy however prescribes a more countercyclical replacement rate when international risk sharing concerns enter the unemployment insurance trade-off. We calibrate our model to Eurozone data and find that optimal stabilizing transfers through the unemployment insurance system are sizable and mainly stabilize consumption in the periphery countries, while optimal replacement rates are countercyclical overall. Moreover, we find that debt-financed national policies are a poor substitute for fiscal transfers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Tapper, Alan (2019): The performance of the Australian welfare system in a time of neoliberal economic reform. In: Social policy and administration, Jg. 53, H. 5, S. 641-660. DOI:10.1111/spol.12417

Abstract

"'Neoliberalism', both as a body of theory and as a set of policies and practices, is commonly seen as unsympathetic, even antagonistic, to the welfare state. In the period from the mid-1980s to the global financial crisis of 2007 - 08, Australia underwent very considerable 'neoliberal' economic policy reform. What happened to the Australian welfare system and to Australia's socioeconomic egalitarianism in this period? To shed light on that question three kinds of trend are tracked. The first is household taxes and social expenditure in both cash and kind, using fiscal incidence analysis where the main metric is 'net benefits'. The second is economic inequality, as measured by the distribution of incomes and wealth. The third is the performance of the labor market, as measured by earned incomes and unemployment rates. The article concludes with an attempt to integrate the evidence collected from these three sources. The general conclusion is that the Australian welfare system did not follow the pessimists' predictions. The welfare system grew in size and redistributive quantum. Wage levels rose strongly, while unemployment rates fell. Overall, income inequality increased to a small extent, though mainly before the full economic reform process was in place, while wealth inequality changed little." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

Zitatform

Adler, Michael (2018): Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment? Benefit sanctions in the UK. (Palgrave socio-legal studies), Cham: Springer Palgrave Macmillan, 171 S. DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-90356-9

Abstract

"The book subjects the largely hidden phenomenon of benefit sanctions in the UK to sustained examination and critique. It comprises twelve chapters dealing with the terms 'cruel', 'inhuman' and 'degrading' that are used as a benchmark for assessing benefit sanctions; benefit sanctions as a matter of public concern; the historical development of benefit sanctions in the UK; changes in the scope and severity of benefit sanctions; conditionality and the changing relationship between the citizen and the state; the impact and effectiveness of benefit sanctions; benefit sanctions and administrative justice; the role of law in protecting the right to a social minimum; a comparison of benefit sanctions with court fines; benefit sanctions and the rule of law; and what, if anything, can be done about benefit sanctions. Each chapter ends with a paragraph that attempts to highlight the most salient points in that chapter, and the book ends with a short conclusion in which benefit sanctions are assessed against the chosen benchmark." (Publisher information, © Springer) ((en))

Zitatform

Andersson, Josefine (2018): Lump-sum severance grants and the duration of unemployment. (Working papers / Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy 2018,23), Uppsala, 47 S.

Abstract

"The well-known positive relationship between the unemployment benefit level and unemployment duration can be separated into two potential sources; a moral hazard effect, and a liquidity effect pertaining to the increased ability to smooth consumption. The latter is a socially optimal response due to credit and insurance market failures. These two effects are difficult to separate empirically, but the social optimality of an unemployment insurance policy can be evaluated by studying the effect of a non-distortionary lump-sum severance grant on unemployment durations. In this study, I evaluate the effects on unemployment duration and subsequent job quality of a lump-sum severance grant provided to displaced workers, by means of a Swedish collective agreement. I use a regression discontinuity design, based on the strict age requirement to be eligible for the grant. I find that the lump-sum grant has a positive effect on the probability of becoming unemployed and the length of the completed unemployment duration, but no effect on subsequent job quality. My analysis also indicates that spousal income is important for the consumption smoothing abilities of displaced workers, and that the grant may have a greater effect in times of more favorable labor market conditions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Bertola, Giuseppe (2018): Inequality and market integration. Direct effects and policy implications in EMU. In: CESifo forum, Jg. 19, H. 2, S. 3-8.

Abstract

"This article focuses on the implications of international economic integration for inequality among each nation's citizens; and for national policies that influence inequality in politico-economic equilibrium. Empirically, the closer economic integration implied by EMU was associated, on average, with higher intra-country inequality. Around that trend, member countries' inequality indicators display wide swings that are correlated with country-specific average income changes, and are largely symmetric before and after the crisis. Simple theoretical mechanisms can explain these phenomena as a straightforward implication of EMU's institutional configuration. While unsurprising in hindsight, higher inequality is problematic, and not what European citizens expected from EMU. Market integration and policy competition may well improve efficiency and help to achieve economic growth objectives, but their inequality implications make it more difficult to achieve political stability and social cohesion at the member country level. This article reviews the message conveyed by the data, refers to broader evidence, while outlining theoretical explanations of the facts, and concludes by discussing their institutional and political relevance." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Claveres, Guillaume & Jan Stráský (2018): Euro Area unemployment insurance at the time of zero nominal interest rates. (OECD Economics Department working papers 1498), Paris, 28 S. DOI:10.1787/99b92f5b-en

Abstract

"The discussion about a fiscal stabilisation capacity as a way of providing more fiscal integration in the euro area has strengthened in the aftermath of the European sovereign debt crisis. Among the instruments that can be used for temporary macroeconomic stabilisation in the presence of both asymmetric and area-wide shocks, a euro area unemployment insurance scheme has attracted increased attention. We build a two-region DSGE model with supply, demand and labour market frictions and introduce in it an area-wide unemployment insurance scheme that is entitled to borrow in financial markets. The model is calibrated to the euro area core and periphery data. For a country-specific negative demand shock hitting the periphery, we find the scheme to reduce the drop in Periphery output by about one fifth and the drop in union output by about a third. The scheme is effective when some households are cut from financial markets, and even more so when the national government also loses market access." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Cremers, Jan (2018): Towards a European Labour Authority. Mandate, main tasks and open questions. (Politik für Europa #2017plus), Brüssel, 15 S.

Abstract

"This study explores problems in the area of cross-border labour mobility and suggests that fair working conditions in the Single Market could be enhanced by the establishment of a European Labour Authority.
- The main problem is that the competence of national authorities to control and enforce national labour standards ends at the border. Thus, new forms of regulatory arbitrage, regime shopping and the evasion of existing labour standards cannot be effectively monitored and sanctioned.
- The author suggests that a European Labour Authority should legitimise and facilitate cross-border cooperation between national competent authorities. The main task should be to solve disputes in case of infringements and breaches related to labour mobility and/or cross-border recruitment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Dolls, Mathias (2018): An unemployment re-insurance scheme for the Eurozone? Stabilizing and redistributive effects. Gütersloh, 59 S.

Abstract

"Die Studie 'Stabilisierungs- und Verteilungseffekte einer Arbeitslosenrückversicherung für die Eurozone' hat für den Zeitraum von 2000 bis 2016 die Wirkung einer Rückversicherung für nationale Arbeitslosenversicherungen im Euroraum untersucht. Die Analyse wurde vom ifo Institut im Auftrag der Bertelsmann Stiftung erstellt. Die Studie verwendet Eurostat-Haushaltsmikrodaten der europaweit durchgeführten Arbeitskräfteerhebung und der Gemeinschaftsstatistik über Einkommen und Lebensbedingungen, um die Arbeitsmarktentwicklungen und daraus resultierende Einkommensschwankungen in den heutigen 19 Mitgliedsländern der Eurozone für den Zeitraum 2000-2016 präzise abzubilden. Im Rahmen einer Simulationsanalyse werden die Stabilisierungs- und Verteilungswirkungen einer Arbeitslosenrückversicherung unter der Annahme berechnet, dass diese zu Beginn des Jahres 2000 eingeführt worden wäre. Dabei wird in der empirischen Analyse unterstellt, dass zwei Bedingungen erfüllt sein müssen, bevor eine Hilfszahlung aus der Rückversicherung getätigt wird. Zum einen muss die Arbeitslosenquote in einem Mitgliedsland oberhalb des Durchschnitts der vergangenen Jahre liegen. Zum anderen muss innerhalb eines Jahres ein starker Anstieg der Arbeitslosenquote vorliegen. In der Studie werden Schwellenwerte für die benötigte Veränderungsrate der Arbeitslosenquote von ein und zwei Prozentpunkten betrachtet." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Ebbinghaus, Bernhard & Elias Naumann (Hrsg.) (2018): Welfare state reforms seen from below. Comparing public attitudes and organized interests in Britain and Germany. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 297 S. DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-63652-8

Abstract

"Studying the political economy of welfare state reform, this edited collection focuses on the role of public opinion and organized interests in respect to policy change. It highlights that welfare states are hard pressed to reform in order to cope with ongoing socio-economic and demographic challenges. While public opinion is commonly seen to oppose welfare cuts and organized interests such as trade unions have tended to defend acquired social rights, this book shows that there have been emergent tendencies in favour of reform.
Welfare State Reforms Seen from Below analyses a wide range of social policies affecting healthcare, pensions and the labour market to demonstrate how social groups and interest organizations differ and interact in their approaches to reform. Comparing Britain and Germany, with its two very different welfare states, it provides a European perspective on the changing approaches to welfare." (Publisher information, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Eppel, Rainer, Thomas Horvath & Helmut Mahringer (2018): Das Aussetzen von Beschäftigungsverhältnissen als betriebliche Strategie zum Ausgleich von Schwankungen des Personalbedarfs. Ein Update. In: Österreichisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung. Monatsberichte, Jg. 91, H. 11, S. 799-810.

Abstract

"Um kurzfristige, saison- und nicht saisonbedingte Schwankungen des Arbeitskräftebedarfs auszugleichen, beenden viele Betriebe in Zeiten geringerer Auslastung Beschäftigungsverhältnisse und stellen anschließend bei verbesserter Auftragslage dieselben Arbeitskräfte wieder ein ('temporärer Layoff'). Sie wälzen damit Personalkosten auf die Arbeitslosenversicherung ab, da viele betroffene Arbeitskräfte während der Beschäftigungsunterbrechung arbeitslos vorgemerkt sind und Leistungen aus der Arbeitslosenversicherung beziehen. Diese personalpolitische Flexibilisierungsstrategie wurde bisher kaum thematisiert, spielt jedoch in Österreich seit Jahrzehnten eine bedeutende Rolle. Im Jahr 2017 waren 13,7% aller Beschäftigungsaufnahmen Wiedereinstellungen von temporär Arbeitslosen bei demselben Arbeitgeber innerhalb einer Zeitspanne von einem Jahr. Die registrierte Arbeitslosigkeit während temporärer Layoffs trug mehr als ein Achtel zur registrierten Gesamtarbeitslosigkeit bei. Sie war damit für rund 1 Prozentpunkt der Arbeitslosenquote maßgebend. Die Aussetzung von Beschäftigungsverhältnissen ist mit Kosten für die Arbeitslosenversicherung in einer Größenordnung von rund 500 Mio. EURO pro Jahr verbunden." (Autorenreferat, © WIFO - Österreichisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung)

Zitatform

Farvaque, Etienne & Florence Huart (2018): Drowned by numbers? Stabilization properties of an EU-wide unemployment insurance system. In: Applied Economics, Jg. 50, H. 38, S. 4153-4181. DOI:10.1080/00036846.2018.1441517

Abstract

"The recent crisis has given rise to proposals for the creation of a European unemployment insurance system. We simulate an EU-wide mechanism under various scenarios, varying methods of financing (common or country-specific contribution rates) and triggers for pay-outs (all time or contingent clauses). We analyse the impact of the system using different measures of stabilization under different fiscal multipliers. A system operating during bad times (periods where the increase in unemployment is large) would reduce GDP growth variability but also growth correlation among member countries. Hence, there is a trade-off between stabilization and synchronization of national business cycles." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Fenge, Robert & Max Friese (2018): Should unemployment insurance be centralized in a state union? (CESifo working paper 6898), München, 25 S.

Abstract

"This paper compares the decentral organization of unemployment insurance in member states of a state union with the central organization at the upper union' level. In a model of two countries the labor force and the firm owners can migrate between the states. Labor markets exhibit unemployment due to trade union's bargaining about the wage rate. In a decentral scenario the states organize independently unemployment insurance and decide about the rate on wages contributed to the insurance budget. Due to open borders they have to take account of migration effects. However, with perfect mobility between the states each government chooses a socially optimal contribution rate such that workers are fully insured against unemployment. In the central scenario the governments overestimate the costs of insurance when bargaining about the contribution rate and observing the common insurance budget of both countries. This leads to a less than socially optimal contribution rate." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Jara, H. Xavier & Alberto Tumino (2018): Income protection of atypical workers in the event of unemployment in Europe. (EUROMOD working paper 2018,18), Cambridge, 32 S.

Abstract

"This paper evaluates the degree of income protection the tax-benefit system provides to atypical workers in the event of unemployment, comparing them to standard employees. Our approach relies on EUROMOD, the EU tax-benefit microsimulation model, to simulate transitions from employment to unemployment for the entire workforce and to compare household financial circumstances before and after the transition. Our results show that coverage rates of unemployment insurance are low among atypical workers. These workers are also significantly more exposed to the risk of poverty than standard employees, both while in work and in the event of unemployment. Our analysis also shows that low-work intensity employees are characterised by higher net replacement rates than other groups. However, this is due to the major role played by the market incomes of other household members. Finally, we show that in countries where selfemployed workers are not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits, extending the eligibility to this group of workers would increase their replacement rates significantly and make them less likely to fall into poverty in the event of unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Jäger, Simon, Benjamin Schoefer, Samuel Young & Josef Zweimüller (2018): Wages and the value of nonemployment. (CESifo working paper 7342), München, 113 S.

Abstract

"Nonemployment is often posited as a worker's outside option in wage setting models such as bargaining and wage posting. The value of this state is therefore a fundamental determinant of wages and, in turn, labor supply and job creation. We measure the effect of changes in the value of nonemployment on wages in existing jobs and among job switchers. Our quasi-experimental variation in nonemployment values arises from four large reforms of unemployment insurance (UI) benefit levels in Austria. We document that wages are insensitive to UI benefit levels: point estimates imply a wage response of less than $0.01 per $1.00 UI benefit increase, and we can reject sensitivities larger than 0.03. In contrast, a calibrated Nash bargaining model predicts a sensitivity of 0.39 - more than ten times larger. The empirical insensitivity holds even among workers with a priori low bargaining power, with low labor force attachment, with high predicted unemployment duration, among job switchers and recently unemployed workers, in areas of high unemployment, in firms with flexible pay policies, and when considering firmlevel bargaining. The insensitivity of wages to the nonemployment value we document presents a puzzle to widely used wage setting protocols, and implies that nonemployment may not constitute workers' relevant threat point. Our evidence supports wage-setting mechanisms that insulate wages from the value of nonemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Knotz, Carlo Michael (2018): A rising workfare state? Unemployment benefit conditionality in 21 OECD countries, 1980 - 2012. In: Journal of international and comparative social policy, Jg. 34, H. 2, S. 91-108. DOI:10.1080/21699763.2018.1472136

Abstract

"Over the last decades, governments in the advanced democracies have put greater pressure on the unemployed to seek and accept employment. This development has been pointed out in much prior research, yet relatively little is known about the exact changes that have been introduced. This paper fills this gap. It draws on a novel time-series cross-section dataset on the strictness of unemployment benefit conditions and sanctions in 21 democracies between 1980 and 2012, and shows in which aspects these rules have become stricter - and in which not. The paper confirms that there has been a general trend toward tighter conditions and sanctions, but adds some important qualifications: Many rules and provisions have also been adapted in response to the emergence of new social risks and there is also a noticeable trend toward more clearly defined and precise rules. Based on these findings, new causal hypotheses are suggested." (Author's abstract, © Taylor & Francis) ((en))

Zitatform

Lydon, Reamonn, Thomas Y. Mathä & Stephen Millard (2018): Short-time work in the Great Recession. Firm-level evidence from 20 EU countries. (European Central Bank. Working paper series 2212), Frankfurt am Main, 34 S. DOI:10.2866/00433

Abstract

"Using firm-level data from a large-scale European survey among 20 countries, we analyse the determinants of firms using short-time work (STW). We show that firms are more likely to use STW in case of negative demand shocks. We show that STW schemes are more likely to be used by firms with high degrees of firm-specific human capital, high firing costs, and operating in countries with stringent employment protection legislation and a high degree of downward nominal wage rigidity. STW use is higher in countries with formalised schemes and in countries where these schemes were extended in response to the recent crisis. On the wider economic impact of STW, we show that firms using the schemes are significantly less likely to lay off permanent workers in response to a negative shock, with no impact for temporary workers. Relating our STW take-up measure in the micro data to aggregate data on employment and output trends, we show that sectors with a high STW take-up exhibit significantly less cyclical variation in employment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Visser, Mark, Maurice Gesthuizen & Peer Scheepers (2018): The crowding in hypothesis revisited: new insights into the impact of social protection expenditure on informal social capital. In: European Societies, Jg. 20, H. 2, S. 257-280. DOI:10.1080/14616696.2018.1442928

Abstract

"This study revisits the crowding in hypothesis and contributes to the literature in two ways. First, in addition to total social spending, we examine whether different types of social spending increase social capital among their target groups. Second, we distinguish within- from between-country effects of social spending. Data from the European Social Survey are analysed with logistic multilevel regression models. We analyse two indicators of informal social capital: having social contact with friends, family or work colleagues and having anyone to discuss intimate and personal matters with. The results show that the more governments spend on social protection, the more likely people within those countries are to have social and intimate contact. The results also demonstrate that within-country effects of the types of social spending on having social contact disappear once we control for unobserved heterogeneity between countries. Yet, within countries with higher social spending on sickness/health care, old age and social exclusion, we find that these specific expenditures facilitate intimate contact among people in bad health, retirees and people who are having difficulties living on their present income, respectively. Overall, the crowding in hypothesis is supported. We conclude that it is important to examine the types of social spending and to distinguish within- and between-country effects." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Vonk, Gijsbert (2018): Sailing the seven seas: A schematic overview of mechanisms that can be used to strengthen the social security protection of persons moving in and out of the EU. In: European Journal of Social Security, Jg. 20, H. 2, S. 204-216. DOI:10.1177/1388262718771793

Abstract

"The purpose of this final contribution is to offer a broad schematic overview of 'mechanisms' that can be used to strengthen the social security protection of persons moving in and out of the EU. Seven mechanisms have been selected for discussion: national unilateral standards, EU unilateral standards, bilateral agreements, EU coordination of bilateral agreements, EU third country agreements, multilateral co-operation and global standards. The existence of this plethora of mechanisms, each with its own merits and shortcomings, casts a shadow over the possibility of a uniform EU regime for external social security relations. Any attempt to introduce such an approach can immediately be contradicted by alternative approaches and mechanisms which can be used both by the EU and by the individual Member States. It is suggested that more coherence in external EU social security coordination can perhaps be found in a conceptual way, by layering the seven mechanisms in a logical manner." (Author's abstract, © Intersentia, Ltd.) ((en))

Zitatform

Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (2018): Umsetzung des Koalitionsvertrages in der europäischen Sozialpolitik. Antwort der Bundesregierung auf die Kleine Anfrage der Abgeordneten und der Fraktion BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN (Drucksache 19/2834). (Verhandlungen des Deutschen Bundestages. Drucksachen 19/3290 (05.07.2018)), 7 S.

Abstract

Die Bundesregierung antwortet auf die Anfrage der Fraktion BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN zur Umsetzung der EU-2020-Strategie und der im Koalitionsvertrag formulierten Vorhaben zur Stärkung eines sozialen Europas. (IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (2018): Errichtung einer Europäischen Arbeitsbehörde. Antwort der Bundesregierung auf die Kleine Anfrage der Abgeordneten und der Fraktion der FDP (Drucksache 19/2786). (Verhandlungen des Deutschen Bundestages. Drucksachen 19/3192 (03.07.2018)), 14 S.

Abstract

Die Europäische Kommission hat am 13. März 2018 einen umfassenden Vorschlag zur Errichtung einer Europäischen Arbeitsbehörde vorgelegt. Diese soll unter anderem folgende Ziele verfolgen: Bereitstellung von Informationen für Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer, Verbesserung der Zusammenarbeit nationaler Behörden sowie Bekämpfung von Missbrauch der Arbeits- und Sozialgesetzgebung. Die Bundesregierung antwortet auf die Anfrage der FDP-Fraktion zur Einschätzung der Bundesregierung zur Initiative der Kommission und zum Stand der Arbeitskräftemobilität u.a. mit Tabellen zur Anzahl ausländischer Angestellter und Arbeiter (ohne Auszubildende) nach ausgewählter Staatsangehörigkeit in Deutschland (Ergebnisse des Mikrozensus 2007-2016). (IAB)

Zitatform

Bundesministerium der Finanzen (2018): Position der Bundesregierung zu bisherigen und neuen Vorschlägen einer Europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung. Antwort der Bundesregierung auf die Kleine Anfrage der Abgeordneten und der Fraktion DIE LINKE (Drucksache 19/5468). (Verhandlungen des Deutschen Bundestages. Drucksachen 19/5926 (21.11.2018)), 3 S.

Abstract

"Der Bundesminister der Finanzen Olaf Scholz hat Mitte Oktober 2018 den Vorschlag unterbreitet, eine europaweite Rückversicherung für nationale Arbeitslosenversicherungen zu schaffen. Bei dem Vorschlag handelt es sich um einen Teil einer deutsch-französischen Initiative für eine 'Roadmap' zur Stabilisierung der Eurozone. Mit einer Europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung soll ein Stabilisierungsmechanismus geschaffen werden, der asymmetrische konjunkturelle Entwicklungen in den Mitgliedsländern dämpft." (Textauszug, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Beblavý, Miroslav, Karolien Lenaerts & Ilaria Maselli (2017): Design of a European unemployment benefit scheme. (CEPS research report 2017,04), Brüssel, 140 S.

Abstract

"In this extensive report, we assess how a European unemployment benefit scheme (EUBS) could be designed. To this end, we examine 18 EUBS variants, 4 equivalent and 14 genuine schemes, and their key features. Some of these features can also be found in national unemployment benefit schemes, while others are more related to the EUBS context. We analyse the design of a common EUBS in previous literature and combine these insights with results for the legal and operational options as well as constraints and the economic value added obtained as part of our study on the 'Feasibility and Added Value of a European Unemployment Benefit Scheme'. All this information is integrated into a summary fiche for each of the 18 EUBS variants studied. In addition, the report deals with a range of policy issues including convergence, minimum requirements and accession criteria." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Beblavý, Miroslav & Karolien Lenaerts (2017): Feasibility and added value of a European unemployment benefits scheme. Brüssel, 104 S.

Abstract

"This CEPS e-Book presents the final report of a comprehensive project on the Feasibility and Added Value of a European Unemployment Benefits Scheme, initiated by the European Parliament and commissioned by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. The aim of the study is to assess the legal and operational feasibility of introducing a European unemployment benefits scheme (EUBS), as well as the economic added value that such as scheme could bring. Some 18 different variants of an EUBS are analysed in terms of their design, legal and operational challenges and economic effects. The study presents the most comprehensive work on the subject to date. For each of these 18 variants, the impact on the individual member states, EMU and the EU has been examined. The 18 variants vary across a range of features, such as the replacement rate and caps used, the duration of unemployment benefits and the eligibility conditions that apply. If an EUBS were to be selected as one of the potential stabilisation mechanisms to explore further, this study provides evidence and insights on the barriers ahead and different ways to deal with them.
Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed are attributable only to the authors in a personal capacity and not to any institution with which they are associated, nor do they necessarily reflect the views or policy of the European Commission. This report was republished as a CEPS e-Book with the kind permission of the European Commission." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Beblavý, Miroslav & Karolien Lenaerts (2017): Feasibility and added value of a European unemployment benefits scheme. Main findings from a comprehensive research project. Brüssel, 103 S. DOI:10.2767/86782

Abstract

"Synthesis of a research project requested by the European Parliament, commissioned by the European Commission and prepared by a consortium led by the Centre for European Policy Studies.
The research was conducted by a consortium led by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). This consortium examined the macroeconomic impact of 18 European Unemployment Benefit Scheme (EUBS) variants and discussed various ways of dealing with such problems as the risk of permanent transfers across Member States, and incentives for Member States to shift costs of unemployment from the national to the European level or to reduce their investment in labour market integration (institutional moral hazard). Legal and operational issues, at the European and national level are also examined." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Burgoon, Brian (2017): Practical pluralism in the empirical study of social investment. Examples from active labour-market policy. In: A. Hemerijck (Hrsg.) (2017): The uses of social investment, S. 161-173. DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198790488.003.0014

Abstract

"This chapter explores the empirical challenges of understanding the socioeconomic implications of social investment welfare reform. Such understanding is crucial to gauging the pay-offs and pitfalls of social investment, but is also extremely difficult, given the complex character of social investment and its multiple and interacting consequences for work and well-being. Such complexity, the chapter contends, yields an unusually strong tension between relevance and rigour that dooms any dialogue among social scientists and practitioners with clashing methodological commitments. The present study argues in favour of a practical pluralism to facilitate such dialogue. This pluralism entails combining and comparing empirical work across the full spectrum of relevance and rigour. The chapter illustrates the problems and pluralist solutions with a combination of macro-country-year and macro-individual-year analysis of how active labour-market policies (ALMP) affect the poverty of vulnerable citizens." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Lenaerts, Karolien, Félix Paquier & Suzanne Simonetta (2017): Unemployment insurance in America. A model for Europe? (CEPS policy insights 2017-23), Brüssel, 19 S.

Abstract

"After the crisis, the longstanding debate on a European unemployment benefits scheme (EUBS) was revived as part of a much larger debate on the need for a supranational automatic stabilisation function for Europe. The American unemployment insurance (UI) system, given its two-tier structure, has often been regarded as a model for a potential EUBS. Previous research has examined the lessons to be learned from the US UI. This paper builds on this literature but goes one step further as it carefully assesses whether the lessons from the US system could actually be implemented in a European context. Indeed, while there are important parallels between the US and the EU in some areas, significant differences in others may complicate implementation or even render it impossible. In this paper, the aim, therefore, is to identify the aspects of the US system to draw inspiration from - in light of the EU's institutional and political realities - and explain how they inform a potential EUBS. This exercise concentrates on the design and implementation of a potential EUBS. The paper highlights that a two-tier system helps to better attain the goals of unemployment insurance, as demonstrated by the American experience. It also shows the advantages of being pragmatic and taking an incentives-based approach. Other issues, such as solidarity and redistribution, seem more difficult to tackle in Europe than in the American context and would require further examination. Finally, discretionary measures should be considered with caution." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Mertens, Daniel (2017): The 'New Welfare State' under fiscal strain. Austerity gridlocks and the privatization of risk. In: A. Hemerijck (Hrsg.) (2017): The uses of social investment, S. 77-86. DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198790488.003.0006

Abstract

"This chapter raises concerns regarding the possibility of increasing social investment due to the persistence of austerity regimes in Europe and beyond. On the one hand, austerity policies have put severe constraints on the expansion of social investment, mainly because of the budgetary institutions and politics that have evolved around these spending areas. On the other hand, demand of and supply for credit in order to pursue private alternatives to traditional social policies have increased significantly in the face of persistent fiscal restraint. Against this background, the rise of microfinance in Western countries aiming at job creation, and the growth of student loan schemes fostering human capital investment, have been conducive to the realization of social investment goals, but at the same time have shifted risks to households - a move that is likely to have dramatic consequences on economic and social progress." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Seeleib-Kaiser, Martin (2017): The truncated German social investment turn. In: A. Hemerijck (Hrsg.) (2017): The uses of social investment, S. 227-234. DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198790488.003.0020

Abstract

"Traditionally Germany has been categorized as the archetypical conservative welfare state, a categorization not systematically questioned in much of the comparative welfare state regime literature. For many scholars Germany was largely stuck and unable to reform its coordinated market economy and welfare state arrangements at the turn of the twenty-first century, due to a large number of veto points and players and the dominance of two 'welfare state parties'. More recent research has highlighted a widening and deepening of the historically institutionalized social protection dualism, whilst at the same time significant family policy transformations, which can be considered as partially in line with the social investment paradigm, have been emphasized. This chapter sets out to sketch the main policy developments and aims to identify political determinants of social policy change in Germany." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Simonetta, Suzanne (2017): What the EU can learn from the American experience with unemployment insurance. In: Intereconomics, Jg. 52, H. 3, S. 142-148. DOI:10.1007/s10272-017-0663-x

Abstract

"From this brief description of the UI program in the US, its strengths and its opportunities for improvement, it should be evident that there is a wealth of knowledge and experience to be drawn upon as Europe considers its own version of a federal-state partnership to address the needs of its unemployed workers and the economic well-being of its member countries. A multi-layered governing system is, by its nature, incredibly complicated, and it is not an easy task to undertake. However, it should be clear that this is an endeavor worth pursuing and that programmatic features can be designed to adequately address the wide array of policy concerns while avoiding unintended negative consequences." (Text excerpt, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

Zitatform

Wood, Donna E. (2017): A European unemployment benefits scheme. Lessons from Canada. (CEPS working document 2017,02), Brüssel, 21 S.

Abstract

"In many federal political systems, responsibility for unemployment has a multi-tiered architecture, with competence for key elements - including unemployment insurance, social assistance, and the public employment service - dispersed across different orders of government. This paper tells the story of the long transformation of unemployment insurance into a federal responsibility in Canada, and seeks to identify lessons from Canada's experience that might be useful as Europeans consider the potential of an EU-wide unemployment benefits scheme in response to the financial and euro crisis that started in 2008. Most European scholars look to the United States for transferable ideas. I argue that Canada is a more salient comparator, given that it has similar institutional features to the EU, and has successfully managed a pan-Canadian unemployment insurance benefits scheme for over 75 years. Lessons for the EU from Canada include the place of a centrally managed unemployment insurance programme in a monetary union, and insights with respect to stabilisation, labour mobility, redistribution, social solidarity, legitimacy, and institutional moral hazard." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Alcidi, Cinzia, Mikkel Barslund, Matthias Busse & Francesco Nicoli (2016): Will a European unemployment benefits scheme affect labour mobility? (CEPS special report 152), Brüssel, 13 S.

Abstract

"Labour mobility in the EU is comparatively low, despite major efforts from the European Institutions to support cross-border mobility. This study evaluates the potential implications of a European Unemployment Benefits Scheme (EUBS) for labour mobility in the EU. We find that the introduction of an EUBS, irrespective of whether it takes the form of a genuine scheme or an equivalent scheme, is unlikely to have a substantial impact on the magnitude of EU mobility. An EUBS might be introduced alongside certain features designed to stimulate labour mobility, such as an extension of exportability of unemployment benefits or closer cooperation with national employment agencies. While both will positively impact mobility, its effect is likely to be marginal in light of the low uptake of exportability and the lagged responsiveness of mobility to shocks. Overall we assert that an EUBS may marginally facilitate labour mobility if the system is geared to advance this objective, but not more." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Brandolini, Andrea, Francesca Carta & Francesco D'Amuri (2016): A feasible unemployment-based shock absorber for the euro area. In: Journal of Common Market Studies, Jg. 54, H. 5, S. 1123-1141. DOI:10.1111/jcms.12398

Abstract

"Based on theoretical insights, this article identifies the broad characteristics that a shock absorber based on unemployment should have in order to be incentive-compatible and politically feasible. It then empirically derives the combination of activation thresholds, experience rating, eligibility criteria and benefit generosity which define the systems offering the highest stabilization for given levels of redistribution. The analysis suggests that the shock absorber should: (1) give rise to macro cross-national transfers, mimicking those that would be generated by a notional euro-wide unemployment benefit scheme of minimal coverage and generosity, (2) be activated by a trigger and (3) feature partial experience rating. The simulation results, confirmed by robustness checks, show that even systems that do not redistribute resources between countries can have a non-negligible stabilization impact in the medium run. Low benefit take-up rates in southern Europe reduce the stabilization properties and the size of the scheme." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Dolls, Mathias, Clemens Fuest, Dirk Neumann & Andreas Peichl (2016): A basic unemployment insurance scheme for the euro area. In: CESifo DICE report, Jg. 14, H. 1, S. 55-60.

Abstract

"Our paper (Dolls et al. 2015b) is the first to provide a comprehensive and systematic analysis of a wide range of design options for an EMU-UI system based on household micro data. Our counterfactual experiment covers the period since the launch of the euro in 1999 until 2013. The analysis includes 18 member states (EA 18) and simulates a sample of repeated cross-sections for each member state combining micro data from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) and the EU Labor Force Survey (EU-LFS)." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Hebous, Shafik & Alfons Weichenrieder (2016): Toward a mutualization of European unemployment insurance? On limiting the downsides of a fiscal transfer system for the Eurozone. In: CESIfo Economic Studies, Jg. 62, H. 2, S. 376-395. DOI:10.1093/cesifo/ifw010

Abstract

"There is a large, yet growing debate about the need to complement the European monetary union with a stronger fiscal union. This article reviews the potential trade-offs between effectiveness, moral hazard problems, and permanent redistribution. Addressing the counter-arguments against a tighter fiscal union is essential to overcome the political reluctance in some member states that are concerned about large amounts of redistribution. We discuss clawback mechanisms that have been suggested in the literature as a measure to limit redistribution, but conclude that clawbacks are undesirable, as they would essentially destroy the insurance value of a fiscal union. Instead, we propose that a clearly defined exit option as a guarantee against involuntary redistribution can make entry into a stronger fiscal union less risky and hence more attractive for member states." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Jara, H. Xavier, Holly Sutherland & Alberto Tumino (2016): The role of an EMU unemployment insurance scheme on income protection in case of unemployment. (EUROMOD working paper 2016,11), Cambridge, 35 S.

Abstract

"The aim of this paper is to explore the potential of an EMU unemployment insurance scheme (EMU-UI) to improve the income protection available to individuals and their families in case of unemployment. Our analysis uses an illustrative EMU-UI scheme, which has a common design across member states and can therefore be considered as a benchmark with respect to which gaps in national unemployment insurance schemes are assessed. We make use of EUROMOD, the EU-wide tax-benefit microsimulation model, to simulate entitlement to the national and EMU-UI and calculate their effect on household disposable income for all individuals currently in work and those with the highest unemployment risk, in case they would become unemployed. Our results show that the EMU-UI has the potential to reduce current gaps in coverage where these are sizeable due to stringent eligibility conditions, to increase generosity where current unemployment benefits are low relative to earnings and to extend duration where this is shorter than twelve months. The illustrative EMU-UI would reduce the risk of poverty for the potentially new unemployed and would have a positive effect on household income stabilization. The extent of these effects varies in size across EMU member states for two main reasons: differences in the design of national unemployment insurance schemes and differences in labor force characteristics across member states." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Moyen, Stéphane, Nikolai Stähler & Fabian Winkler (2016): Optimal unemployment insurance and international risk sharing. (Discussion paper / Deutsche Bundesbank 2016,33), Frankfurt am Main, 37 S.

Abstract

"We discuss how cross-country unemployment insurance can be used to improve international risk sharing. We use a two-country business cycle model with incomplete financial markets and frictional labor markets where the unemployment insurance scheme operates across both countries. Cross-country insurance through the unemployment insurance system can be achieved without affecting unemployment outcomes. The Ramsey-optimal policy however prescribes a more countercyclical replacement rate when international risk sharing concerns enter the unemployment insurance trade-off. We calibrate our model to Eurozone data and find that optimal stabilizing transfers through the unemployment insurance system are sizable and mainly stabilize consumption in the periphery countries, while optimal replacement rates are countercyclical overall. Moreover, we find that debt-financed national policies are a poor substitute for fiscal transfers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Pfeil, Walter J. (2016): Sozialleistungen für migrierende Arbeitslose. In: Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Arbeits- und Sozialrecht, Jg. 30, H. 1, S. 151-164.

Abstract

"Was beiden Systemen - neben der Zielsetzung einer Unterhaltssicherung für die Zeit der Arbeitslosigkeit - gemeinsam ist, ist das Abstellen auf eine bestimmte Nahebeziehung zum betreffenden Leistungsschema, die vor allem eine örtliche Komponente aufweist. Diese Voraussetzung ist naturgemäß von Migrantinnen schwerer zu erfüllen, was zwangsläufig zu einem Spannungsverhältnis mit dem Unionsrecht und der dort verbrieften Freizügigkeit führt. Dieses Spannungsverhältnis soll in der Folge vor allem im Lichte von zwei Grundfragen untersucht werden: Zum einen soll herausgearbeitet werden, welche (örtliche) Nahebeziehung arbeitslose MigrantInnen aufweisen müssen, um in einem anderen Staat Leistungen wegen Arbeitslosigkeit in Anspruch nehmen zu können. Zum anderen ist zu fragen, wie diese Nahebeziehung vor dem Hintergrund des Unionsrechts ausgestaltet sein muss und welche Restriktionen in diesem Zusammenhang - auch in rechtspolitischer Sicht - möglich bzw. erforderlich sind." (Textauszug, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Internationale Vereinigung für soziale Sicherheit (2016): Unemployment benefit provision. Measuring multivariable adequacy and the implications for social security institutions. (Adequacy in social security series), Genf, V, 26 S.

Abstract

"This second report promoting the findings of the Adequacy Project of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) summarizes results concerning the adequacy of unemployment benefit provision and discusses the implications of these for social security institutions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Alemann, Ulrich von, Eva G. Heidbreder, Hartwig Hummel, Domenica Dreyer & Anne Gödde (Hrsg.) (2015): Ein soziales Europa ist möglich. Grundlagen und Handlungsoptionen. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 367 S. DOI:10.1007/978-3-658-04952-2

Abstract

"Der Band zeigt die Grundlagen eines sozialen Europas, konkrete Handlungsoptionen zu deren Ausgestaltung und Wege zu einer sozial orientierten Europäischen Union auf. Im ersten Teil werden die bestehenden Grundlagen eines sozialen Europas als konstitutiver Bestandteil der EU-Integration dargestellt. Der zweite Teil greift konkrete Vorschläge zur weiteren Ausgestaltung der Sozialunion auf. Im letzten Teil werden die Problemfelder kontrovers diskutiert, indem die Akteure, ihre Interessen und die Hürden auf dem Weg zu einem sozialen Europa dargestellt werden. In allen drei Teilen werden die wissenschaftlich fundierten Debattenbeiträge jeweils durch zwei Stellungnahmen aus der politischen Praxis kommentiert." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Beblavý, Miroslav, Daniel Gros & Ilaria Maselli (2015): Reinsurance of national unemployment benefit schemes. (CEPS working document 401), Brüssel, 31 S.

Abstract

"This study is a contribution to the debate around the creation of an unemployment insurance scheme for the EU/euro area by proposing an alternative mechanism to the Europeanisation of national insurance schemes. The authors make the case for a reinsurance mechanism and show that such a system delivers, for a small average contribution, large shock-absorption capacities. At the same time, due to a threshold issue, it is not suitable for EU-level absorption of small national shocks. It is rather meant to deliver a large punch once activated, which should occur only in case of MAJOR events for the labour market. Had such a scheme been in place in the EU during the period 2000-2012, it would have been triggered 40 times." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Beblavý, Miroslav, Gabriele Marconi & Ilaria Maselli (2015): A European unemployment benefit scheme. The rationale and the challenges ahead. Brüssel, 28 S. DOI:10.2767/867358

Abstract

"This working paper constitutes the first deliverable of the study 'Feasibility and Added Value of a European Unemployment Benefit Scheme', commissioned by DG EMPL and carried out by a consortium led by CEPS. The objective of the paper is to frame the debate on a European shock absorber around its origins on the one hand, and its most controversial aspects, on the other." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Carnot, Nicolas, Phil Evans, Serena Fatica & Gilles Mourre (2015): Income insurance. A theoretical exercise with empirical application for the euro area. (European economy. Economic papers 546), Brüssel, 76 S. DOI:10.2765/537291

Abstract

"This paper examines whether hypothetical macroeconomic insurance schemes of various kinds could improve the degree of cyclical income stabilisation in the euro area. We review the potential issues, the underlying trade-offs and the necessary conditions for such schemes to work efficiently. The paper discusses 'good' design features, which raise the potential efficiency and acceptability of these mechanisms. It argues that such schemes would preferably focus on large shocks, moderate the boom times as well as cushion adverse shocks, and include a degree of budgetary prudence to cater for real-time uncertainty in assessing business cycles. It also carries out retrospective empirical simulations using both 'ex post' and 'real-time' data for the euro area. The results suggest that all the schemes considered would have provided non-negligible income insurance over the past 10-20 years, although somewhat less so when operating on the basis of data available in real time. The insurance schemes reviewed do not require particularly large or persistent payments into or out of them." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Maselli, Ilaria & Miroslav Beblavý (2015): The case for a European unemployment benefit scheme. (CEPS commentary), Brüssel, 4 S.

Abstract

"In this CEPS Commentary, Ilaria Maselli and Miroslav Beblavý argue that the European economic governance system needs to be equipped with a supranational automatic stabiliser that would kick-in automatically in the event of an economic downturn, to avoid unduly burdening national public finances. In their view, the option of creating an unemployment benefit system for the euro area should be given serious consideration. The possible variations of such a system and their implications will be the subject of in-depth study at CEPS over the coming year." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Saha, David & Ronnie Schöb (2015): Unemployment insurance in unionized labor markets. Neither Ghent nor centralized. (CESifo working paper 5430), München, 25 S.

Abstract

"This paper analyzes unemployment insurance (UI) schemes in the presence of mobile workers and trade unions at industry or regional level that are capable of internalizing the effect of wage demands on UI contribution rates. We compare two types of existing UI systems. When UI is organized at trade union level (decentralized Ghent UI), trade unions strategically lower the benefit levels of their UI schemes to deter welfare recipients from other unions from entering their UI scheme, leading to a race to the bottom in UI provision. With centralized provision of UI, by contrast, trade unions do not fully account for the cost of higher wages as mobility allows them to partially shift the burden of unemployment to other UIs. A system of coordinated UI, combining a centrally set benefit level with decentralized funding as in Ghent UI systems, can circumvent both the strategic benefit setting and the fiscal externality problems, thus reconciling the equity and efficiency aims in the design of unemployment insurance." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Weber, Enzo (2015): Europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung: Die Diagnose stimmt, die Therapie nicht. In: IAB-Forum H. 2, S. 54-57., 2015-12-01. DOI:10.3278/IFO1502W054

Abstract

"Die nationalen Arbeitsmärkte in der Eurozone sind in den letzten Jahren konjunkturbedingt immer stärker auseinandergedriftet. Ein Vorschlag, um dieser Entwicklung entgegenzuwirken, ist die Einführung einer europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung. Dies wäre indes ein massiver Eingriff in die Vielfalt der historisch gewachsenen nationalen Sozialsysteme. Ein finanzieller Ausgleich zwischen Staaten mit guter und schlechter Arbeitsmarktlage ließe sich ebenso gut - und mit weit geringeren Nebenwirkungen - über ein entsprechendes Budget auf europäischer Ebene erreichen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Weber, Enzo (2015): Wie sinnvoll ist eine europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung? In: Ökonomenstimme H. 02.02.2015, S. 1-1., 2015-02-02.

Abstract

"Die Idee einer gemeinsamen europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung als Beitrag zur Stabilisierung Europas scheint attraktiv. Der gleiche Effekt ließe sich allerdings bereits über ein gemeinsames europäisches Budget erzielen, ohne eine neue Versicherung aufbauen zu müssen." (Textauszug, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Andor, Laszlo (2014): Basic European unemployment insurance. The best way forward in strengthening the EMU's resilience and Europe's recovery. In: Intereconomics, Jg. 49, H. 4, S. 184-189. DOI:10.1007/s10272-014-0500-4

Abstract

"The recent European elections visibly strengthened Eurosceptic forces in various EU member states and penalised mainstream parties for incremental and largely contractionary responses to the long financial and economic crisis. There are some obvious conclusions the dominant and pro-European centre-left and centre-right groups need to draw from this experience. It is so crucial to understand that the divergence that has developed within the euro area between core and periphery is a threat to the existence of the single currency and to the stability of the EU as a whole. Consequently, there is a need for further strengthening of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) architecture, and in particular to strengthen its social dimension. Ideally, the next period should see a forward-looking, though limited, mechanism of solidarity that would strengthen people's and markets' confidence in Europe's monetary and political union" (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Beblavý, Miroslav & Ilaria Maselli (2014): An unemployment insurance scheme for the euro area. A simulation exercise of two options. (CEPS special report 98), Brüssel, 69 S.

Abstract

"This study offers an in-depth economic analysis of the two main proposals for the creation of a European unemployment insurance scheme. One proposes the creation of a harmonised European unemployment benefit scheme that would apply automatically to every eligible unemployed person. The alternative, here termed 'reinsurance', would transfer funds to national unemployment insurance schemes to finance benefits from the centre to the periphery when unemployment is measurably higher than normal.
The rationale behind these proposals is to set up an EU-level shock absorber to overcome coordination failures and the crisis-budget constraints of individual countries. The authors consider the possible trade-offs and challenges of, for example, the definition of the trigger, the fiscal rule and the harmonisation of national benefits. They conclude that while both options are viable, 'reinsurance' offers a stronger stabilisation effect for the same amount of European distribution." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Beblavý, Miroslav & Ilaria Maselli (2014): Time for some shock (absorption). Reinsurance of national unemployment insurance should be a Commission priority. (CEPS commentary), Brüssel, 2 S.

Abstract

"In presenting their priorities for the new European Commission, Miroslav Beblavý and Ilaria Maselli assert in this CEPS Commentary that the time has come to devise an EU-level shock absorption mechanism. In their view, the instrument that best aligns varying political and economic objectives is a form of reinsurance of national systems of unemployment insurance. The primary motivation for the reinsurance proposal is that it can have a substantial stabilising effect, especially in case of large shocks, and, at the same time, be politically realistic in terms of contributions, costs and administrative burdens." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Diamond, Patrick & Guy Lodge (2014): Dynamic Social Security after the crisis. Towards a new welfare state? In: International social security review, Jg. 67, H. 3-4, S. 37-59. DOI:10.1111/issr.12047

Abstract

"The conservative bias in social attitudes to the welfare state is manifested in entrenched support among the public for traditional welfare and social security benefits, chiefly higher pension payments and public expenditure on health care. This pattern has been reinforced by the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession as public support for social protection strategies geared towards 'new' social risks - structural changes in labour markets, adverse demography, gender inequality, and family instability - has remained relatively weak. This pattern of resistance to change may hardly be surprising given that reforms are more often viewed by the public as a form of retrenchment with clear losers and few obvious beneficiaries. This underlines that political courage is rarely enough to achieve structural reforms of the welfare state. There will need to be clearly defined short-term and long-term objectives underpinned by a coherent rationale capable of persuading publics and citizens of the case for change if a more 'Dynamic' system of social security is to be enacted in the industrialized countries over the next 20 years." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Dolls, Mathias, Clemens Fuest, Dirk Neumann & Andreas Peichl (2014): An unemployment insurance scheme for the euro area? A comparison of different alternatives using micro data. (ZEW discussion paper 2014-095), Mannheim, 45 S.

Abstract

"We analyze different alternatives how a common unemployment insurance system for the euro area (EA) could be designed and assess their effectiveness to act as an insurance device in the presence of asymmetric macroeconomic shocks. Running counterfactual simulations based on micro data for the period 2000-13, we highlight and quantify the trade-o┐ between automatic stabilization effects and the degree of cross-country transfers. In the baseline, we focus on a non-contingent scheme covering short-term unemployment and find that it would have absorbed a significant fraction of the un- employment shock in the recent crisis. However, 5 member states of the EA18 would have been either a permanent net contributor or net recipient. Our results suggest that claw-back mechanisms and contingent benefits could limit the degree of cross-country redistribution, but might reduce desired insurance effects. We also discuss moral hazard issues at the level of individuals, the administration and economic policy." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Dullien, Sebastian (2014): The macroeconomic stabilisation impact of a European basic unemployment insurance scheme. In: Intereconomics, Jg. 49, H. 4, S. 189-193. DOI:10.1007/s10272-014-0500-4

Abstract

"Since the onset of the euro crisis, the debate on fiscal stabilisers in Europe hast gained new momentum. Over recent years, the term 'fiscal capacity' for the euro-zone has popped up in a large number of official EU documents, including the European Commission's roadmap for a more compete monetary union and the 'four presidents' report' by the presidents of the European Council, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the Eurogroup. At least in the interpretation of some observers, 'fiscal capacity' is understood as introducing automatic stabilisers at the European level. One of the often-mentioned options would be the introduction of a basic European unemployment insurance, which has been referred to in both of the above mentioned documents and which has been further elaborated in the European commission's concept for the 'Social Dimension of EMU'. This article discusses the idea of such a European basic unemployment insurance, its potential macroeconomic stabilisation benefits, and the main unresolved issues of such a proposal. To this end, first the basic mechanism of such an insurance scheme is described in detail. In a second step, a simulation of macroeconomic effects is presented under different assumptions. The final section outlines open questions and political corners about such an insurance system." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Dullien, Sebastian (2014): A European unemployment benefit scheme. How to provide for more stability in the Euro zone. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung, 143 S.

Abstract

"The recent euro crisis and the dramatic increase of unemployment in some euro countries have triggered a renewed interest in a fiscal capacity for the European Union to stabilize the economy of its member states. One of the proposed instruments is a common European unemployment insurance. In this book Sebastian Dullien from the HTW Berlin provides and evaluates a blueprint for such a scheme. Building on lessons from the unemployment insurance in the United States of America, he outlines how a European unemployment benefit scheme could be constructed to provide significant stabilization to national business cycles, yet without strongly extending social protection in Europe. Macroeconomic stabilization effects and payment flows between countries are simulated and options, potential pitfalls and existing concerns discussed." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Dullien, Sebastian, Ferdinand Fichtner, Peter Haan, Laslo Jaeger, Max Jansen, Richard Ochmann & Erik Tomasch (2014): Eine Arbeitslosenversicherung für den Euroraum als automatischer Stabilisator. Grenzen und Möglichkeiten. (DIW Berlin. Politikberatung kompakt 86), Berlin, 119 S.

Abstract

"Die vorliegende Studie analysiert die makroökonomischen Stabilisierungs- und mikroökonomischen Verteilungswirkungen der Einführung einer Europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung. Auf Grundlage dynamischer makroökonomischer Simulationen wird gezeigt, dass ein solches Transfersystem innerhalb des Euroraums - je nach Ausgestaltung - zu einer merklichen Stabilisierung der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung geführt hätte. Dies gilt selbst für eine gemessen am Transferumfang relativ kleine Europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung mit einer maximalen Bezugszeit von sechs Monaten und einer Nettoersatzquote von 30 Prozent; mit größerem Leistungsumfang steigt die Stabilisierungswirkung, aber im Gegenzug auch die möglicherweise unerwünschten Wirkungen auf Arbeitsanreize und das Ausmaß der Umverteilung zwischen den Mitgliedsländern. Die Verteilungswirkungen dürften insgesamt aus politischer Sicht unproblematisch sein; tendenziell finden sich leicht progressive bis neutrale Effekte auf die Einkommensverteilung, Haushalte mit niedrigeren Einkommen profitieren also überproportional von der Einführung einer Europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung." (Textauszug, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Dullien, Sebastian (2014): Eine Europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung als Stabilisator für die Euro-Zone. (WISO direkt), Bonn, 4 S.

Abstract

"Eine europäische Basisarbeitslosenversicherung könnte künftig dazu beitragen, nationale Booms in der Euro-Zone zu dämpfen und Krisen abzufedern. Unter diesem Vorschlag würden alle abhängig Beschäftigten in einen europäischen Topf einzahlen und bei Arbeitslosigkeit Zahlungen aus dem Fonds erhalten; die nationalen Kassen würden so in der Rezession entlastet und die Wirtschaft gestützt. Hätte es eine solche Versicherung schon 2008 gegeben, wäre der Wirtschaftseinbruch in einzelnen Euro-Ländern um bis zu einem Viertel geringer ausgefallen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Eichhorst, Werner & Florian Wozny (2014): A joint unemployment insurance for the European Economic and Monetary Union? (IZA policy paper 92), Bonn, 24 S.

Abstract

"More and more policy makers tend to declare that the loss of exchange rate adjustments within the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has to be compensated by an increase in fiscal policy. A joint unemployment insurance is seen as one opportunity. After comparing a basic design with a 'kicking-in' style unemployment insurance, we recommend the latter as it captures the main motivation of such a transnational transfer mechanism, combating credit market constraints." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Fichtner, Ferdinand & Peter Haan (2014): Europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung: Konjunkturstabilisierung ohne große Umverteilung der Haushaltseinkommen. In: DIW-Wochenbericht, Jg. 81, H. 37, S. 843-854.

Abstract

"Die Einführung einer Europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung innerhalb des Euroraums könnte - je nach Ausgestaltung - zu einer merklichen Stabilisierung der konjunkturellen Entwicklung führen. Dies gilt selbst für eine gemessen am Transferumfang relativ kleine Europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung mit einer maximalen Bezugszeit von sechs Monaten und Leistungen in Höhe von 30 Prozent des letzten Nettolohns; mit größerem Leistungsumfang steigt die Stabilisierungswirkung, aber im Gegenzug auch die möglicherweise unerwünschten Wirkungen auf Arbeitsanreize und das Ausmaß der Umverteilung zwischen den Mitgliedsländern. Die Verteilungswirkungen mit Blick auf die privaten Haushalte sind gering; tendenziell finden sich leicht progressive bis neutrale Effekte auf die Einkommensverteilung in der Währungsunion. Haushalte mit niedrigeren Einkommen profitieren also überproportional von der Einführung einer Europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Gros, Daniel (2014): A fiscal shock absorber for the Eurozone? Insurance with deductible. In: Intereconomics, Jg. 49, H. 4, S. 199-203. DOI:10.1007/s10272-014-0500-4

Abstract

"Since the onset of the sovereign debt crisis, the argument for a system of fiscal transfers to offset idiosyncratic shocks in the Eurozone has gained adherents. This paper argues that what the Eurozone really needs is not a system that offsets all shocks by some small fraction, but a system that protects against shocks that are rare, but potentially catastrophic. A system of fiscal insurance with a fixed deductible would therefore be preferable to a fiscal shock absorber that offsets a certain percentage of all fiscal shocks." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Jara, H. Xavier & Holly Sutherland (2014): The effects of an EMU insurance scheme on income in unemployment. In: Intereconomics, Jg. 49, H. 4, S. 194-199. DOI:10.1007/s10272-014-0500-4

Abstract

"The aim of this article is to contribute to the debate by providing evidence about the additional potential beneficiaries of an EMU unemployment benefit of a specific design, if it were to provide a minimum standard for the level and structure of benefit in each country and assuming that where existing provision is more generous (in any dimension) this remains in place. We examine who additionally benefits, thereby identifying gaps and inadequacies in existing national systems using the EMU scheme as a benchmark. We also measure the additional aggregate effect on an EMU unemployment insurance scheme (EMU-UI) in protecting household incomes when some becomes unemployed. The present analysis does not consider how the EMU unemployment benefit would be financed or administered. These aspects are of course critical for the design of an effective scheme, its political acceptability and its practical implementation, not least because they could add to the income stabilisation properties that we identify here in considering only the effect on beneficiaries. Nevertheless, understanding the relative effects of the EMU scheme across countries with varying existing systems and labour markets is one important first step." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Jara, H. Xavier & Holly Sutherland (2014): The implications of an EMU unemployment insurance scheme for supporting incomes. (European Commission. Research note 2013,03), Brüssel, 31 S.

Abstract

"In this paper we explore the potential of a new unemployment insurance benefit at EMU level to improve the income protection available to the unemployed and their families. The benefit is designed to provide support that is additional to the existing national provision where this falls short in terms of eligibility (coverage) and the amount payable. The 'EMU-UI' has a common design across countries, which is intended to reduce the extent of current gaps in coverage where these are sizeable due to stringent eligibility conditions, to increase generosity where current unemployment benefits are low relative to earnings and to extend duration where this is shorter than 12 months. Our analysis compares the extent of the effect of these improvements across selected countries from the Monetary Union (Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Austria, Portugal and Finland) using EUROMOD to simulate entitlement to the national and EMU-UIs and to calculate the effect on household disposable income. We find that the EMU-UI additionally reduces the risk of poverty for the new unemployed compared to national systems and has an additional positive effect on income stabilisation. The extent of these additional effects varies in size across countries for two main reasons: notable differences in design of national unemployment insurance schemes and differences in labour force characteristics across countries, mainly in the proportion of self-employed workers who are typically not covered by national schemes. In countries such as France and Finland there is little effect of EMU-UI on poverty risk and stabilisation, while Greece, Italy and Latvia benefit the most, in particular from the EMU proportional scheme. Our analysis highlights potential areas of future research in terms of improving the design of the EMU-UI and accounting for national or EMU level ways of financing, as well as refinements to the methodology used to assess the effects of transitions to unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Meyer, Dirk (2014): Europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung. Vorstoß für ein anderes Europa? In: Ifo-Schnelldienst, Jg. 67, H. 7, S. 13-16.

Abstract

"Die Europäische Kommission hat eine Initiative für eine Europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung (EALV) gestartet. Hintergrund des Diskussionsbeitrages, für den EU-Sozialkommissar Laszlo Andor verantwortlich zeichnet, sind die gerade in der Eurokrise sichtbar gewordenen konjukturellen Ungleichgewichte zwischen den Krisenstaaten und der Kernzone. Zentral geht es um zwei Fragestellungen. Normativ steht die Europäische Union als förderativer Staatenbund auf der Basis des Lissabon-Vertrages und die Entwicklung hin zu einer Fiskal- und Transferunion infrage. Sollen die Vereinigten Staaten von Europa oder gar die Europäische Republik (Res publica) mit systematischen und dauerhaften Transfers ein Europa der Mitgliedstaaten ablösen (vgl. Guerot und Menasse 2013)? Hiervon zu unterscheiden ist eine positive Perspektive mit den Aspekten ihrer Ausgestaltung, ihrer Wirkungsweise und möglichen Problemen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Zeilstra, Annette S. & J. Paul Elhorst (2014): Integrated analysis of regional and national unemployment differentials in the European Union. In: Regional studies, Jg. 48, H. 10, S. 1739-1755. DOI:10.1080/00343404.2012.708404

Abstract

"In dieser Studie untersuchen wir die Ursachen von Schwankungen bei der regionalen Arbeitslosigkeit aus einer länderübergreifenden Perspektive. Im vorgeschlagenen stilisierten theoretischen Rahmen dienen Variablen auf regionaler und nationaler Ebene als erklärende Variablen. In einem ökonometrischen Modell aus zufälligen und festen Koeffizienten von regionalen und nationalen Variablen wird berücksichtigt, dass die Beobachtungen in Raum und Zeit korreliert sein können und dass einige erklärende Variablen nicht streng exogen sind. Anhand der Jahresdaten von 142 Regionen in zehn EU-Staaten im Zeitraum von 1983 bis 1997 stellten wir fest, dass die regionalen und nationalen Variablen beinahe gleich wichtig sind und dass sich die Arbeitslosigkeit nicht mit einer gemeinsamen Politik lösen lässt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Vereinigung der Bayerischen Wirtschaft (2014): Arbeitslosenversicherung. (Vereinigung der Bayerischen Wirtschaft. Position), München, 19 S.

Abstract

"Zur insgesamt guten Lage am deutschen Arbeitsmarkt haben sowohl die politischen Reformen der Agenda 2010 beigetragen als auch die Unternehmen, die neue Arbeitsplätze geschaffen haben.
Trotzdem besteht weiterer Handlungs- und Verbesserungsbedarf, denn künftig ist sowohl mit Arbeitslosigkeit als auch mit zunehmendem Fachkräftebedarf zu rechnen. Gleichzeitig steht Deutschland in einem scharfen internationalen Wettbewerb, so dass der Faktor Arbeit nicht weiter belastet werden darf. Das gesellschaftliche Ziel der Vollbeschäftigung konnte bislang nur regional verwirklicht werden, beispielsweise in Teilen Bayerns. Es ist insbesondere auch Aufgabe der Bundesagentur für Arbeit, diesen Herausforderungen entschieden zu begegnen und Arbeitslose zügig und dauerhaft ins Erwerbsleben zu integrieren.
Unser Positionspapier zeigt, wie die Rahmenbedingungen für die Arbeitslosenversicherung geändert werden müssen, um das System zukunftsfähig zu machen. Die Empfehlungen beziehen sich in erster Linie auf den beitragsfinanzierten Rechtsbereich des SGB III. Gleichwohl kann eine angemessene Betrachtung der Lage den Bereich der Grundsicherung des SGB II nicht völlig außer Acht lassen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Abstract

"Aus der Perspektive optimaler Währungsräume braucht eine Währungsunion wie die Eurozone, die eine geringe Arbeitsmobilität aufweist, Finanzinstitutionen, die im Falle asymmetrischer makroökonomischer Schocks stabilisierend wirken. In diesem Projekt werden potenzielle Kosten sowie mögliche stabilisierende Wirkungen einer Arbeitslosenversicherung für die Eurozone untersucht. Die empirische Analyse erfolgt mit EUROMOD, einem Steuer - und Transfersimulationsmodell für die Europäische Union, das eine mikrobasierte ex-ante Evaluation ermöglicht." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Häusermann, Silja, Anton Hemerijck, Daniel Clegg, Jane Jenson, Johan B. Davidsson, Maarten Keune, Patrick Emmenegger, Ingela Naumann, Jochen Clasen, Bruno Palier, Bernhard Ebbinghaus, Colin Crouch & Maurizio Ferrera (2013): The politics of the new welfare state. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 316 S.

Abstract

"Since the early 1990s, European welfare states have undergone substantial changes, in terms of objectives, areas of intervention, and instruments. Traditional programmes, such as old age pensions have been curtailed throughout the continent, while new functions have been taken up. At present, welfare states are expected to help non-working people back into employment, to complement work income for the working poor, to reconcile work and family life, to promote gender equality, to support child development, and to provide social services for an ageing society. The welfare settlement that is emerging at the beginning of the 21st century is nonetheless very different in terms of functions and instruments from the one inherited from the last century. This book seeks to offer a better understanding of the new welfare settlement, and to analyze the factors that have shaped the recent transformation." (Publisher information, IAB-Doku) ((en))
Inhaltsverzeichnis:
Giuliano Bonoli, David Natali: The Politics of the 'New' Welfare States: Analysing Reforms in Western Europe (3-17);
Jane Jenson: A New Politics for the Social Investment Perspective: Objectives, Instruments, and Areas of Intervention in Welfare Regimes (21-44);
Colin Crouch, Maarten Keune: The Governance of Economic Uncertainty: Beyond the 'New Social Risks' Analysis (45-67);
Anton Hemerijck: Stress-testing the New Welfare State (68-90);
Giuliano Bonoll: Blame Avoidance and Credit Claiming Revisited (93-110);
Silja Häusermann: The Politics of Old and New Social Policies (111-132);
Jochen Clasen, Daniel Clegg: Adapting Labour Market Policy to a Transformed Employment Structure: The Politics of 'Triple Integration' (135-157);
Ingela Naumann: Childcare Politics in the 'New' Welfare State: Class, Religion, and Gender in the Shaping of Political Agendas (158-181);
Bernhard Ebbinghaus: Europe's Transformations Towards a Renewed Pension System (182-205);
Johan B. Davidsson, Patrick Emmenegger: Insider-Outsider Dynamics and the Reform of Job Security Legislation (206-229);
Bruno Palier: Tuming Vice into Vice: How Bismarckian Welfare States have Gone from Unsustainability to Dualization (233-255);
Maurizio Ferrera: The New Spatial Politics of Welfare in the EU (256-283);
Giuliano Bonoli, David Natali: Multidimensional Transformations in the Early 21st Century Welfare States (287-306).

Zitatform

Börner, Stefanie, Monika Eigmüller & Monika Senghaas (2013): (Re)organising social security. Social policy in Europe between territory, legitimacy and identity. (SEU Working Papers 06/2013), Leipzig, 22 S.

Abstract

"In den jüngeren Debatten werden Wohlfahrtsstaaten häufig mit Nationalstaaten gleichgesetzt und demzufolge einer redistributiven Sozialpolitik auf EU-Ebene aufgrund des fehlenden europäischen Zusammengehörigkeitsgefühls kaum Chancen eingeräumt. Indem abgeschlossene und gegenwärtige Phasen sozialpolitischen Rescalings betrachtet werden, untersucht dieser Beitrag, unter welchen Voraussetzungen es zur Ausweitung des territorialen Rahmens der Organisation von Sozialpolitik kommt und fragt wann, warum und auf welche Art politische, kollektive und individuelle Akteure dazu bereit sind, ihren sozialpolitischen Handlungsrahmen auszuweiten. Mithilfe der diachronen Perspektive kann untersucht werden, wie ein bestimmtes territoriales Prinzip neue Handlungskategorien und Bezugspunkte hervorbringt, die sich ihrerseits wiederum in neue Zugehörigkeitskategorien und Solidaritätstypen übersetzen lassen. Entsprechend werden die Akteursinteressen, Deutungsmuster, Motive und diskursiven Veränderungen analysiert. Die Ergebnisse deuten auf das enge Wechselspiel zwischen politischen und ökonomischen Transformation auf der Strukturebene und dynamischen Referenz- und Handlungsrahmen auf der Mikroebene hin. Statt also am starren Modell nationaler Sicherungssysteme festzuhalten, beleuchtet ein historisch informierter Ansatz den zugleich kreativen und konfliktiven Prozess der Herausbildung sozialpolitischer Handlungsräume." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Michau, Jean-Baptiste (2013): Unemployment insurance and cultural transmission. Theory and application to European unemployment. In: Journal of the European Economic Association, Jg. 11, H. 6, S. 1320-1347. DOI:10.1111/jeea.12065

Abstract

"This paper emphasizes the two-way causality between the provision of unemployment insurance and the cultural transmission of civicness. The returns to being uncivic are increasing in the generosity of unemployment insurance; but this generosity is decreasing in the number of uncivic individuals. In this context, I determine the evolution of preferences across generations and show that cultural heterogeneity is sustained over the long-run. The dynamics of cultural transmission can generate a long lag between the introduction of unemployment insurance and an increase in people's willingness to live off government-provided benefits. Hence, it offers an explanation to the 'European unemployment puzzle' due to the coexistence of generous unemployment insurance and low unemployment in the 1950s and 1960s." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Dullien, Sebastian & Till van Treeck (2012): Ziele und Zielkonflikte der Wirtschaftspolitik und Ansätze für einen neuen sozial-ökologischen Regulierungsrahmen. (WISO Diskurs), Bonn, 31 S.

Abstract

"Wie in der Studie dargestellt, ist ein moderner Wohlstandsbegriff viel breiter zu fassen als die traditionellen Maßzahlen zum Bruttoinlandsprodukt. Auch die Begrenzung der Staatsverschuldung, wie sie nun sowohl im Grundgesetz mit der Schuldenbremse als auch absehbar auf EU-Ebene mit dem Fiskalpakt festgeschrieben ist, kann keinen Wohlstandszuwachs garantieren. Ein sozialökologisches Fortschrittsprojekt zielt auf die Verbesserung der Lebensbedingungen in einer Vielzahl von Dimensionen bei Bewahrung der natürlichen Lebensgrundlagen ab, und diese Dimensionen müssen in eine sinnvolle moderne Wohlstandsdefinition einfließen.
Wohlstand muss aber nicht nur anders definiert werden, sondern diese Definition muss auch in die praktische Regierungsarbeit einfließen. Zudem muss für einen politischen Erfolg die neue Wohlstandsdefinition effektiv medial vermittelt werden, um die Überlegenheit einer sozial-ökologisch ausgerichteten Wirtschaftspolitik gegenüber traditioneller Wirtschaftspolitik aufzuzeigen, die auf Steigerung des BIP ohne Rücksicht auf Verteilungsfragen und ökologische Fragen setzt.
Wir haben als Lösung für diese Herausforderung eine Reform des Stabilitäts- und Wachstumsgesetzes von 1967 vorgeschlagen, mit einem neuen magischen Viereck mit den Oberzielen materieller Wohlstand, ökologische Nachhaltigkeit, soziale Nachhaltigkeit und Zukunftsfähigkeit der Staatstätigkeit und der Staatsfinanzen. Diese Oberziele sollten in Einzelzielen konkretisiert werden und in konkrete, überprüfbare, quantitative Zielquoten für Regierungshandeln einfl ießen, für deren Einhaltung sich die Regierung in einem neuen 'Jahreswohlstandsbericht' rechtfertigen muss. Wir glauben, dass über einen solchen Rahmen Wirtschaftspolitik in Deutschland besser strategisch ausrichtbar wird und leichter normative Wertungen und Ziele diskutiert werden können." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Dullien, Sebastian & Ferdinand Fichtner (2012): Eine gemeinsame Arbeitslosenversicherung für den Euroraum. In: DIW-Wochenbericht, Jg. 79, H. 44, S. 9-15.

Abstract

"Ein konjunkturbezogenes Transfersystem für die Mitgliedsländer des Euroraums könnte einen Beitrag dazu leisten, zyklische Ungleichgewichte zwischen den Ländern auszugleichen. Ein solches System wird hier in der konkreten Form einer europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung vorgeschlagen. Durch diese Ausgestaltung ergibt sich eine Reihe von Vorteilen gegenüber anderen Formen konjunktureller Transfersysteme. Indem der Fokus auf Kurzzeitarbeitslosigkeit gelegt wird, besteht ein automatischer Zusammenhang zwischen Transferzahlungen und der konjunkturellen Situation eines Landes; ein solches System ist daher robust gegenüber politischer Manipulation. Weitgehend verhindert werden kann außerdem, dass einzelne Länder systematisch Nettozahler oder Nettoempfänger sind. Nicht geeignet wäre eine europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung hingegen, um strukturelle Divergenzen zwischen den Mitgliedsländern, wie sie sich derzeit in der Krise im Euroraum niederschlagen, zu beheben oder zu verhindern. Zyklische Ungleichgewichte innerhalb der Währungsunion können aber mit einer europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung wirkungsvoll und ohne großen bürokratischen Zusatzaufwand bekämpft werden. Ein solches System könnte daher ein wichtiges Stabilisierungselement für die Mitgliedsländer der Währungsunion sein." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Euzéby, Chantal (2012): Social protection to achieve sustainable inclusion. A European imperative in the current economic crisis. In: International social security review, Jg. 65, H. 4, S. 69-88. DOI:10.1111/j.1468-246X.2012.01442.x

Abstract

"Preventing social exclusion has become a critical issue in the European Union (EU) as a result of cutbacks in social expenditure imposed by Member States' exploding debt. This issue sits at the intersection of employment and training policies and of reforms seeking to adapt social protection systems to the new realities of the present socio-economic context (population ageing, family instability, massive unemployment, employment insecurity, in-work poverty and persistent and increasing social inequality). This article will show that promoting social protection as part of a social investment approach is an excellent means of reconciling the objectives of equal opportunity over the life cycle, sustained economic performance (improved structural competitiveness) and strengthened social cohesion in the interest of collective well-being. Particular emphasis is given to the need to promote universal and individual rights to mobility and lifelong training, which would constitute new social guarantees, offsetting requirements linked to labour market flexibility. The article also emphasizes the importance of incorporating these rights throughout the EU as part of a wider social protection floor. This would offer permanent protection against the risk of exclusion in the Union, promote the economic and social integration sought since the revised Lisbon Strategy (2003-2005), and create confidence and hope among Europe's citizens." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Tabin, Jean-Pierre & Raluca Enescu (2012): The normative impact of unemployment insurance. A European perspective. In: Journal of Comparative Social Work, Jg. 7, H. 2, S. 1-11.

Abstract

"The debate on classification instruments for social security regimes opened by Esping-Andersen (1990) usually neglects the examination of the normative impact of the welfare state. This article focus on this latter through an analysis of systems of protection against unemployment in 11 of the European countries included in the database known as the Mutual Information System on Social Protection (MISSOC).We show in this article that unemployment insurance only recognize legal, authorized and declared salaried employees who have resided in the country for a set period of time, which confirms the close link between social policy and nationality, with some foreign workers being excluded from the circle of beneficiaries because of these norms. Unemployment insurance also always considers jobs as rare social goods - workers are expected to hold on to them, but they are declined differently along a person's life course. The dominance of the male employment norm and the complete lack of consideration given to domestic labour by unemployment insurance contribute to structuring gendered roles as separate and hierarchically organized. Disparities between countries, whether related to contextual differences or to the history of the local welfare state, do not weaken these arguments since they are not founded upon fundamentally different conceptions of unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Schmitt, Carina & Peter Starke (2011): Explaining convergence of OECD welfare states. A conditional approach. In: Journal of European social policy, Jg. 21, H. 2, S. 120-135. DOI:10.1177/0958928710395049

Abstract

"Family policies have been expanded in many OECD countries, whilst developments along other welfare state dimensions have been characterized by retrenchment. Although the contribution of gender analyses of the welfare state to a better understanding of family policies is widely acknowledged, the literature so far has largely failed to provide a comparative account explaining the recent expansions of employment-oriented family policies in countries that were previously categorized as pursuing policies in accordance with the strong male breadwinner model. This article aims to make a contribution to the comparative literature by investigating the socioeconomic conditions and politics of employment-oriented family policy expansions in Britain and Germany since the 1990s. We pay special attention to processes of post-industrialisation and especially changed skill compositions as well as the role of key policy actors, with a special focus on organized business." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Castles, Francis G., Francis G. Castles, Joakim Palme, Stephen Castles, Bruno Palier, Jonathan Bradshaw, Einar Øverbye, Eero Carroll, Bernhard Ebbinghaus, Linda.J. Cook, Ann Shola Orloff, Willem Adema, August Oesterle, Klaus Armingeon, Herbert Obinger, Wilhelm A. Arts, Frank Nullmeier, Juan Bogliaccini, Michelle Norris, Joseph Wong, Rita Nikolai, Stuart White, Isabela Mares, Uwe Wagschal, Philip Manow, Duane Swank, Julia Lynch, John Stephens, Jonah Levy, ManfredG. Schmidt, Matthieu Leimgruber, Peter Saunders, Stein Kuhnle, Heinz Rothgang, Martin Kohli, Mark Priestley, Desmond King, Michaela Pfeifer, Kees van Kersbergen, Marius R. Busemeyer, Lane Kenworthy, Mikko Kautto, Mary Daly, Franz-Xaver Kaufmann, Jan Zutavern, Olli Kangas, Claus Wendt, Torben Iversen, Stefan Svallfors, Ellen M. Immergut, Carl-Ulrik Schierup, Evelyne Huber, Fiona Ross, Karl Hinrichs, Ito Peng, Alexander Hicks, Edwin Amenta, Ian Gough, Peter Whiteford, Howard Glennerster, Ola Sjöberg, John Gelissen, Christopher Pierson, Richard Freeman, Thomas Bahle, Naomi Finch, Anne Sander, Maurizio Ferrera, Goran Therborn, Gerda Falkner & Tony Fahey (2010): The Oxford handbook of the welfare state. (Oxford handbooks in politics and international relations), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 876 S.

Abstract

"The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State is the authoritative and definitive guide to the contemporary welfare state. In a volume consisting of nearly fifty newly-written chapters, a broad range of the world's leading scholars offer a comprehensive account of everything one needs to know about the modern welfare state. The book is divided into eight sections. It opens with three chapters that evaluate the philosophical case for (and against) the welfare state. Surveys of the welfare state's history and of the approaches taken to its study are followed by four extended sections, running to some thirty-five chapters in all, which offer a comprehensive and in-depth survey of our current state of knowledge across the whole range of issues that the welfare state embraces. The first of these sections looks at inputs and actors (including the roles of parties, unions, and employers), the impact of gender and religion, patterns of migration and a changing public opinion, the role of international organisations and the impact of globalisation. The next two sections cover policy inputs (in areas such as pensions, health care, disability, care of the elderly, unemployment, and labour market activation) and their outcomes (in terms of inequality and poverty, macroeconomic performance, and retrenchment). The seventh section consists of seven chapters which survey welfare state experience around the globe (and not just within the OECD). Two final chapters consider questions about the global future of the welfare state." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Boll, Friedhelm & Anja Kruke (Hrsg.) (2008): Der Sozialstaat in der Krise. Deutschland im internationalen Vergleich. Gekürzte Ausgabe des "Archiv für Sozialgeschichte, Band 47". (Archiv für Sozialgeschichte Band 47 (gekürzte Ausgabe)), Bonn: Dietz, 414 S.

Abstract

"Das Buch bietet einen Einblick in die historische Entwicklung des Sozialstaats in Deutschland vor dem Hintergrund heutiger Problemlagen. Das besondere Augenmerk liegt auf dem Vergleich mit anderen Staaten in Europa. Dabei werden Handlungsspielräume des Sozialstaats insgesamt betrachtet, seine Ausformungen auf spezifischen Feldern wie u. a. dem Gesundheitswesen, der Bildungspolitik und der Rentenversicherung analysiert sowie die Entstehung heutiger Probleme aus historischen Entwicklungen heraus beleuchtet. Überlegungen zur Krisensemantik im 20. Jahrhundert sowie Studien zur Rolle einzelner Akteure für die Entwicklung des Sozialstaats - wie z. B. der Internationalen Arbeitsorganisation - runden das Buch ab. Die Beiträge dieses Sammelbandes sind dem Archiv für Sozialgeschichte, Bd. 47 (2007) entnommen." (Textauszug, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Dullien, Sebastian (2008): Eine Arbeitslosenversicherung für die Eurozone. Ein Vorschlag zur Stabilisierung divergierender Wirtschaftsentwicklungen in der Europäischen Währungsunion. (SWP-Studie 2008/S1), Berlin, 29 S.

Abstract

"Trotz des kräftigen Aufschwungs der vergangenen beiden Jahre haben die wirtschaftlichen und politischen Spannungen in der europäischen Währungsunion (EWU) zugenommen. Einige Länder, darunter Deutschland, gewinnen permanent an Wettbewerbsfähigkeit, während andere Länder zurückfallen. Diesen Problemländern drohen Jahre stagnierender Wirtschaftsleistung und steigender Arbeitslosigkeit. In Portugal hat sich der Prozess realer Konvergenz bereits umgekehrt, Spanien könnte bald folgen. Die derzeitige Hypothekenkrise in den USA dürfte diese Trends weiter verschärfen. Angesichts dieser Probleme gibt es inzwischen sogar Spekulationen über ein Auseinanderbrechen der Währungsunion oder den Ausstieg einzelner Länder, etwa Italiens. Zu den Ungleichgewichten beigetragen haben der Studie zufolge nationale Finanzpolitiken, die in vielen der Euroländer systematisch Booms angefeuert und Schwächephasen verstärkt haben. Mit Blick auf die Institutionen und Erfahrungen der USA argumentiert die Studie, dass die Einführung einer europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung dieses Problem abmildern könnte. Der Boom in einzelnen Ländern könnte damit abgebremst werden, weil Kaufkraft abgeschöpft wird, bevor die Wirtschaft gefährlich überhitzt. Ein Abschwung könnte abgemildert werden, indem die Kaufkraft gestützt wird. Insgesamt könnte so der Entwicklung gefährlicher langfristiger Ungleichgewichte bei Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Leistungsbilanzen entgegengewirkt werden. Dabei wird vorgeschlagen, dass ein solches System in der EWU einen Teil der bisher nationalen Systeme ersetzen könnte und damit die nationalen Regierungen von dem Zwang befreit, ausgerechnet im Abschwung Leistungen zu kürzen. Das System könnte so gestaltet werden, dass über den Konjunkturzyklus die bisherigen Nettozahlungsströme in der EU nicht verändert werden." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Deinzer, Roland (2004): Konvergenz- und Stabilisierungswirkungen einer europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung. (Beiträge zum Europäischen Wirtschaftsrecht 29), Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 394 S.

Abstract

"Unter dem Eindruck der aktuellen Debatte um die Aufweichung des Stabilitäts- und Wachstumspaktes und der übermäßigen Staatsverschuldung in mehreren EU-Staaten beschäftigt sich Roland Deinzer mit folgender Fragestellung: Kann die Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion ohne zusätzliche Elemente einer Sozialunion langfristig überleben? Der Autor macht einen fundierten Vorschlag für eine europäische (Grund-)Arbeitslosenversicherung als ein Teil einer Europäischen Sozialunion, die nicht ideologisch motiviert, sondern wirtschaftlich begründet und notwendig ist. Deinzer untersucht empirisch die Stabilisierungs- und Umverteilungswirkungen des bundesdeutschen Systems der Arbeitslosenversicherung. Er berechnet, dass zwischen 1991 und 2003 über die BA 186,3 Mrd. umverteilt wurden. Darauf aufbauend, fordert der Autor als Stabilisierungsmechanismus eine europäische (Teil-)Arbeitslosenversicherung, da Euroland auf Grund fehlender Ausgleichsmechanismen sowie der relativen Immobilität der EU-Bürger keinen optimalen Währungsraum darstellt. In diesem System wäre Deutschland augenblicklich Nettoempfänger, die wenig erfolgreiche Regional- und Strukturpolitik der EU würde weitgehend obsolet, der bargaining process um neue Fördergelder würde entfallen. Eine europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung könnte damit doppelt integrationsfördernd wirken: Sie liefert den fehlenden Anpassungsmechanismus für das Überleben der Währungsunion und fördert die Solidarität zwischen den Bürgern der EU." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)