Initial subsidies for start-up entrepreneurs

Abstract

"Business start-up schemes for the unemployed have been the focus of much research in recent years. However, not much is known about self-employment programs directed specifically towards welfare benefit recipients. For this latter group, a program granting start-up subsidies for up to 24 months was introduced in Germany in 2005, along with the implementation of Social Code II. Our research report investigates for the years 2005 to 2009 how the group of participants is structured. Specifically, we compare the participants' composition with respect to gender, age, education, nationality, and job-reentrant status to that of all unemployed welfare benefit recipients, based on figures provided by the statistics department of the Federal Employment Agency. Furthermore, using micro data we investigate determinants of the level of the start-up subsidy. Here, we focus on examining how the level of the subsidy varies with the participants' household size and unemployment duration. Legal regulations, implementation guidelines for job centers, as well as more recently a decree stipulate that the level of the subsidy should be adjusted according to these factors." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Haller, S., Wolff, J. & Zabel, C. (2010): Einstiegsgeld als Gründungsförderung. Teilnehmerstrukturen und Determinanten der Förderleistung. (IAB-Forschungsbericht 09/2010), Nürnberg, 35 p.