An old idea, a new programme : the start-up grant as the successor to bridging allowance and the one-person business

Abstract

"The start-up support offered by the Federal Employment Agency remains one of the most significant instruments within the framework of active labour market policy in the legal sphere of Book III of the Social Code (SGB III). On 1 August 2006 the start-up subsidy ('Gründungszuschuss' (Section 57 SGB III) replaced its two predecessors, the bridging allowance ('Überbrückungsgeld') and the start-up subsidy for setting up one's livelihood ('Existenzgründungszuschuss') ('Me Inc.'/Ich-AG). Along with the goal of increasing transparency and clarity, the aim of the reform was above all to unburden the employment administration and to create a more efficient configuration for the support instrument. The results of the present study show that, as expected, the new programme showed similar participant structures to the bridging allowance and, in that, did not cover the breadth of the two previous programmes. Contrary to initial fears, the degressive rate of benefit withdrawal 'Transferentzugsrate' did not have a significant influence on the point of time at which the start-up decision was made. A closer look at the support situation likewise shows that the start-up grant stood out because of noticeable continuation rates for self-employment (75-84%) which partially lie well above those of the previous programmes. With respect to the much-discussed bandwagon effects of start-up support, descriptive evaluations point to the fact that bandwagon effects are of much less importance in connection with the start-up grant than has previously often been assumed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Caliendo, M., Hogenacker, J., Künn, S. & Wießner, F. (2011): Alte Idee, neues Programm: Der Gründungszuschuss als Nachfolger von Überbrückungsgeld und Ich-AG. (IZA discussion paper 6035), Bonn, 38 p.