eprintid: 10069841 rev_number: 25 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/10/06/98/41 datestamp: 2019-03-11 10:17:48 lastmod: 2021-01-12 07:10:07 status_changed: 2019-03-11 10:17:48 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Kügler, A creators_name: Bradley, J title: Labor market reforms: An evaluation of the Hartz policies in Germany ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: A01 divisions: B03 divisions: C03 divisions: F24 keywords: Labor market policy, Hartz reforms, Job search, Wages, Employment note: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. abstract: How do workers and firms respond to comprehensive labor market reforms? We use detailed micro data to analyze the German Hartz Reforms through the lens of a structural model of the labor market. These reforms aimed at reducing unemployment, by increasing working hour flexibility, job matching and work incentives. In our setting, reforms directly affect the model parameters, which are estimated using matched data on 430,000 workers in 340,000 firms. Contrary to previous findings, our analysis shows that, although the reforms shortened the typical duration of unemployment, they did not reduce unemployment as a whole and led to a decline in wages. Low-skilled workers suffered the most in terms of employment and wage losses. Furthermore, we decompose the contribution of each reform wave to employment and wage changes, finding that the reduction in generosity of unemployment benefits was the principle driver in reducing wages. date: 2019-04 date_type: published publisher: Elsevier official_url: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2018.12.008 oa_status: green full_text_type: other language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green article_type_text: Journal Article verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1638030 doi: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2018.12.008 language_elements: English lyricists_name: Kuegler, Alice lyricists_id: AKUEG53 actors_name: Kuegler, Alice actors_id: AKUEG53 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: European Economic Review volume: 113 pagerange: 108-135 issn: 0014-2921 citation: Kügler, A; Bradley, J; (2019) Labor market reforms: An evaluation of the Hartz policies in Germany. European Economic Review , 113 pp. 108-135. 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2018.12.008 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2018.12.008>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10069841/7/Kuegler_Labor%20market%20reforms.%20An%20Evaluation%20of%20the%20Hartz%20Policies%20in%20Germany_AAM.pdf