%0 Report
        %A Rinne, Ulf
%A Zimmermann, Klaus F.
        %T Is Germany the North Star of Labor Market Policy?
        %D 2013
        %8 2013 Mar
        %I Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        %C Bonn
        %7 IZA Discussion Paper
        %N 7260
        %U https://www.iza.org/publications/dp7260
        %X Germany's recovery from an unemployment disease and its resilience to the Great Recession is remarkable. Its success story makes it a showcase for labor policy and labor market reforms. This paper assesses the potential of the German experience as a model for effective, evidence-based policymaking. Flexible management of working time (through overtime and short-time work, time accounts and labor hoarding), social cohesion and controlled unit labor costs, combined with a rigid, incentive-oriented labor policy supported by effective program evaluation, define the characteristics of a strong reference model. Austerity, sometimes seen as core to the German model, is not viewed as a key element.
        %K unemployment
%K Great Recession
%K austerity
%K Germany
%K labor policy
%K labor market reforms