TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Rinne, Ulf
AU  - Zimmermann, Klaus F.
        TI  - Is Germany the North Star of Labor Market Policy?
        PY  - 2013/Mar/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 7260
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp7260
        AB  - 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.
        KW  - unemployment
KW  - Great Recession
KW  - austerity
KW  - Germany
KW  - labor policy
KW  - labor market reforms
        ER  -