| Abstract: | The Hartz reforms of the labour market constitute an important turning point in the evolution of the labour market in Germany. While the reforms consisted of four parts, it was especially the reform of the unemployment benefit system — the Hartz IV reform — that led to a strong response in the public and the media. Andrey Launov and Klaus Wälde demonstrate that the Hartz III reform of the German public employment agency (the ‘Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA)’), that took place one year earlier, was much more successful in reducing unemployment. The reorganisation or the BA accounts for around 20% of the reduction of unemployment between 2005 and 2008. By contrast, the Hartz IV reform can account for only 5% of this reduction. |
