Documents Neumann, Michael 8 results

"Labor supply in the market for low-paid jobs in Germany is strongly influenced by tax exemptions - even for individuals to whom these exemptions do not apply. We present compelling evidence that an individual's choice set depends on other workers' preferences because firms cater their job offers to aggregate preferences in the market. We estimate an equilibrium job search model which rationalizes the strong earnings bunching at the tax exemption threshold using German administrative data. We then simulate modifications to the tax schedule that remove the discontinuity and thus the bunching at the threshold. Results highlight the indirect costs of (discontinuous) tax policies which are shown to be reinforced by firm responses: Workers who would work anyway are hurt by subsidies benefiting groups who enter the market as a result of tax incentives."

"Since the millennium, the labor market participation of women and mothers is increasing across European countries. Several work/care policy measures underlie this evolution. At the same time, the labor market behavior of men and fathers, as well as their involvement in care work, is relatively unchanging, meaning that employed mothers are facing an increased burden with respect to gainful employment and providing care. We propose a family working time model that incentivizes fathers and mothers to both work in extended part-time employment. It provides a benefit in form of a lumpsum transfer or income replacement for each parent if, and only if, both parents work 30 hours per week. Thus, it explicitly addresses fathers and – contrary to most conventional family policies – actively promotes the dual earner/dual carer paradigm. Combining microsimulation and labor supply estimation, we empirically analyze the potential of the family working time model in the German context. The relatively small share of families already choosing the symmetric distribution of about 30 working hours would increase by 60 per cent. By showing that a lump-sum transfer especially benefits low-income families, we contribute to the debate about redistributive implications of family policies. The basic principles of the model generalize to other European countries where families increasingly desire an equal distribution of employment and care. In order to enhance the impact of such a policy, employers' norms and workplace culture as well as the supply of high-quality childcare must catch-up with changing workforce preferences."

"This paper exploits discontinuities induced by earnings caps for social security contributions (SSC) in Germany to analyse the effect of SSC on gross labour earnings. Empirical evidence is based on two complementary approaches utilising two administrative data sets. First, employment responses to SSC at the intensive margin are identified by a modified bunching approach that is applied to kinks in the budget set generated by the earnings caps. Second, I exploit an increase ofa regional earnings cap of health and long-term care insurance as a natural experiment. In order to analyse economic incidence a difference-in-differences approach is used to estimate the effects on gross earnings. I find employment responses to be negligible and the burden of SSC to be shared equally between employers and employees. Both results turn out to be robust and are consistent with a competitive labour market model."

"Die Einführung des Mindestlohns im deutschen Maler- und Lackiererhandwerk im Jahr 2003 wird als natürliches Experiment genutzt, um die Effekte von Mindestlöhnen auf Löhne und Beschäftigung zu untersuchen. Wir finden einen signifikant positiven Effekt auf den durchschnittlichen Stundenlohn der gelernten Beschäftigten in Ostdeutschland, nicht aber in Westdeutschland und nicht für ungelernte Arbeitskräfte. Dieser Befund entspricht der unterschiedlichen Eingriffsintensität der Mindestlöhne. Signifikant positive oder negative Beschäftigungseffekte werden nicht gefunden. Neuere Befragungsergebnisse deuten auf die fortbestehende Relevanz des Mindestlohns in Ostdeutschland hin."

"Since the millennium, the labour market participation of women and mothers is increasing across European countries. Several work/care policy measures underlie this evolution. At the same time, the labour market behaviour of fathers, as well as their involvement in care work, is relatively unchanging, meaning that employed mothers are facing an increased burden with respect to gainful employment and providing care. We propose a family working-time model that incentivizes fathers and mothers to both work in extended part-time employment. It provides a benefit in the form of a lump-sum transfer or income replacement for each parent if, and only if, both parents work 30 hours/week. Thus, it explicitly addresses fathers and – contrary to most conventional family policies – actively promotes the dual earner/dual carer paradigm. Combining microsimulation and labour supply estimation, we empirically analyse the potential of the family working-time model in the German context. The relatively small share of families already choosing the symmetric distribution of about 30 working hours would increase by 60 percent. By showing that a lump-sum transfer especially benefits low-income families, we contribute to the debate about redistributive implications of family policies. The basic principles of the model generalize to other European countries where families increasingly desire an equal distribution of employment and care. In order to enhance the impact of such a policy, employers' norms and workplace culture as well as the supply of high-quality childcare must catch up with changing workforce preferences. "