Publication type
Thesis/Degree/Other Honours
Author
Publication date
June 1, 2001
Abstract:
How do different welfare states respond to the challenge of unemployment? Comparing Britain and Germany in the 1990s, the main focus of this thesis is on how welfare policies affect outcomes for individuals unemployed persons. The interaction of the state, labour markets and household structures is considered crucial in understanding these outcomes. The selection of countries - Britain and Germany - allows us to assess a number of typologies of welfare systems and labour markets, comparing two contrasting countries in depth.
The principal outcomes considered are income poverty rates and income change, durations of unemployment, and the effects of unemployment on the labour market transitions of partners. Outcomes are assessed using both cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis on large, nationally representative data sets (BHPS and GSOEP). Continuous time event history analysis is used to model unemployment durations, and discrete time event history analysis is used to model the labour market transitions of the wives of unemployed men.
We find poverty rates and income falls are greater for the unemployed in Britain than in Germany, but differences between types of benefit are greater in Germany. Household situation is important; we find a cushioning effect of second earners, with single breadwinners who become unemployed most at risk of poverty, especially in Britain. We compare the relative durations of unemployment of women, youth and low-skilled in Britain and Germany. We find that, unlike in other highly regulated labour markets, only women are significantly disadvantaged in Germany, relative to Britain. Comparing the effect of unemployment and benefits on the labour market transitions of the wives of unemployed men, we find some evidence of an added worker effect in Germany, and a disincentive effect of means-tested benefit on partners' employment in Britain.
Subjects
Notes
not held in Res Lib - bibliographic reference only
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