Should Welfare Administration be Centralized or Decentralized? Evidence from a Policy Experiment
Journal
German Economic Review
ISSN
1465-6485
ISSN-Digital
1468-0475
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2014
Author(s)
Abstract
The 2005 reform of the German welfare system introduced two competing organizational models for welfare administration. In most districts, a centralized organization was established where local welfare agencies are bound to central directives. At the same time, 69 districts were allowed to opt for a decentralized organization. We evaluate the relative success of both types in terms of integrating welfare recipients into employment. Com-pared to centralized organization, decentralized organization has a negative effect on employment chances of males. For women, no significant effect is found. These findings are robust to aspects of internal organization common to both types of agencies.
Language
English
Keywords
Welfare System
Organization
Decentralization
Labor Market Integration
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Publisher place
Oxford UK
Volume
2014
Number
early view / forthcoming
Start page
1
End page
30
Pages
30
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
70898
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
SWACD.pdf
Size
759.77 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
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