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The ultimate aim of opinion surveys is the provision of information on the distribution of preferences and perceptions at the individual level. Yet, eliciting this information from the data is typically difficult. This paper uses a structural model to explain the answers on a set of questions regarding the perception of foreigners and Jews by native Germans. In this model it is assumed that in addition to observable individual characteristics there exists an underlying unobserved attitude towards minorities which drives the distribution of answers by native respondents. This latent variable in turn is assumed to be influenced by a set of observable socio-economic characteristics of the individuals. In order to estimate this model it is necessary to impose strong identification restrictions. Estimation results show that education is the key correlate of the perception of foreigners and Jews in Germany.

This paper provides a snapshot of the stock of immigrants in Germany using the 1995 wave of the Microzensus with a particular emphasis on distinguishing first- and second-generation migrants. On the basis of this portrait, we draw attention to the empirically most relevant groups of immigrants and review the received literature on economic migration research in the three principal avenues of migration research. The aspect which we concentrate on in our empirical application, the welfare dependence of immigrants, is a matter of intense debate among economists and policy makers. We contrast the very moderate actual public transfer payment dependence of migrants to Germany with the perception of migrants dependence on public assistance by Germans from various population strata.

Mit dem Modellprojekt "Berliner Joboffensive" (BJO) sollte die Anzahl der Integrationen von erwerbsfähigen Leistungsberechtigten (eLb) in den ersten Arbeitsmarkt durch eine intensivere Betreuung erhöht werden. Hierfür war vorgesehen, dass in allen zwölf Berliner Jobcentern insgesamt 650 Integrationsfachkräfte (IFK) die eLb mit einem Markt-, Aktivierungs- oder Förderprofil mit einem Betreuungsschlüssel von 1:100 betreuen. Die marktnahen eLb sollten dadurch eine stärkere individuelle Förderung hin zum ersten Arbeitsmarkt erhalten, die zu einer schnellen und pass-genauen Vermittlung führt. Das ISG Institut für Sozialforschung und Gesellschafts-politik Köln/Berlin wurde von der Zentrale der Bundesagentur für Arbeit damit beauftragt, die kausalen Effekte der BJO zu ermitteln. Hierfür wurde ein konditionaler Differenz-von-Differenzen-Ansatz umgesetzt, mit dessen Hilfe die Effektivität und Effizienz der BJO untersucht wurde. Der vorliegende Bericht fasst die Ergebnisse zusammen. ; The pilot project "Berliner Joboffensive" (BJO) aimed at increasing the number of labor market integrations of individuals receiving means-tested unemployment benefits II (also known as Hartz IV) by intensified counseling and assistance. To this end, the caseload of 650 caseworkers in twelve Jobcenters in Berlin was reduced to 100 jobseekers per caseworker. Furthermore, these jobseekers were considered to be relatively close to the labor market and should have received intensive and individu-alized help to find an appropriate job on the (first) labor market quickly. The Federal Employment Office commissioned the ISG-Institute to identify the causal effects of the BJO. To this end, a conditional difference-in-difference approach was estab-lished to assess effectiveness and efficiency of the BJO. The report at hand summa-rizes the results.

School leaders play a central role in affecting the educational development of the young people for whom they have responsibility. This is especially the case where school leaders are operating in challenging low-income environments. This paper argues that a focus on Sen's notions of individual agency and freedom are a necessary but not a sufficient factor in the conversion of capabilities into functionings for these school leaders. This is done through using the Capabilities Approach as a lens through which to carry out a retrospective analysis and evaluation of the activities of a group of primary school headteachers in Ghana involved in a UK Government-funded project focused on education quality. The paper argues that headteachers with the capability of initiating change in the education process in their schools are unlikely to act in this way unless they feel that they have permission to do so. It is also important that headteachers feel that they are working within a context and an environment where acting in ways which aim to improve pupil learning is seen as central to their role. This kind of supportive context for school leaders (and for other educational practitioners) cannot be divorced from a policy environment which sanctions such activities, and, hence, it is argued that such a context is crucial to policy developments which seek to establish and sustain the core capabilities which are at the heart of Nussbaum's essentialist approach. The paper also brings to the foreground the tensions that exist between the notion of individuals being free to make choices about what they have reason to value, on the one hand, and the implications that these choices have for the freedoms of other individuals with whom they are connected to make such choices. Finally, it is argued in the paper that the action research approach used in the Leadership & Management Project in Ghana, allied to a positive policy context, provides both the sensitivity to context and a practice-oriented focus which can enable school leaders to bring about the conversion of their individual capabilities into functionings.

This paper investigates whether and to what extent employment policy measures (co-) financed by the European Social Fund in Germany meet their objective. Specifically, it is analyzed whether qualification programs for employed workers in the German state of Saxony were effective in terms of employment protection. To this end, a control function approach is implemented which utilizes a unique firm-level dataset. This model explicitly accounts for unobserved heterogeneity between participating and non-participating companies by modeling the participation decision process. Our results suggest a positive effect of program participation. However, this positive treatment effect varies considerably across different sub-groups of the treatment as well as the comparison group.

Im Rahmen der Evaluation der Umsetzung der Vorschläge der Hartz-Kommission zur Reform der Minijobs sowie zur Einführung der Gleitzone in der Sozialversicherung (so genannte Midijobs) werden Zwischenergebnisse mit Stand zweites Quartal 2004 vorgestellt und diskutiert. Es wird festgestellt, dass die Ziele dieser Reformen nur teilweise erreicht werden konnten. Die Anzahl beider Beschäftigungsverhältnisse ist signifikant gestiegen und die angestrebte Attraktivität eingetreten. Allerdings ist der Aspekt der 'Brücke' für Arbeitslose von solchen Jobs in sozialversicherungspflichtige Beschäftigung verbesserungsfähig. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass Arbeitnehmer durchaus bereit sind, zumindest vorübergehend eine so genannte atypische Beschäftigung aufzunehmen und dabei auch Lohnverzicht zu üben, in der Hoffnung auf Aufstiegsmobilität. Es wird vorgeschlagen, diese Bereitschaft zu stärken, zum Beispiel durch den Ausbau der Förderung in einem Programm 'Erweiterte Minijobs für Arbeitslose'. (IAB)

Im Rahmen der Evaluation der Umsetzung der Vorschläge der Hartz-Kommission zur Reform der Minijobs sowie zur Einführung der Gleitzone in der Sozialversicherung (so genannte Midijobs) werden Zwischenergebnisse mit Stand zweites Quartal 2004 vorgestellt und diskutiert. Es wird festgestellt, dass die Ziele dieser Reformen nur teilweise erreicht werden konnten. Die Anzahl beider Beschäftigungsverhältnisse ist signifikant gestiegen und die angestrebte Attraktivität eingetreten. Allerdings ist der Aspekt der 'Brücke' für Arbeitslose von solchen Jobs in sozialversicherungspflichtige Beschäftigung verbesserungsfähig. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass Arbeitnehmer durchaus bereit sind, zumindest vorübergehend eine so genannte atypische Beschäftigung aufzunehmen und dabei auch Lohnverzicht zu üben, in der Hoffnung auf Aufstiegsmobilität. Es wird vorgeschlagen, diese Bereitschaft zu stärken, zum Beispiel durch den Ausbau der Förderung in einem Programm 'Erweiterte Minijobs für Arbeitslose'. (IAB)

This paper investigates whether and to what extent employment policy measures (co-) financed by the European Social Fund in Germany meet their objective. Specifically, it is analyzed whether qualification programs for employed workers in the German state of Saxony were effective in terms of employment protection. To this end, a control function approach is implemented which utilizes a unique firm-level dataset. This model explicitly accounts for unobserved heterogeneity between participating and non-participating companies by modeling the participation decision process. Our results suggest a positive effect of program participation. However, this positive treatment effect varies considerably across different sub-groups of the treatment as well as the comparison group.

This paper investigates whether and to what extent employment policy measures (co-) financed by the European Social Fund in Germany meet their objective. Specifically, it is analyzed whether qualification programs for employed workers in the German state of Saxony were effective in terms of employment protection.To this end, a control function approach is implemented which utilizes a unique firm-level dataset. This model explicitly accounts for unobserved heterogeneity between participating and non-participating companies by modeling the participation decision process. Our results suggest a positive effect of program participation. However, this positive treatment effect varies considerably across different sub-groups of the treatment as well as the comparison group.