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Electoral Cycles in Active Labor Market Policies

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  • Mario Mechtel

    () (Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Tübingen, Germany)

  • Niklas Potrafke

    () (Department of Economics, University of Konstanz, Germany)

Abstract

We examine how electoral motives influence active labor market policies that promote (short term) job-creation. Such policies reduce measures of unemployment. Using German state data for the period 1985 to 2004, we show that election-motivated politicians pushed jobpromotion schemes before elections.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Department of Economics, University of Konstanz in its series Working Paper Series of the Department of Economics, University of Konstanz with number 2011-39.

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Length: 25 pages
Date of creation: 06 Oct 2011
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:knz:dpteco:1139

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Keywords: political business cycles; opportunistic politicians; active labor market policies;

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References

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Cited by:
  1. Mario Mechtel & Niklas Potrafke, 2012. "Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik und Wahltermine," Ifo Schnelldienst, Ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 65(16), pages 35-37, 08.

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