A New Targeting - A New Take-Up?: Non-take-up of Social Assistance in Germany after Social Policy Reforms

Kerstin Bruckmeier and Jürgen Wiemers

No 294, SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research from DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP)

Abstract: We present first estimates of rates of non-take-up for social assistance in Germany after the implementation of major social policy reforms in 2005. The analysis is based on a microsimulation model, which includes a detailed description of the German social assistance programme. Our findings suggest a moderate decrease in non-takeup compared to estimates before the reform. In order to identify the determinants of claiming social assistance, we estimate a model of take-up behaviour which considers potential endogeneity of the benefit level. The estimations reveal that the degree of needs, measured as the social assistance benefit level a household is eligible for, and the expected duration of eligibility are the key determinants of the take-up decision, while costs of claiming seem to play a minor role.

Keywords: Non-Take-Up; social assistance; microsimulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C15 H31 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 24 p.
Date: 2010
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cmp
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp294

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