Mass Weddings, Baby Boom and Full Employment?: Nazi Germany’s 1933 Marriage Loan and Its Efficacy in Theory and Practice

Somcutean Cristina ()
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Somcutean Cristina: Robert-Koch-Str. 73, D-85051 Ingolstadt Germany

Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook, 2022, vol. 63, issue 1, 267-301

Abstract: In 1933, the German government introduced the marriage loan for newlyweds, a policy aimed at increasing marriages and births as well as male employment, which entailed a work ban for the wife and sizeable credit deductions for children. This paper illustrates that the policy was rather ineffective based on a critical evaluation of the existing literature on the topic, how the policy was implemented in practice, as well as a correlation and interrupted time series analysis and consideration of the historical context of the period between 1925 and 1939. This result starkly contrasts to the substantial changes expected at the time of the introduction. In theory, only a small fraction of newlyweds was eligible for the loan. In practice, the development of marriages postintroduction significantly differed from the period prior to the policy, but causation is unclear. While births increased, this can be attributed to a combination of policies and the improved economic environment compared to the crisis years. The sharp decrease in unemployment probably resulted from the introduction of several targeted policies and embellishment of unemployment statistics.

Keywords: marriage loan; labour policy; Nazi Germany; male unemployment; birth premium; work ban; family formation; female employment; marriage rate; birth rate; demography; marriage; Ehestandsdarlehen; Arbeitsmarktpolitik; NS-Zeit; Männerarbeitslosigkeit; Geburtenprämie; Arbeitsverbot; Familiengründung; Frauenerwerbstätigkeit; Eherate; Geburtenrate; Demographie; Ehe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J K N (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bpj:jbwige:v:63:y:2022:i:1:p:267-301:n:4

DOI: 10.1515/jbwg-2022-0010

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