Politiktransfer Durch die Europäische Beschäftigungspolitik? Methodische Überlegungen und Empirische Analyse des Falls Deutschland

Abstract

The paper analyses whether the European Employment Strategy (EES) has induced a policy transfer on German labor market policies since 1998. It turns out that, first, it is possible methodologically to investigate policy transfer empirically. Secondly, even though German labor market policies are far from being determined by the EES, the soft coordination still exerts measurable impacts. Thirdly, we suggest distinguishing between amplifier- and steering-effects in order to understand the diverse effects of soft coordination better. Finally, we identify four conditions which make a policy transfer more likely, namely the concreteness of the goals, the partisan complexion of government, the policy area and the magnitude of the prevailing problems.