Introduction

Abstract

Strategies against unemployment have been evaluated for a long time. A particular important goal of these efforts is the identification of effective active labour market policies (ALMP). Knowledge of what works in reducing joblessness is especially important in the context of ever rising unemployment in Europe. For a long time, this was particularly true for Germany. Over the last thirty years, high unemployment rates have become a characteristic element of the German labour market, especially in East Germany, where nearly one fifth of the working population experienced unemployment in the early 2000s (Bundesagentur für Arbeit 2012a).