Publications of the Research Unit Labour Markets and Social Insurance

  1. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-066 // 2024

    Cut off From New Competition: Threat of Entry and Health Care Quality

    We study how the threat of entry affects service quantity and quality of general practitioners (GPs). We leverage Germany’s needs-based primary care planning system, in which the likelihood of new GPs reduces by…

  2. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-062 // 2024

    No Teens, No Tech: How Shortages of Young Workers Hinder Firm Technology Investments

    Firms in developed countries face increasing shortages of young workers. This paper studies the importance of young workers, particularly vocational trainees, for firm technology investments. Leveraging…

  3. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-059 // 2024

    Civil Rights Protests and Election Outcomes: Exploring the Effects of the Poor People’s Campaign

    The Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) of 1968 was focused on highlighting, and ultimately reducing, poverty in the United States. As part of the campaign, protestors from across the country were transported to…

  4. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-058 // 2024

    Dynamic Responses to Smoking Bans: Evidence From Young Adults in a Developing Country

    Smoking bans have been widely implemented, despite mixed evidence on their effectiveness in reducing firsthand smoking. This paper provides novel insights into the dynamic impacts of smoking bans in the context…

  5. ZEW policy brief No. 24-14 // 2024

    Digitale Transformation auf Sparflamme: Weniger 4.0-Investitionen in der Pandemie

    Während der Covid-19-Pandemie kam es entgegen der öffentlich herrschenden Meinung zu keiner Beschleunigung der digitalen Transformation in Deutschland. Das zeigen Ergebnisse der neuen Betriebsbefragung…

  6. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-057 // 2024

    Firm-Level Technology Adoption in Times of Crisis

    This study investigates how crises affect firms’ adoption of frontier technologies using the Covid-19 pandemic as a case study. The analysis tracks the nature, timing, and pandemic-related motivations of…

  7. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-027 // 2024

    Are We Yet Sick of New Technologies? The Unequal Health Effects of Digitalization

    This study quantifies the relationship between workplace digitalization, i.e., the increasing use of frontier technologies, and workers’ health outcomes using novel and representative German linked…

  8. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-044 // 2024

    Expertise at Work: New Technologies, New Skills, and Worker Impacts

    We study how new digital technology reshapes vocational training and skill acquisition and its impact on workers’ careers. We construct a novel database of legally binding training curricula and changes therein,…