Publications of the Research Unit Labour Markets and Social Insurance

  1. Refereed Journal // forthcoming

    investigating the analytical robustness of the social and behavioural sciences

    The same dataset can be analysed in different justifiable ways to answer the same research question, potentially challenging the robustness of empirical science1–3. In this crowd initiative, we investigated the…

  2. Refereed Journal // forthcoming

    The Anatomy of U.S. Sick Leave Schemes: Evidence from Public School Teachers

    We study how public school teachers use paid sick leave. Most U.S. sick leave schemes operate as individualized credit accounts – paid leave is earned and unused leave accumulates, producing an employee-specific…

  3. Refereed Journal // forthcoming

    Local Labour Market Resilience: The Role of Digitalisation and Working from Home

    This article shows that digital capital and working from home were essential for the resilience of local labour markets in the context of the COVID-19 crisis in Germany. Employment responses differed widely…

  4. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 26-001 // 2026

    Low Barriers, High Stakes: Formal and Informal Diffusion of AI in the Workplace

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is diffusing rapidly in the workplace, yet aggregate productivity gains remain limited. This paper examines the dual diffusion of AI – through both formal, employer-led and informal,…

  5. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 26-003 // 2026

    Minimum Wages and Provision of Training

    We find a substantial and long-lasting positive effect of the introduction of regional minimum wages on training incidence and intensity. We apply a stacked difference-in-differences estimation to identify the…

  6. ZEW policy brief No. 25-10 // 2025

    Rethinking Tracking: Lessons from Hungary for German Education Reform

    Educational tracking – separating students into different classes, tracks, or schools based on ability – is relatively commonplace worldwide, despite mixed evidence concerning how it affects student outcomes.…