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What can be Learned from Whom? Germany's Employment Problem in Comparative Perspective

In several (large) states of the European continent, particularly in Germany, progress in bringing down high unemployment has been slow. In contrast, 'employment miracles' occurring in a number of countries of the Western world receive increasing attention and raise the question of what can be learned from their obviously more successful political strategies and institutional reforms for attaining better employment performance. The first part of the paper discusses different criteria for evaluating 'successful' employment performance in comparative perspective. After looking into the 'employment miracles' and the policies and policy changes which are commonly ascertained as having been conducive to success - concentrating mainly on the Netherlands, Denmark and the USA - the question of transferability is addressed by examining which elements could be transferred to Germany and other countries of the European continent. The conclusion is that, apart from modernizing (active) labour market policy, there is not much to copy from others. However, successful institutional arrangements and policy innovations implemented elsewhere may be informative with regard to the hindrances of reform in one's own country and the search for possible 'functional equivalents'.