Concluding Remarks

Abstract

This thesis deals with Germany’s continuing high unemployment rate and examines possible solutions to this problem as formulated in the Hartz Commission proposals. The proposals have brought the issue of long-term unemployment back to the centre of social und political discussions. The commission wants to make job placement more effective and has assessed policies for reducing unemployment. The Hartz Commission has introduced 13 modules of innovation (figure 6.1), while the Hartz legislation has proposed Hartz I to IV (figure 6.2). My analysis shows that the Hartz legislation will only reduce unemployment figures and that the main intention of Hartz IV is to bring wages down, even though the authors talk of reducing unemployment. Investment data, fiscal budgets and economic development in Germany, socio-economic strategies, macroeconomic data analysis and a historical review contribute to a better understanding of the phenomenon of unemployment and the structure of social overheads.