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Start-Up Subsidy (old)

  • Project title: Evaluation of the New Start-Up Subsidy
  • Funded by: Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremburg
  • Project duration: 2010-2014
  • Project leader(s): Prof. Dr. Marco Caliendo
  • Participant(s): Jens Hogenacker, Steffen Künn (IZA)
  • Cooperation partners: Dr. Frank Wießner (IAB)

Short Description

In 2006 the German government introduced the “new start-up subsidy” (“Gründungszuschuss”) to support unemployed individuals to become self-employed. The implementation of this program replaced two earlier programs, i.e., the bridging allowance (“Überbrückungsgeld”) and the start-up subsidy (“Existenzgründungs­zuschuss”). Evaluations of the latter two programs within the Hartz-Evaluation and the IZA research project Long-Run Effects of Start-Up Subsidies (see below) showed that they were quite successful. The current project aims at evaluating the new start-up subsidy and is therefore a consistent extension of the research on start-up subsidies in Germany. We adopt a holistic evaluation approach, comparing the labor market outcomes of subsidized business founders and a control group of other unemployed individuals on the one hand, and the performance of subsidized businesses to unsubsidized start-ups on the other. Furthermore, we survey supported entrepreneurs right after they are starting their business, allowing an assessment of the dynamic process during the founding period.

Publications

  • Caliendo, M., Hogenacker, J., Künn, S. and Wießner, F. (2015): Subsidized Start-Ups out of Unemployment: A Comparison to Regular Business Start-Ups, Small Business Economics, 45(1), 165-190.
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  • Caliendo, M., Künn, S., Wießner, F. (2012): Der Gründungszuschuss in Brandenburg: Eine regionale Analyse, IZA Research Report No. 48, Bonn.
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  • Caliendo, M., Hogenacker, J., Künn, S., Wießner, F. (2012): Gründungszuschuss für Arbeitslose: Bislang solider Nachfolger der früheren Programme, IAB Kurzbericht No. 2/2012, Nuremberg.
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  • Caliendo, M., Hogenacker, J., Künn, S. and Wießner, F. (2012): Alte Idee, neues Programm: Der Gründungszuschuss als Nachfolger von Überbrückungsgeld und Ich-AG, Journal for Labour Market Research / Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung, 45(2), 99-123.
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