"Employments effects of Vocational Rehabilitation in Germany: A Quantitative Analysis” 

In this thesis, unique administrative data, a relevant time of follow-up and advanced statistical measures to handle confounding have been utilized in order to provide new and informative evidence on the effects of vocational rehabilitation programs on work participation outcomes in Germany. While re-affirming the important role of micro-level determinants, the present study provides an extensive example of the individual  and  fiscal  effects  that  are  possible  through  meaningful  vocational rehabilitation measures. The analysis showed that the principal objective, namely, to improve participation in  employment,  was  generally  achieved.  Contrary  to  the  common  misconception that  “off-the-job  training”  is  relatively  ineffective,  this  thesis  has  provided  an empirical  example  of  the  positive  impact  of  the  programs.