Universität zu Köln

Gharbi, Sarah ORCID: 0009-0001-8307-2928 (2025). Essays in Public Economics. PhD thesis, Universität zu Köln.

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Abstract

Over the past decades, numerous policies have been implemented to reduce labor market frictions. Yet, despite widespread recognition of the importance of employment, economists continue to debate the most effective strategies to promote it. Designing effective policies to foster employment is challenging without a deep understanding of firms' behavior. It is, therefore, essential to analyze how firms choose their employment levels in response to different policies, in particular, fiscal policies. Chapters 2 and 3 investigate the effects of a different form of business taxation, based on input factors. In these chapters, I leverage fiscal policy variations and rich administrative data to analyze how businesses respond, thereby effectively "opening the black box" of firms. In the final chapter of this dissertation, I shift the focus to the supply side of the labor market. I investigate a specific policy addressing labor market frictions: Active Labor Market Policies (ALMPs). I highlight that overlooking gender differences in policy evaluations can lead to inaccurate conclusions about a policy’s effectiveness. From taxation to subsidized employment programs, my findings emphasize the need to account for heterogeneity across firms and individuals. By employing quasi-experimental methods and rich administrative data, I provide new empirical insights into the effects of business taxation, particularly input-based taxes, and the gender differential in the effectiveness of subsidized employment.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD thesis)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Gharbi, Sarah sgharbi@wiso.uni-koeln.de orcid.org/0009-0001-8307-2928 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-785876
Date:	2025
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Management, Economy and Social Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences > Economics > Microeconomics, Institutions and markets > Professur für Economics
Subjects:	Economics
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Business taxation English capital and labor English Labor market policy English firm English
Date of oral exam:	30 June 2025
Referee:	Name Academic Title Siegloch, Sebastian Univ.-Prof. Dr. Pinger, Pia Univ.-Prof. Dr.
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/78587