Policy Article
Working Despite Hartz IV (original publication German only)
In February 2010 the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the standard benefits under the Hartz IV Act are not constitutional. The verdict rekindled the discussion about an adequate basic social security in Germany. With reference to the limited social participation the recipients, higher benefits were required. In his contribution, the author discusses the question of how high the basic security may be without impairing incentives to work.