In the 2000s, start-up assistance for the unemployed was one of the most important tools of active labor market policy in Germany. With more than 1.8 million startups supported between 2002 and 2011, it had a significant impact on the startup scene. On behalf of the Cottbus Chamber of Industry and Commerce, we conducted our first study on the impact of the startup grant in Brandenburg, thereby supplementing our nationwide findings with a regional perspective. The study was based on a survey of grant recipients from the first quarter of 2009, as well as a comparison group of eligible unemployed individuals who did not claim the grant. The results were largely positive: 85 percent of the companies that received funding in Brandenburg were still in business 19 months after their founding—a higher percentage than in the other eastern German states and significantly higher than in western Germany. About 90 percent of the program participants were employed, either as self-employed individuals or as employees, compared with about 60 percent in the control group, and they earned higher incomes. The impact analysis confirmed that the funding significantly increased employment opportunities and was particularly effective in eastern Germany, where there was a lack of alternatives in salaried employment. The results were less impressive when it came to business growth: Only about 18 percent employed at least one additional person, compared with over 30 percent nationwide.
Additional Information
Cooperation partners
