Abstract

Administrative data have become an important part of modern empirical labor market research. Among others, one reason for the high utilization of administrative data is that they can be shaped according to the researchers needs. As a consequence, many of the publications in leading journals are based on individualized or custom-shaped administrative data that fit perfectly the identification strategies of the researchers. The Research Data Center (FDZ) of the German Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, BA) at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) is the most important supplier of administrative labor market data on the level of individuals/households or establishments to the scientific community in Germany. While generally providing access to standardized datasets, FDZ cooperated with several researchers in the past to build customized data, thus providing the basis for top-level publications in prestigious journals like the Quarterly Journal of Economics and the American Economic Review. For the DFG Priority Program The German Labour Market in a Globalised World: Challenges through Trade, Technology, and Demographics (SPP 1764), FDZ aims to continue to supply high quality custom shaped data to researchers of this DFG Priority Program during the second funding phase. These data will be specifically designed to suit the underlying research questions of the specific projects. Building such customized data requires not only extensive knowledge of the source data and data protection regulations but also resources for creation, testing and documentation of the final data. Typically, this is not just a service task, but presumes own research experience of the internal staff and close cooperation between internal and external researchers. In order to foster this productive exchange, FDZ will collaborate with researchers of this DFG Priority Program on data development. The idea is to create data that are not only a resource for the projects of this DFG Priority Program but which will also represent an added value to the scientific community in general. Hence, FDZ aims to incorporate innovations achieved in this DFG Priority Program into its standardized data products to make them available for researchers in the future. The unique interaction between FDZ, researchers and international experts in this DFG Priority Program will not only ensure the creation of new and innovative data. It will lay the basis for cutting-edge research may be measured in terms of international visibility and top-level publications within this DFG Priority Program and beyond.