Established in 1998, starting with 100 papers in the first two years, the IZA Discussion Paper series now includes more than 10,000 working papers authored by IZA researchers 
and network members. On average, a new IZA DP goes online every ten hours. Covering a wide range of topics in labor economics and related fields, our papers are freely available online through the IZA website and various online databases. About two-thirds of the papers have meanwhile been published in refereed journals and volumes. Click on the image for more facts&figures!
From the CEO…
“The IZA discussion paper series has had an enormous impact on establishing IZA’s reputation as a top-level research institution in labor economics – and it will continue to play a key role. Providing an efficient platform for researchers to disseminate their work at an early stage, the IZA discussion papers stimulate constructive feedback from peers. They serve as an invaluable device of scientific quality control, and I dare say this series has its own merits in shaping labor economics as an important sub-discipline within economics.”
— Hilmar Schneider (CEO of IZA)
Or as the IZA network coordinator puts it…
“The first IZA Discussion Paper appeared in April 1998. While not there yet, the IZA Discussion Paper series is now much nearer to being, “… as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand
which is upon the seashore….” [Genesis 22:17] And like the stars of the heaven, the Discussion Papers have illuminated very wide areas. They are central to the lives of professional economists, experts on labor and increasingly journalists and policy makers, and are a testimony to the usefulness of the IZA Network of scholars and experts.”
— Daniel S. Hamermesh (Chief Coordinator of the IZA Network)
Here’s what our fellows say…
“Throughout its history, the IZA Discussion Paper series has been a major outlet for new research in labor economics and related fields such as family economics, demographic economics and the methodology that supports serious empirical research. It provides an opportunity for very diverse scholars and methodologies to share ideas, to take fresh approaches to old problems and to pose new problems free of the threat of censoring, publication bias, or club membership bias. The series deserves the highest praise for disseminating a variety of good ideas and path-breaking analyses, and helping make economics an open and vigorous field.”
— James J. Heckman (University of Chicago), 84 IZA DPs“Over the years the IZA Discussion Paper series has been an invaluable resource for labour economists worldwide, and many papers have subsequently appeared in the economics
profession’s leading academic journals. To me, they have proven to be a great outlet both for my own work and for getting early previews of cutting edge research being undertaken in labour economics.”
— Stephen Machin (University College London & LSE)
“The IZA Discussion Paper series has been instrumental in ensuring that my work always has the greatest visibility among the world’s best economists. Over time, the stock of knowledge contained in this series has become quite extraordinary. It’s an invaluable resource when reviewing what is happening not only in labor economics research, but in economics research more generally.”
— Deborah A. Cobb-Clark (University of Sydney)“The IZA DP series is an ever growing ocean of knowledge about labor economics issues. The series is interesting for students who want to learn about state of the art
research. The series is also interesting for experienced researchers who want to remain up-to-date with the research output of colleagues. Contributing to the series means that your work will be read and cited. I think the IZA DP series is an asset for the research community in support for the advancement of science.”
— Jan C. van Ours (Tilburg University)
“The IZA DP series is both a prompt and permanent way to disseminate your research outcomes. It is prompt since your fresh research results can be immediately transmitted to the relevant scientific community within a few weeks; it is permanent since IZA DPs are so well diffused and reputed globally that they keep on being read and downloaded for years, sometimes more read and cited than regular journal articles.”
— Marco Vivarelli (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore – Milano),
co-author of the all-time top downloaded IZA DP
What the 10,000th IZA DP is all about…
IZA DP No. 10000 by Rasmus Landersø and James J. Heckman compares intergenerational social mobility in Denmark and the US. Denmark has a far more generous welfare state than the US. In terms of after tax and transfer income, Denmark has far greater intergenerational mobility. In terms of education, differences are especially strong at the top of the income distribution. Denmark and the US are equally mobile.
The generous welfare state of Denmark with its free education and universal childcare improves the cognitive test scores of comparably disadvantaged children. However, it weakens the incentives of those children to acquire schooling. These impaired incentives joined with the sorting of advantaged and disadvantages families into neighborhoods and schools explain the near parity in educational mobility across the two societies.
Stay informed…
More than 4,000 subscribers receive e-mail alerts with new papers 2-3 times a week. For better structuring and readability, new papers are sent out in batches of 4-5 papers 
each, grouped by similar topics.
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