Curing the sick man: The German labour market on the way to good health?

In 1999, 'The Economist' referred to Germany with the meaningful headline 'The sick man of the euro'. 15 years later, the world is talking about the 'German Labour Market Miracle'. In the first part, this paper describes the characteristics of the traditional German labour market, the resulting situation, and the problems which had to be tackled. In the process of curing Germany's problems, the fundamental reforms of the Schröder-administration played a significant role by bringing more flexibility to the labour market. In a second part, the report outlines current difficulties of the German labour market such as persistent long term unemployment. It also tries to find answers to the question whether the German labour market is in a healthy state now. Furthermore, the author presents an outlook on challenges the country may face in the near future

Is greater flexibility in the labour market the answer to the unemployment crisis?

In view of high and persistent unemployment in the European industrialised countries there is growing consensus that more flexibility is needed with regard to both the legal and institutional conditions governing the labour market (external flexibility) and the management of human resources within individual firms (internal flexibility). This article examines the interaction between internal and external flexibility with special reference to wages, working time and job security

Beschäftigungspolitisch erfolgreiche Länder : Konsequenzen für Deutschland (Experiences of countries with successful employment policy : consequences for Germany)

"In the USA, the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark the employment situation has improved decisively, especially in recent years. In addition there are indications of this positive development being sustained in these four countries. Even if the methods adopted by the 'successful countries' in order to achieve more employment and less unemployment can not simply be copied, they do provide important orientation aids for the selection and combination of strategies for tackling Germany's labour market problems. The aim of this report is above all to look at the proposals available for the German situation that are aimed at improving the labour market situation, to see them in the light of the 'success stories' and if necessary to amplify them. The starting point for the considerations is the IAB's set of strategies from 1996, which are based on simulation calculations. The central idea of the IAB proposals is that in view of the dimension of the employment problem, single instruments would be insufficient. The set of strategies thus consists of three components: - a reduction in the average annual working time, in particular by expanding part-time employment and reducing paid overtime work, - a moderate collective bargaining policy in wages, whose increase first remains behind the increase in productivity and also does not exceed it later on and - fiscal policy impulses by means of reductions in direct taxes and social security contributions in the context of a fixed schedule aimed at the medium-term consolidation of the budget as well as restructuring efforts in the public budget which have an effect on employment and are neutral in terms of revenue and expenditure. The experiences made by countries with successful employment policy confirm that the measures suggested for western Germany, which are broadly transferable to eastern Germany, stand up to a 'field test'. In addition to this the international experiences provide starting-points for adding to the IAB set of strategies - above all in such areas of policy that elude a quantitative simulation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Arbeitslosigkeitsbekämpfung, Beschäftigungspolitik, Arbeitsmarktentwicklung, Arbeitszeitpolitik, Lohnpolitik, Finanzpolitik, Arbeitsmarktpolitik, Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Industrieländer

The European Social Model and eastern enlargement

"The European Social Model (ESM) is increasingly becoming a model of integration policy. The idea is based on a combination of economic efficiency, in the sense of high productivity, competition and economic growth, and a high level of employment on the one hand together with social cohesion on the other hand. At the same time the ESM is understood as a dynamic model in evolution, whose development is influenced by global, European and national processes, including eastern enlargement. With the accession of the eight Central and Eastern European countries to the European Union, the economic and social disparities between the now 25 EU Member States have grown considerably. On the basis of theoretical and empirical literature this paper develops answers to the following questions in particular: will there be a gradual erosion of the ESM, are there prospects of convergence or are new vectors developing in the enlarged field of power? The authors reach the conclusion that the old and the new Member States, starting out from different historical experiences in the past decades and different levels of production and productivity, will have to withstand structurally similar challenges in the foreseeable future if they wish to achieve economic efficiency and social cohesion simultaneously. From the perspective of the new Member States, which come from an egalitarian tradition, there is every reason to believe that the majority of the population desires social cohesion and will demand it. Together with the diverse integration advantages of enlargement, a successful catching-up process in the new Member States provides good preconditions for the preservation and productive development of the ESM." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))EU-Osterweiterung, regionale Disparität, europäische Sozialpolitik, europäische Integration, Konvergenz, Arbeitsmarktentwicklung, Wirtschaftsentwicklung, Produktivitätsentwicklung, soziale Integration, Integrationspolitik, Leitbild, Europäische Union, Osteuropa, Mitteleuropa

EU-Osterweiterung: Sozialer Fortschritt geht über Wachstum und Wettbewerb

Bei dem beträchtlichen ökonomischen Rückstand der zehn Länder, die seit Mai 2004 zur EU gehören, wird auch das soziale Gefälle in der neuen EU-25 noch lange bestehen. Anhaltende Beschäftigungsprobleme erschweren den Aufholprozess. Die Funktionsfähigkeit der Arbeitsmärkte in den neuen Ländern verdient daher besondere Aufmerksamkeit. Die Ausgestaltung der Arbeitsmarktinstitutionen in den neuen EU-Ländern geht eher in Richtung des angelsächsischen Modells. Dies erhöht möglicherweise die Anpassungsfähigkeit im schwierigen Aufholprozess. Erhebliche Unterschiede bei den Arbeitskosten in den neuen und alten Ländern werden den Lohndruck in der EU noch lange hoch halten und die Verlagerung arbeitsintensiver Produktion von West nach Ost begünstigen. Das Wohlfahrtsgefälle in der Gemeinschaft zeigt sich insbesondere auch an der niedrigen Sozialquote der neuen Länder. Sie liegt mit 15 bis 20 Prozent des BIP deutlich unter dem EU-15-Schnitt (27,5%). Die Sozialversicherungssysteme in den neuen EU-Ländern haben ähnliche Probleme wie die in den alten. Erschwerend kommt aber hinzu, dass den mittel- und osteuropäischen Volkswirtschaften das Potenzial für sozialpolitische Interventionen fehlt. Auf europäischer Ebene geht es nicht um eine Angleichung sozialstaatlicher Institutionen, sondern um eine Annäherung der dadurch erzielbaren Ergebnisse. Im Vordergrund steht dabei, wirtschaftliches Wachstum mit sozialem Fortschritt zu verbinden

Kombilohn: ein neuer Weg zu mehr Beschäftigung

Aufgrund der großen Arbeitslosigkeit plant die Bundesregierung, das in Rheinland-Pfalz erprobte Kombilohnmodell auf das gesamte Bundesgebiet auszudehnen. Was sind die Ursachen der Arbeitslosigkeit? Welche politischen Ansatzpunkte gibt es im Niedriglohnsektor? Ist die Lohnsubventionierung ein geeignetes Instrument zur Bekämpfung der Arbeitslosigkeit? --

Brutto- und Nettoeffekte der Arbeitsvermittlung : Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Messung ihres Nutzens für Arbeitsuchende, Betriebe und die Volkswirtschaft (Gross and net effects of employment services)

"It cannot be taken for granted that fulling a job vacancy via the employment services (or via other job-seeking measures) will lead to additional employment or even to less unemployment. Behind the attempt to measure the gross effect (e.g. in the form of the number of placements matched) always lies the central idea that a greater intervention of the (public as well as private) employment services would be of benefit to the labour market. However, in assessing the efficiency of placements not enough attention has been paid to the fact that the quantitative volume is less important than the net effect for the clients of the employment services and the over-all economy. The decisive question at the micro level, that is, in regard to the clients of the employment services, is, what would have happened to them if they had not used these services? Studies of the net effect of the employment services as a jobseeking route have been rare up to now and can be found solely in North America and a few European countries. The jobseekers themselves unanimously agree that the activities of the public job placement services contribute effectively to the reduction of the length of unemployment. However, in an efficiency comparison with other paths of recruitment for firms, our research shows, on the contrary, that public and private employment services do not always fare well. At the macro level the question must be posed of how the activities of the employment services have affected the overall economic dimensions, such as the level and structure of employment and unemployment. Because the employment services cannot create jobs at the employer level for their clients, their activities result in the redistribution of employment opportunities and unemployment risks to the benefit of their clients. The case for private agents can be justified by their contribution to an improvement of the market allocation and the case for the public employment services by their contribution to the reintegration of hard-to-place groups of persons." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Arbeitsvermittlung - Effizienz, Arbeitsvermittlung - Nutzen, Arbeitsuchende, Betrieb, Volkswirtschaft