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Job tenure and labour market dynamics during high industrialization: the case of Germany before World War I

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  • BROWN, JOHN C.
  • NEUMEIER, GERHARD

Abstract

As recent commentaries on Western European unemployment have noted, high unemployment, limited worker mobility, and a limited creation of jobs characterise the current inflexible labour market structures. This article uses a new source, extracts from the Arbeiterbücher of eight German firms found in textiles and heavy industry during the period of high industrialisation, to identify key features of the labour markets of pre-1914 Germany. The results are consistent with neo-classical economic models of labour markets. Hazard analysis of firm employment records suggests that while marital status played an important role in mobility, even older workers held three to four times as many jobs as workers today. Information and skill levels were also crucial determinants. Mobility was highly responsive to shifts in demand conditions as well.

Suggested Citation

  • Brown, John C. & Neumeier, Gerhard, 2001. "Job tenure and labour market dynamics during high industrialization: the case of Germany before World War I," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(2), pages 189-217, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:ereveh:v:5:y:2001:i:02:p:189-217_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Bräuer, Richard & Hungerland, Wolf-Fabian & Kersting, Felix, 2021. "Trade Shocks, Labor Markets and Elections in the First Globalization," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 285, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    2. Domenech, Jordi, 2005. "Labour market adjustment to economic downturns in the Catalan textile industry, 1880-1910: did employers breach implicit contracts?," Economic History Working Papers 22333, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    3. Domènech, Jordi & Elu-Terán, Alexander, 2008. "Women's Paid Work in an Urban Developing Economy. Barcelona in 1930," Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(3), pages 375-401, January.

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