German Works Councils and Productivity: First Evidence from a Nonparametric Test
Abstract
This paper presents the first nonparametric test whether German works councils go hand in hand with higher labor productivity or not. It distinguishes between establishments that are covered by collective bargaining or not. Results from a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for first order stochastic dominance tend to indicate that pro-productive effects are found in firms with collective bargaining only. However, the significance level of the test statistic is higher than a usually applied critical level. This somewhat weak evidence casts doubts on the validity of results from recent parametric approaches using a regression framework that point to high positive effects of works councils on productivity.Download Info
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Paper provided by University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics in its series Working Paper Series in Economics with number 14.Length: 12 pages
Date of creation: 15 Sep 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:lue:wpaper:14
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Web page: http://leuphana.de/institute/ivwl.html
Related research
Keywords: Works councils; productivity; stochastic dominance;Other versions of this item:
- Joachim Wagner, 2008. "German works councils and productivity: first evidence from a nonparametric test," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 15(9), pages 727-730.
- Wagner, Joachim, 2005. "German Works Councils and Productivity: First Evidence from a Nonparametric Test," IZA Discussion Papers 1757, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2006-04-08 (All new papers)
- NEP-EFF-2006-04-08 (Efficiency & Productivity)
References
References listed on IDEASPlease report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Addison, John T. & Schnabel, Claus & Wagner, Joachim, 2003.
"The Course of Research into the Economic Consequences of German Works Councils,"
IZA Discussion Papers
878, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- John T. Addison & Claus Schnabel & Joachim Wagner, 2004. "The Course of Research into the Economic Consequences of German Works Councils," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 42(2), pages 255-281, 06.
- Addison, John T. & Schnabel, Claus & Wagner, Joachim, 2003. "The course of research into the economic consequences of German works councils," Discussion Papers 22, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
- Addison, John T. & Bellmann, Lutz & Schnabel, Claus & Wagner, Joachim, 2002. "The reform of the German works constitution act: a critical assessment," Discussion Papers 16, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
- Richard B. Freeman & Edward P. Lazear, 1995.
"An Economic Analysis of Works Councils,"
NBER Chapters,
in: Works Councils: Consultation, Representation, and Cooperation in Industrial Relations, pages 27-52
National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Richard B. Freeman & Edward P. Lazear, 1994. "An Economic Analysis of Works Councils," NBER Working Papers 4918, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Olaf H¸bler & Uwe Jirjahn, 2003.
"Works Councils and Collective Bargaining in Germany: The Impact on Productivity and Wages,"
Scottish Journal of Political Economy,
Scottish Economic Society, vol. 50(4), pages 471-491, 09.
- Hübler, Olaf & Jirjahn, Uwe, 2001. "Works Councils and Collective Bargaining in Germany: The Impact on Productivity and Wages," IZA Discussion Papers 322, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Schank, Thorsten & Schnabel, Claus & Wagner, Joachim, 2002.
"Works Councils – Sand or Grease in the Operation of German Firms?,"
IZA Discussion Papers
648, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Thorsten Schank & Claus Schnabel & Joachim Wagner, 2004. "Works councils - sand or grease in the operation of German firms?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 11(3), pages 159-161.
Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Uwe Jirjahn & Jens Mohrenweiser & Uschi Backes-Gellner, 2009.
"Works Councils and Learning: On the Dynamic Dimension of Codetermination,"
Working Papers
0116, University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU), revised Nov 2010.
- Uwe Jirjahn & Jens Mohrenweiser & Uschi Backes‐Gellner, 2011. "Works Councils and Learning: On the Dynamic Dimension of Codetermination," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(3), pages 427-447, 08.
- Ingrid Ott & Susanne Soretz, 2006. "Governmental activity and private capital adjustment," Working Paper Series in Economics 26, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
- Ingrid Ott & Susanne Soretz, 2006. "Nachhaltige Entwicklung durch endogeneUmweltwahrnehmung," Working Paper Series in Economics 24, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
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