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Another economic miracle? The German labor market and the Great Recession

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  • Ulf Rinne
  • Klaus Zimmermann

Abstract

Germany’s labor market responded only mildly to the Great Recession. Important factors for this development include the strong economic position due to recent labor market reforms, the crisis affecting mainly export-oriented companies, the extension of short-time work, time buffers due to working time accounts, the behavior of social partners, and automatic stabilizers. We emphasize the important interaction between short-time work and long-term shortages of skilled workers in sectors particularly affected by the crisis. Although Germany’s experience is in stark contrast to the United States, we identify and discuss common challenges at the center of the future jobs debate. Copyright Rinne and Zimmermann; licensee Springer. 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Ulf Rinne & Klaus Zimmermann, 2012. "Another economic miracle? The German labor market and the Great Recession," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-21, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:izalpo:v:1:y:2012:i:1:p:1-21:10.1186/2193-9004-1-3
    DOI: 10.1186/2193-9004-1-3
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic crisis; Germany; Short-time work; Unemployment; Labor market institutions; Internal flexibility; J68; J21; P52; O57;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • P52 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Studies of Particular Economies
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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