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Doing well in reforming the labour market? Recent trends in job stability and wages in Germany

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  • Rothe, Thomas
  • Giannelli, Gianna C.
  • Jaenichen, Ursula

Abstract

The German employment miracle with a weak decline in employment and low unemployment during the great recession seems to be a good example for a successful labour market reform. While the aggregate level of job turnover seems to be stable over time, there are nevertheless concerns about rising inequality in the labour market. In this paper we analyze the quality of newly started jobs between 1998 and 2010 using a huge administrative data set which allows to look at job durations and earnings for different groups of workers over time. Microeconometric models of job stability and wages are estimated to control for a wide range of individual, firm and regional characteristics. Our results show a fairly constant level of overall job stability but decreasing wages and rising wage dispersion over time, which is in line with wage moderation explanations of the employment miracle. In a further analysis we focus on certain groups of workers with disadvantages in job duration and wages, like low skilled, formerly unemployed and temporary agency workers. Again, we find evidence of a rise in job durations of new jobs accompanied by a decrease in wages.

Suggested Citation

  • Rothe, Thomas & Giannelli, Gianna C. & Jaenichen, Ursula, 2013. "Doing well in reforming the labour market? Recent trends in job stability and wages in Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2013 (Duesseldorf): Competition Policy and Regulation in a Global Economic Order 79932, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc13:79932
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    Cited by:

    1. Sylvain Weber & Giovanni Ferro Luzzi, 2014. "From Lifetime Jobs to Churning?," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 150(III), pages 227-260, September.
    2. Engelbert Stockhammer & Cédric Durand & Ludwig List, 2015. "European growth models and working class restructuring before the crisis," Working Papers PKWP1508, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    3. Ive Marx & Brian Nolan & Javier Olivera, 2014. "The Welfare State and Anti-Poverty Policy in Rich Countries," Working Papers 1403, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    4. Elke Jahn & Enzo Weber, 2016. "The effect of temporary help jobs on employment volatility," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 49(1), pages 412-427, February.
    5. Stockhammer, Engelbert & Durand, Cédric & List, Ludwig, 2015. "Growth models and working class restructuring before the crisis," Economics Discussion Papers 2015-4, School of Economics, Kingston University London.
    6. Olivier Giraud & Arnaud Lechevalier, 2018. "The grey zone and labour market dynamics in Germany," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 24(3), pages 317-336, August.
    7. Wolfgang Nagl & Michael Weber, 2014. "Unemployment compensation and unemployment duration before and after the German Hartz IV reform," ifo Working Paper Series 186, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    8. Ruoff, Bea., 2016. "Labour market developments in Germany : tales of decency and stability," ILO Working Papers 994899913402676, International Labour Organization.
    9. Bofinger, Peter & Buch, Claudia M. & Feld, Lars P. & Schmidt, Christoph M. & Wieland, Volker, 2013. "Gegen eine rückwärtsgewandte Wirtschaftspolitik. Jahresgutachten 2013/14 [Against a backward-looking economic policy. Annual Report 2013/14]," Annual Economic Reports / Jahresgutachten, German Council of Economic Experts / Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung, volume 127, number 201314.
    10. Niklas Engbom & Ms. Enrica Detragiache & Ms. Faezeh Raei, 2015. "The German Labor Market Reforms and Post-Unemployment Earnings," IMF Working Papers 2015/162, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Boll, Christina & Boysen-Hogrefe, Jens & Wolf, André, 2017. "Wie viel Soziale Marktwirtschaft steckt in den Wahlprogrammen zur Bundestagswahl 2017?," HWWI Policy Papers 105, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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