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Reevaluating the German labor market miracle

Author

Listed:
  • Burda Michael C.

    (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany)

  • Seele Stefanie

    (INSM GmbH, Berlin, Germany)

Abstract

From 2003 to 2018, employment in Germany increased by 7.3 million, or by 19.3 % – growth not observed since unification. This “labor market miracle” was marked by a persistent and significant expansion of both part-time and low-wage jobs and a deterioration in pay for these jobs, while total hours hardly increased; overall wage growth returned only after 2011. These developments followed in the wake of the landmark Hartz reforms (2003–2005). A modified framework of Katz and Murphy (1992) predicts negative correlation of wages with both relative employment and participation across cells in the period following these reforms. In contrast, wage moderation alone should generate positive association of wages and participation. Our findings are most consistent with a persistent, positive labor supply shock at given working-age population in a cleared labor market. An alternative perspective of labor markets, the search and matching model, also points to the Hartz IV reforms as the central driver of the German labor market miracle.

Suggested Citation

  • Burda Michael C. & Seele Stefanie, 2020. "Reevaluating the German labor market miracle," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 21(2), pages 139-179, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:germec:v:21:y:2020:i:2:p:139-179
    DOI: 10.1515/ger-054-19
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Costantiello, Alberto & Leogrande, Angelo, 2023. "The Labor Force Participation Rate In The Context Of Esg Models At World Level," SocArXiv ra5ux, Center for Open Science.
    4. Martin Biewen & Miriam Sturm, 2022. "Why a labour market boom does not necessarily bring down inequality: putting together Germany's inequality puzzle," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(2), pages 121-149, June.
    5. Jessica Ordemann & Friedhelm Pfeiffer, 2022. "The evolution of educational wage differentials for women and men in Germany, from 1996 to 2019," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 56(1), pages 1-12, December.
    6. Christian Hutter & Francesco Carbonero & Sabine Klinger & Carsten Trenkler & Enzo Weber, 2022. "Which factors were behind Germany's labour market upswing? A data‐driven approach," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 84(5), pages 1052-1076, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    German labor market miracle; Hartz reforms; part-time work; wage inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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