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Teachers trained in one country are often not allowed to serve as teachers in another country because their teacher's license is not recognised as equivalent. The barriers these teachers have to overcome in order to work in their profession again are high and often require further (full) teacher training at the university. The paper provides insights into the conditions for teachers who participate in (re-)qualification programmes in Germany and Europe. By linking the theoretical concepts of a biographical approach to teacher professionalisation and transnationalisation in education, the results of an interview study with teachers who have participated in a programme for refugee teachers at a university in Germany are presented. The Grounded Theory analysis reconstructs the strategies of internationally educated teachers managing to keep up their hope to be able to work as teachers again and thus counter the formal de-professionalisation they are facing.

The increasing number of migrants and refugees arriving in Europe places new demands on European education systems. In this context, the role that free digital learning (FDL) could play in fostering inclusion has attracted renewed interest. While the existing literature highlights some general design principles for developing FDL for migrants and refugees, there is little information on the use of FDL at specific education levels, or for specific learning purposes. This paper presents the results of a qualitative study that was carried out as part of the Moocs4Inclusion project of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) between July and December 2016. The study, which has a European focus, disaggregates the analysis of FDL initiatives by what were identified as its three most common purposes: (a) language learning, (b) civic integration and employment, and (c) higher education. For each of these topics, the study sheds light on the approaches used by a wide sample of initiatives, users' levels of awareness of what is available and take up, and migrants' and refugees' perceptions of the current offer. In order to collect the information needed to cover different approaches and perspectives, semi-structured interviews with 24 representatives of 10 FDL initiatives and four focus groups with 39 migrants and refugees were carried out. The results show that there are indeed overlaps between the purposes of FDL initiatives and their design principles. Specific recommendations on how to better design FDL initiatives for migrants and refugees, taking into account their specific purposes, have also been identified.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to answer a set of questions related to "Kompetenz", "Beruf" and the German Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning. What is a competence, can it be measured? Is the "Beruf" really endangered by the focus on learning outcomes? What are the implications as regards the learning process? Are permeability and mobility between occupations fostered? Design/methodology/approach: Literature was analysed to identify elements which are linked to the introduction of qualifications frameworks in Germany and which have an impact on the German system of education and training. Additionally some primary research was done by interviewing about 50 experts in the field. The results were published prior to this paper in the form of a study on behalf of the German government. Here they are used to highlight potentially controversial issues: "Beruf", "Qualifikation", "Kompetenz", "learning outcomes" and their relationship to qualifications frameworks. Findings: It is assumed that "Beruf" will also be used in future but in different contexts. It will describe any type of occupation or profession without the need to specify the way to get there ("Berufsbild"). Instead, there will be flexible pathways, allowing for non-formal and informal learning. Its former role of structuring training will be taken over by "Kompetenz" within the qualifications frameworks. It is recommended to clearly differentiate between learning outcomes and "Kompetenz". Research limitations/implications: As a one-year pilot phase to test the proposed qualifications framework is about to start, the final outcomes may be different from what is expected on the basis of this research. Originality/value: The paper answers a set of questions related to "Kompetenz", "Beruf" and the German Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

By analysing the childcaring experiences of female skilled workers from South Korea (hereafter, Korea) in Germany, this paper maintains that the challenges in labour market participation for highly skilled women, and especially those with children, should be understood in the context of their encounters with similar and different care and employment regimes between their home and host countries. On the theoretical level, this research confirms the argument that the migration of highly skilled workers should be contextualized not from a neoclassical perspective in which the maximization of economic profits takes priority, but from an institutional point of view in which social and cultural norms, practices, and policies in both the home and host societies are taken into consideration. Specifically, through a series of in-depth interviews conducted with skilled female migrants from Korea, this paper highlights the significance of taking the function of similar and different caring and employment regimes into account in explaining the challenges faced by highly skilled migrant women in labour market participation. On the empirical level, this paper sheds light on the migration experiences of skilled women from Asia as well as the (dis)integration processes of newcomers from third-national countries in Germany, with a focus on female migrants from Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ample evidence indicates that a person's human capital is important for success on the labor market in terms of both wages and employment prospects. However, unlike the efforts to identify the impact of school attainment on labor-market outcomes, the literature on returns to cognitive skills has not yet provided convincing evidence that the estimated returns can be causally interpreted. Using the PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills, this paper explores several approaches that aim to address potential threats to causal identification of returns to skills, in terms of both higher wages and better employment chances. We address measurement error by exploiting the fact that PIAAC measures skills in several domains. Furthermore, we estimate instrumental-variable models that use skill variation stemming from school attainment and parental education to circumvent reverse causation. Results show a strikingly similar pattern across the diverse set of countries in our sample. In fact, the instrumental-variable estimates are consistently larger than those found in standard least-squares estimations. The same is true in two "natural experiments," one of which exploits variation in skills from changes in compulsory-schooling laws across U.S. states. The other one identifies technologically induced variation in broadband Internet availability that gives rise to variation in ICT skills across German municipalities. Together, the results suggest that least-squares estimates may provide a lower bound of the true returns to skills in the labor market.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the effect of the onset of disability on life satisfaction and five different domains of satisfaction (health, household income, housing, job, leisure) for German individuals. Particular attention is paid to examining whether individuals can adapt to disability over time before and after its onset in terms of satisfaction. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) for the period 1984-2008, we estimate an innovative fixed-effects model on life satisfaction and each domain of satisfaction for working-age males (aged 21-58), which allows us to estimate lag and lead effects and thus to test the anticipation and adaptation hypotheses. Although individual obtain complete adaptation to disability in terms of global life satisfaction (5 years after the onset), this adaptation is not complete in all domains of satisfaction. For example, despite the fact that the levels of health satisfaction drop as the individual becomes disabled, after the onset it increases but the levels are lower than those reached before the onset. In contrast, the adaptation is especially faster in the terms of leisure satisfaction (3 years after the onset), household income and housing satisfaction (5 years after the onset in both cases). Our results support the findings obtained in other psychological studies that conclude that the domain of disability extends far beyond health related concerns to encompass the person's well-being definition of self and social position. Finally, these findings may help policy makers and government to promote social and economic measures and actions lead to increase the scores of global well-being and specific domains of satisfaction of this collective.

According to the segmentation theory, low-skilled jobs belong to the secondary sector of the labour market. Low-skilled jobs do not require vocational training and workers are interchangeable. Therefore, workers in this sector have poor working conditions and are regularly affected by employment interruptions. The current state of research, however, does not provide any longitudinal information about individual employment stability of workers performing low-skilled jobs. Furthermore, most of these workers are employed full-time and have completed professional training. Against this background, this paper deals with employment trajectories of workers in low-skilled jobs and their changes over time with regard to standard employment relationship. The aim of the explorative study is to analyse the assignment of workers in low-skilled jobs within the segmentation theory and to determine how segments have changed over time. We use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) to analyse the employment trajectories of two cohorts aged 35 to 44 years in Western Germany over a period of ten years. The employment trajectories are compared by means of sequence analysis with optimal matching algorithm as well as cluster analysis applying the "Partitioning Around Medoids" method (PAM) in combination with results from hierarchical ward clusters. The employment trajectories indicate that low-skilled jobs can be assigned to both the secondary and the primary sectors. The cohort comparison of employment trajectories shows change and continuity in the context of segments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that German and Spanish labour markets are quite different from a macro point of view. In this paper, we look at these markets through the lenses of individual unstable spells. These include all forms of atypical employment (such as temporary contracts and mini-jobs) as well as unemployment. This combined unstable state captures a fuller picture of the individual experience of volatile income and uncertain employment status than unemployment alone. We find that the survival rates of unstable spells in the two countries are much more similar than those from unemployment. This suggests that the usual focus on unemployment stocks and durations exaggerates the contrast between the two countries in terms of workers' experience of instability. We place these findings in the context of very similar aggregate shocks in the two countries and different policy choices on labour market reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies across the globe have intensified the digital interconnectedness of their manufacturing processes. Much attention was devoted to how industrial employment will be affected in this new production paradigm. In this paper, we use survey data collected from German industrial workers in 2014 and 2020 to contribute to the literature on digitalisation and industrial employment. This is the first scientific study on Industry 4.0 that empirically deals with the development of key parameters of industrial employment over time. Our findings support the argument that whilst increased digital interconnectedness creates more opportunities for highly skilled workers, the extent to which manual workers will be substituted is often overestimated. Second, our data suggests that the operations of larger companies tend to be more highly digitally interconnected than those of smaller firms. We also provide evidence that German industrial workers are less likely to expect substantial job losses through digitalisation than in 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Although talent management is increasingly being discussed by academics and practitioners, there are very few empirical studies to date concerning its dissemination and configuration in German companies. The purpose of this paper is to reduce this research deficit. Design/methodology/approach – In order to analyze the (causes of) the dissemination, configuration and influence factors of talent management in Germany, the authors collected data in two survey waves via an online survey. The sample consists of 313 completed questionnaires. The average size of the companies is 25,619 employees (median: 2,000 employees; spread 1-609,000). The authors analyze the data in different steps using a factor analysis, a regression analysis and a cluster analysis. Findings – The paper provides evidence of the dissemination and configuration of talent management in Germany, as well as the reasons for its introduction in Germany. It also contributes to the (empirical) analysis of talent management and to the study of the dissemination of (human resource) management concepts. The authors find evidence that some companies in Germany have implemented talent management as a facade, while others have done so out of economic necessity. Originality/value – The analysis represents one of the first scientific studies in German-speaking countries that focusses on talent management configuration, the causes of its dissemination and the characteristics of companies using it. In combination with the current study of Festing et al. (2013) it draws an extensive picture of talent management in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the impact of industry specific regional specialization on employment growth in German planning regions between 1998 and 2007. The paper investigates Germany as a whole as well as Western and Eastern Germany separately. By using a shift-share regression approach the paper provides new findings about the existence of industry-specific localization advantages. The results show that inverse localization advantages play a major role in explaining regional disparities in Germany. This involves a process of deconcentration of economic activity. In addition, differences between Eastern and Western Germany can also be identified. Resumen Este artículo analiza el impacto de la especialización regional específica por industrias sobre el crecimiento del empleo en las regiones de planificación alemanas entre 1998 y 2007. El artículo estudia Alemania en su totalidad, así como Alemania Occidental y Oriental por separado. Mediante la utilización de un enfoque de regresión shift-share, el artículo aporta nuevos resultados acerca de la existencia de ventajas de localización específicas por industria Los resultados muestran que las ventajas de localización inversa tienen un papel clave a la hora de explicar las disparidades regionales en Alemania. Esto implica un proceso de desconcentración de la actividad económica. Además, también se pueden identificar diferencias entra Alemania Occidental y Alemania Oriental. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung Discussion Papers is the property of Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Raumforschung und Raumordnung is the property of Oekom Verlag GmbH and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Contrary to the number of unemployed or vacancies, the number of employees subject to social security contributions (SSC) for Germany is published after a time lag of 2 months. Furthermore, there is a waiting period of 6 months until the values are not revised any more. This paper uses monthly data on the number of people subject to compulsory health insurance (CHI) as auxiliary variable to better nowcast SSC. Statistical evaluation tests using real-time data show that CHI significantly improves nowcast accuracy compared to purely autoregressive benchmark models. The mean squared prediction error for nowcasts of SSC can be reduced by approximately 20%. In addition, CHI outperforms alternative candidate variables such as unemployment, vacancies and industrial production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities around the world face a common challenge - producing graduates with the necessary practical skills for employment. Cooperative education and work-integrated learning (WIL) make a valuable contribution to increasing graduate employability, however, there are differences in the level of cooperation from industry and government commitment. A comparative study of WIL in Germany, Australia, and South Korea, focusing predominantly on three universities, showed differences in the approaches to achieving practical experience and increasing graduate employability. The data underlying the research was derived from questionnaires, a focus group session, and the development of a descriptive, multi-case study. This allowed comparisons and contrasts between the three universities to be identified. The results and conclusions outlined in this paper aim to highlight best practice in cooperative education and WIL and provide recommendations for the future development of cooperative education, in order to improve graduate employability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adds to our understanding of the effects of globalization and localization on comparative strategic human resource management by providing an encompassing overview of the existing research paradigms, a brief description of the relevant theoretical underpinnings of comparative strategic human resource management research, and an analysis of the--admittedly limited--empirical results from a German perspective. Illuminating the peculiarities of the German, European, and U.S./American models from a comparative perspective makes the shape of strategic human resource management in Germany clearer: It is clearly distinct in that it focuses on employment practices associated with traditional values such as high investment in training, long-term employee development plans, job protection, and collaboration between employer and employee on various levels. However, Germany shares some characteristics with human resource management models in other European countries, and there is also evidence that it may be adopting some U.S./American strategic human resource management practices, which are sometimes considered best practices beyond the United States. Later in the paper I outline an agenda for future research and review implications for management practice and education. The conclusions do not focus solely on Germany as the country of investigation, but instead take a broader perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at unemployed individuals and investigates wage differences generated by re–employment selection. It shows that discriminatory re–employment selection can result, indirectly, in discriminatory re–employment pay. A Heckman two–stage selection model is combined with an extension of Gomulka–Stern non–linear decompositions to explain how re–employment selection generates indirect discrimination. The paper uses data from pre–unification Germany in the late 1980s and finds that female human capital suffers more from unemployment and that the market is harsher to males for becoming unemployed. New policies should encourage a regime where the hiring process is more transparent and hiring decisions are monitored on a regular basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lending cuts by banks directly affect the firms borrowing from them, but also indirectly depress economic activity in the regions in which they operate. This paper moves beyond firm-level studies by estimating the effects of an exogenous lending cut by a large German bank on firms and counties. I construct an instrument for regional exposure to the lending cut based on a historic, postwar breakup of the bank. I present evidence that the lending cut affected firms independently of their banking relationships, through lower aggregate demand and agglomeration spillovers in counties exposed to the lending cut. Output and employment remained persistently low even after bank lending had normalized. Innovation and productivity fell, consistent with the persistent effects. (JEL E32, E44, G01, G21, G32, R11, R23) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to examine a cluster-based strategy implemented in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia under the 2007-2013 "Regional Competitiveness and Employment" programme. Departing from traditional discretionary approaches, a substantial share of the funds was now allocated on a competitive basis. The authors analyse the resulting distribution of funds across stakeholders and sub- regions and try to assess the pros and cons of this process, which constitutes a novel delivery system for cluster policies. Design/methodology/approach -- Following a literature review, the paper applies two sets of regression models to explain the distribution of funds under the new policy delivery system. Interviews with stakeholders provide evidence on the efficacy and efficiency of the competitive funding process. Findings -- The changes introduced in the 2007-2013 funding period benefit universities and research organisations, as well as intermediary organisations, whereas the private sector and especially small firms capture a rather small piece of the pie. Contrary to the "innovation paradox" hypothesis, structurally weak sub-regions did not lose out in state-wide funding contests. The presence of universities with an overall high volume of third-party funding is the key variable explaining the spatial distribution of funds. This interview evidence identifies the duration of the selection process and its administrative complexity as main weaknesses, which the authors attribute to bureaucratic rationality on different levels. Originality/value -- This is the first analysis of a competitive funding scheme at the sub-national level, using the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia as a case study. It sheds light on the mechanisms of funding allocation in the 2007-2013 funding period of the European Union's cohesion policy, which was reoriented towards supporting regional competitiveness and employment in response to the Lisbon Agenda. While competitive funding is still seen as mobilising regional stakeholders and improving the quality of projects and the selection process, these findings highlight administrative complexity as a main deficiency, which has partly been addressed in the 2014-2020 funding period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Working time accounts (WTAs) allow firms to smooth hours worked over time. The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether this increase in flexibility has also affected how firms adjust employment in Germany over the business cycle.Design/methodology/approach This paper uses rich microeconomic panel data and fixed effects estimations to compare the employment adjustment of firms with and without WTAs.Findings The authors show that firms with WTAs show a similar separation and hiring behavior in response to revenue changes as firms without WTAs. One possible explanation is that firms without WTAs used short-time work (STW) to adjust hours worked instead. However, the authors find that firms with WTAs use STW more than firms without WTAs.Originality/value These findings call into question the popular hypothesis that WTAs were the key driver of the unusually small increase in German unemployment in the Great Recession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the role that vocational education and training (VET) in ICT subject areas plays in contributing to the gender and social class structuring of ICT occupations, focusing in particular on education and employment data from the UK. The paper also makes reference to similar data about ICT VET in Germany and Japan to argue that the new areas of 'soft' ICT skills - in education and in occupations - have become feminised, and channel women into low skilled and low paid work. Unlike university level ICT education, which has opened opportunities for women and students coming from families with no experience of higher education, sub-degree level ICT VET seems to be continuing to reproduce gender and socio- economic class within and through ICT occupations. I argue that those concerned with gender equity research and interventions in ICT need to work with an analysis that disaggregates what are now appearing to be quite different skills sets, and different career opportunities often misleadingly conflated under the umbrella term 'ICT'. I also argue for better analytical models for the gendering of ICT than those offered by the 'leaky pipeline' or 'critical mass' models, and for new analyses that would incorporate both a structural analysis and new ways of looking at women's choices, such as Hakim's 'orientation to work'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to answer a set of questions related to "Kompetenz" , "Beruf" and the German Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning. What is a competence, can it be measured? Is the "Beruf" really endangered by the focus on learning outcomes? What are the implications as regards the learning process? Are permeability and mobility between occupations fostered? Design/methodology/approach - Literature was analysed to identify elements which are linked to the introduction of qualifications frameworks in Germany and which have an impact on the German system of education and training. Additionally some primary research was done by interviewing about 50 experts in the field. The results were published prior to thispaper in theform of a study on behalf of the German government. Here they are used to highlight potentially controversial issues: "Beruf", "Qualifikation", "Kompetenz", "learning outcomes" and their relationship to qualifications frameworks. Findings - It is assumed that "Beruf" will also be used in future but in different contexts. It will describe any type of occupation or profession without the need to specify the way to get there ("Berufsbild"). Instead, there will be flexible pathways, allowing for non-formal and informal learning. Its former role of structuring training will be taken over by "Kompetenz" within the qualifications frameworks. It is recommended to clearly differentiate between learning outcomes and "Kompetenz". Research Limitations/implications - As a one-year pilot phase to test the proposed qualifications framework is about to start, the final outcomes may be different from what is expected on the basis of this research. Originality/value - The paper answers a set of questions related to "Kompetenz", "Beruf" and the German Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of the paper is to estimate the effectiveness of two start-up programs (bridging allowance and start-up subsidy) in East Germany. Design/methodology/approach -- Using a combination of administrative data from the Federal Employment Agency and a follow-up survey (for roughly 1,300/1,000 participants/non-participants), the analysis is based on the conditional independence assumption. Kernel matching estimators are applied to estimate the treatment effects and test the sensitivity of the results using a conditional difference-in-differences approach. Findings -- At the end of the observation period both programs are effective: unemployment rates of participants are lower, and employment rates and personal income are higher when compared to non-participants. Additionally, first descriptive evidence of the additional employment effects through direct job creation is presented, which is quite significant for the bridging allowance and negligible for participants in the start-up subsidy. Research limitations/implications -- Participants in the start-up subsidy are in their third year of participation at the end of the observation period and mostly still receive further support (although at a reduced rate). Therefore, the results for this program have to be treated as preliminary. Practical implications -- In contrast to other active labor market programs that have been evaluated recently (including job-creation schemes and vocational training programs) this paper finds considerable positive effects for start-up subsidies. Hence, programs aimed at turning the unemployed into entrepreneurs may be a promising strategy in East Germany. Originality/value -- This is one of the first studies that allows inferences to be drawn about the effectiveness of start-up programs in East Germany. Most previous studies on the effectiveness of active labour market policies in the Eastern part of Germany neglected these programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies Verdoorn's and Okun's law to derive efficient estimates of the employment and unemployment threshold in the Unified Germany. The analysis is built on a disaggregated dataset of regional labour markets, where spatial dependencies are taken into account. Especially, a spatial SUR model is proposed utilising the eigenfunction decomposition approach suggested by Griffith (1996, 2000 ). The thresholds turn out to be unstable over time. However, minimum output growth sufficient for a rise in employment is below the level needed for a drop in the unemployment rate. If spatial effects are ignored, the thresholds seem to be markedly overrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the mutual impact channels of Germany's major regional policy instrument (GRW) on regional economic development. Different from earlier studies which have predominately focused on a partial assessment of output effects, we explicitly endogenize the factor inputs of the underlying production function. This allows us to comprehensively assess the role of the GRW in driving per capita output, employment, human and physical capital intensities as well as the region's technological growth. The results from a spatial panel vector autoregressive model show that GRW funding has significant positive effects on regional output, the employment rate and human capital intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to elicit young economists' job preferences through the use of a choice experiment (CE). Design/methodology/approach: A CE conducted at a total of five universities in Spain, the Czech Republic and Germany. After estimating a random parameter logit model, the monetary value of the willingness to accept a specific job attribute is simulated. Findings: The most important job characteristic, consistent across countries and universities, is a long-term career prospect at the company. Originality/value: This is the first CE conducted on business and economics students' job preferences in three European countries. Using the same survey instrument allows for the comparison of students' job preferences across countries and also between private and public universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional governments' discretion in allocating structural funds is limited by the competences of the European Commission to control fiscal activities of decentralized governments. Regional political behaviour and the complexity of the implementation process shape the policy outcome. Who benefits from structural funds? In this paper, we analyse implementation of ERDF funds in East Germany in the financial perspective 2007 to 2013. We find that less rural regions and some economic sectors benefit by more than others. A few beneficiaries control the highest share of the funds. The Gini coefficients vary by group of actor and show high inequality in the distribution of the funds. This indicates that a few actors have better access to the funds than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs socioeconomic and remote sensing data to develop a novel approach to analysing the morphological urban spatial structure in select German city-regions. Furthermore, the suggested multidimensional procedure facilitates the analysis of the implications of different urban spatial structures in terms of physical urban form. All analyses are conducted on the spatial scale of 1 km? grid cells to allow for spatially detailed results and to account for intra-municipality differences in the urban spatial structures in the study regions. The results indicate fundamental differences among the study regions' distribution of employees and built-up volumes and, as a result, among their urban spatial structures. Both employees and built-up volumes are found to be highly spatially clustered primarily within the core cities but with notable exceptions, which thus qualifies the regions as polycentric. This finding is consistent with prior research but also reveals that built-up volumes can be understood as physical manifestations of proximity advantages to which firms and employees are subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between redistribution, convergence and local cultural capital (as defined by culture-based development concept). Design/methodology/approach -- The paper infers the basic mechanism of the cultural dependence of convergence and inequality -- through an empirical test for the case of the "German job miracle" during the current crisis. Two empirical questions are asked: first, is local income inequality associated with local cultural capital and second, is the negative convergence between East and West Germany during the crisis related to culturally sensitive employers' preference for job preservation vs job loss. An OLS enquiry and two deeper estimation methods (a logit model and a 3SLS simultaneous equations model) are alternatively applied in order to triangulate the empirical results. Findings -- The findings support the existence of cultural effect on local income inequality and cultural path dependence of employers' preferences for job preservation vs job loss in a condition of economic shock. Originality/value -- The paper provides both theoretical reasoning and empirical illustration of the significance of the cultural effect on human preferences which may or may not allow for redistribution and convergence between localities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Family Research (JFR) is the property of University of Bamberg Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Single parents and their children benefit particularly from early childhood education and childcare programmes. Nevertheless, almost a third of single parents in Germany who need childcare for their children under the age of three are unable to find it. Although around 70 % of day care providers claim to take the single-parent criterion into account when allocating slots, the prevailing allocation procedures cannot guarantee that this is implemented. This article shows how transparent allocation criteria can be designed nationwide and how their implementation can be realised through suitable, centralised, municipal allocation systems. Particularly in (western) German regions with a high unmet demand for institutional childcare, single-parent status should be considered as an independent criterion in addition to other factors such as employment and child age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT European labour markets have undergone several important innovations over the last three decades. Most countries have reformed their labour markets since the mid-1990s, with the liberalization of fixed-term contracts and temporary work agencies being the common elements to such reforms. This paper investigates the existence of a change in the dynamic behaviour of the aggregate employment for major European Union countries - France, Germany, Italy and Spain. According to our results, partial labour market reforms have made the response of the aggregate employment to output shocks larger and quite comparable to that found for the UK - the most flexible labour market in Europe since the Thatcher reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the (short-run) employment and wage effects of the 2004 EU enlargement on firms located close to Germany's eastern border. We use a 50% sample of Germans plants and apply difference-in-differences estimators combined with a matching approach. We evaluate changes in total employment, the employment shares of low-skilled and East European workers and the wages for low-skilled, skilled and high-skilled workers in various sectors. Our results suggest basically no short-run employment effects of the EU enlargement except for firms active in wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants. We also find some evidence for a stronger employment of East European workers in almost all border firms, although the effects are quantitatively small. Negative wage effects are only found for skilled workers in consulting, research and related activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we employ a wage-setting approach to analyze the labor market effects of immigration into Germany from 1980 to 2004. This enables us to consider labor market rigidities, which are prevalent in Europe. We find that the elasticity of the wage-setting curve is particularly high for young workers. Moreover, natives and foreigners are imperfect substitutes. The wage and employment effects of immigration depend on the skill structure of the immigrant workforce. Because the foreign labor supply shift has mainly affected the high-skilled labor market segment, the 4 percent increase of the workforce through immigration has not increased either aggregate or foreign unemployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Has economic unification succeeded? Assessments differ, depending on the criteria selected, and the benchmark used. In many areas, from productivity to infrastructure and housing, dramatic economic improvements are readily apparent. Yet daunting challenges remain: the speed of productivity convergence has slowed, unemployment remains high and net emigration continues. Looking forward, demographic and fiscal trends pose serious challenges. This paper begins with a brief look back at the experience since 1989 before turning to a discussion of current and future challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the assumption of strict exogeneity, which is usually invoked in estimating models of state dependence with unobserved heterogeneity, is violated in the poverty context as important variables determining contemporaneous poverty status, in particular employment status and household composition, are likely to be influenced by past poverty outcomes. Therefore, a model of state dependence is developed that explicitly allows for possible feedback effects from past poverty to future employment and household composition outcomes. Empirical results based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) suggest that there are indeed such feedback effects and that failure to take them into account may lead to biased estimates of the state dependence effect. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- In 1997 minimum wages were introduced in the West and East German construction sector. The purpose of this paper is to analyze their impact on wage growth and employment retention probability of affected workers. Design/methodology/approach -- Following a difference-in-differences approach the paper proposes a method to identify the effects of this quasi-experiment despite the lack of information on working hours in the large panel microdata. The method determines the size of the treatment and control group by the maximum likelihood criterion. Findings -- All results show positive wage growth effects of the minimum wage regulation in both parts of the country. When it comes to employment effects, the results clearly differ between the two parts of the country. The employment effects are negative for East Germany and positive for West Germany, although the latter are not always statistically significant. Research limitations/implications -- Although there is a limit to the simple transferability of the results for the construction sector to other industries, the study provides some useful insights for this country concerning reactions to the minimum wage. This is the first paper analyzing the effect of minimum wages in Germany using microeconometric methods. Practical implications -- As the minimum wage in the East German construction sector was much higher in relation to the median wage than in West Germany, a tentative conclusion of the different employment results might be that the trade-off between increasing wages for low-paid workers and the danger of job losses does not exist in this case if minimum wages are moderate. Originality/value -- This paper provides valuable information on the impact of wage growth and employment retention probability in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The paper aims to present an analysis of the indirect and direct effects of active labour market policy measures at the regional level for Western Germany. Design/methodology/approach -- Most evaluation studies of active labour market policy focus on the microeconometric treatment effect using individual data and do not account for possible indirect effects like deadweight and substitution effects. The present study uses a dynamic specification of the augmented matching function at the regional level. A dynamic panel data model is estimated using monthly and regional variation of different labour market programmes as explanatory variables. Furthermore, spatial interactions are taken into account by adding a spatially correlated error term. Findings -- Almost no significant negative effects are found of the stock of participants in programmes of labour market policy on the number of outflows from unemployment into regular jobs. Thus, contrary to findings at the individual level, no lock-in effect is found. The number of programme participants does not reduce the number of outflows from unemployment. On the other hand when looking not at the stocks but on the outflows from programmes, no positive effects on outflows from unemployment at the regional level are found. Research limitations/implications -- Because of data limitations only a period up to six months after completing a programme is used. Originality/value -- The authors distinguish between the effects of the stock of programme participants and of the outflows from programmes. Furthermore, the authors account for spatially correlated error terms by using a GM estimator proposed by Muff in 2006. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a large employer–employee matched data-set, the paper investigates the effects of variable enforcement of German dismissal protection legislation on the employment dynamics in small establishments. Specifically, using a difference-in-differences approach, we study the effect of changes in the threshold scale exempting small establishments from dismissal protection provisions on worker flows. In contrast to the predictions of the theory, our results indicate that there are no statistically significant effects of dismissal protection legislation on worker turnover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reviews theory and evidence on the ways in which regulation affects productivity outcomes. In a context of endogenous growth, it is argued that traditional measures of compliance costs miss the potentially most important impacts of regulation on productivity which occur through changes in incentives to invest and to innovate. Recent attempts to measure cross-country variations in the strength of product-market and employment regulation are considered and some weaknesses are highlighted. Nevertheless, consistent with endogenous growth models, there appears to be quite strong evidence that regulations which inhibit entry into product markets have an adverse effect on TFP growth in OECD countries. Although there are some discrepancies in the evidence, on most measures the UK appears lightly regulated relative to France and Germany, and this may have contributed to a reduction in the recent past in the UK's TFP gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically analyses the effect of naturalisation on on-the-job training (OJT) participation among first-generation immigrants in Germany. OJT is associated with improved labour market outcomes and provides therefore an indicator for labour market integration. Naturalisation is assumed to act as a signal of the employee's commitment to the host country and may thus increase employers' likelihood of offering OJT. Testing the theoretical link with multivariate estimations (based on the German Socio-Economic Panel) shows a positive and significant correlation. To reduce selection bias on observables, propensity score matching is applied, yielding a significant average treatment effect. JEL Classification: J15, J24, M53 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports new results on the role of firms from various size classes in the job generation process in Germany. It is based on a unique longitudinal data set covering all manufacturing establishments that existed in at least one year between 1978 and 1993 in the German federal state Lower Saxony. We find that gross job creation and destruction rates tend to decline with firm size, while net job creation rates and firm size are not systematically related when firms are classified according to their average number of employees in the base and end year. Small firms create (destroy) quite a large share of all new (lost) jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The German vocational education system, especially its dual system of apprenticeship training, is often praised for providing vocational skills geared to current practices in specific occupations. Yet only about half of all Germans currently have jobs that match their vocational education. This paper uses data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, a nationally representative household panel study, to examine a variety of individual and structural level variables hypothesized to influence the likelihood of an individual being employed in a position that fits his or her vocational training. It also identifies factors that influence the probability that an individual moves from a job that does not fit his or her training to a position that does. Finally, the paper examines earnings differences between persons with varying types of vocational education and considers if these differences depend on whether or not an individual is employed in a job that fits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]