Labor In Germany Research Articles

Entering a foreign labour market via the “academic gate”1. The experiences of Poles who came as international students to Germany

Against the background of debates on needs for highly-skilled labour in Germany, the article is interested in international students as a special group of Highly-Skilled Migration. It analyses the impact of studying abroad on future mobility and career patterns. The article presents results from an online survey and 27 qualitative interviews with Poles who came as international students and who later on entered the German labour market. Results from the online survey indicate that approximately 70 % return to Poland but lower return rates are observed among degree-seeking students than among exchange students. The professional value of the study abroad experience is very high. A qualitative typology comprising four types (“Brain Circulators”, “Polonia Members”, “International Career”, “Transformation Refugees”) shows how former international students combine Polish and German cultural capital in their professional life and identifies success and failed stories. As a result, special programmes should be created to smooth the transition from university to the labour market in the study abroad destination.

ELIZABETH B. JONES. Gender and Rural Modernity: Farm Women and the Politics of Labor in Germany, 1871-1933. (Studies in Labour History.) Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate Publishing Company. 2009. Pp. xvi, 238. $99.95

ELIZABETH B. JONES. Gender and Rural Modernity: Farm Women and the Politics of Labor in Germany, 1871-1933. (Studies in Labour History.) Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate Publishing Company. 2009. Pp. xvi, 238. $99.95

Elizabeth B. Jones . Gender and Rural Modernity: Farm Women and the Politics of Labor in Germany, 1871–1933 . (Studies in Labour History.) Burlington, Vt. : Ashgate Publishing Company . 2009 . Pp. xvi, 238. $99.95.

Elizabeth B. Jones . Gender and Rural Modernity: Farm Women and the Politics of Labor in Germany, 1871–1933 . (Studies in Labour History.) Burlington, Vt. : Ashgate Publishing Company . 2009 . Pp. xvi, 238. $99.95.

Elizabeth B. Jones. Gender and Rural Modernity: Farm Women and the Politics of Labor in Germany, 1871–1933. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2009. xvi + 238 pp. ISBN 978-0-7546-6499-4, $99.95 (hardback).

Elizabeth B. Jones. Gender and Rural Modernity: Farm Women and the Politics of Labor in Germany, 1871–1933. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2009. xvi + 238 pp. ISBN 978-0-7546-6499-4, $99.95 (hardback).

Gender and Rural Modernity. Farm Women and the Politics of Labor in Germany, 1871-1933

Gender and Rural Modernity. Farm Women and the Politics of Labor in Germany, 1871-1933

Hidden Children of the Holocaust: Belgian Nuns and Their Daring Rescue of Young Jews from the Nazis (review)

Hidden Children of the Holocaust: Belgian Nuns and Their Daring Rescue of Young Jews from the Nazis, by Suzanne Vromen. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 2008. 178 pp. $24.95. If scholars, historians, and survivors could live another hundred years, their stories about their World War II experience would still only be partially told. As we find more stories about what occurred during World War II, we realize that there is so much more yet to be uncovered about those dark years. There are hundreds of thousands of pages that have been written about the Holocaust already. Bad Arolsen, located in Northern Germany, is reported to have fifty million pages of documents dealing with the horrors of Nazi occupation in every corner of the occupied lands. Only recently have these documents become available to scholars and museums. The author, Emeritus Sociology Professor Suzanne Vromen, a French-speaking Belgian, has been able to use her knowledge of both the French language and Belgium in her research to produce a major contribution to the study of the rescue of children by nuns in Belgium during the Holocaust. Fifty of these heroic nuns were honored by Yad Vashem as the righteous among the nations. While there are many studies on the Holocaust and why and when it occurred, there is still an inadequate amount of research about heroism and goodness during World War II. We know of many individuals who have risked their lives to save Jewish victims, but thete are few studies of institutions such as convents, hospitals, and schools that devoted much of their effort to save Jewish victims, especially children. Vromen has interviewed sixteen women and twelve men who were hidden as children, eight nuns, and one priest, as well as other individuals who escorted children to the convents. The rescue was undertaken to a large extent by the Committee of the Defense of Jews, which was organized by Ghert Jospa, a Jewish engineer, as well as six other Jews and one non-Jew. This rescue effort was increased in 1942, when the Nazis introduced a policy of sending Belgians into forced labor in Germany, a development that impelled many Belgians to go into hiding and to intensify their resistance against the Nazis. A number of these people hid in convents and monasteries. Belgium had approximately 56,000-60,000 Jews at one point in 1942; when the roundup took place half the Jews went to their death and the other half went into hiding. Despite the existence of an antisemitic Flemish Nazi organization called the Flemish National Front, established in 1933, the Belgian people were sympathetic and cooperated in hiding and rescuing Jewish people. The book focuses largely on the experiences of the Jewish children hidden in these convents as well as on heroic nuns. These children had to cope with changing identities and names; many children had to be wise and careful to be sure they would not betray their new identity. …

Ethnic Discrimination in Germany's Labour Market: A Field Experiment

This paper studies ethnic discrimination in Germany's labour market with a correspondence test. To each of 528 advertisements for student internships we send two similar applications, one with a Turkish-sounding and one with a German-sounding name. A German name raises the average probability of a callback by about 14 percent. Differential treatment is particularly strong and significant at smaller firms at which the applicant with the German name receives 24 percent more callbacks. Discrimination disappears when we restrict our sample to applications including reference letters which contain favourable information about the candidateﾒs personality. We interpret this finding as evidence for statistical discrimination.

Atosiban versus betamimetics in the treatment of preterm labour in Germany: an economic evaluation

BackgroundThe use of tocolytics is central in delaying birth; however, therapeutic options vary in effectiveness and adverse events profiles, which in turn could have consequences for medical resource use and cost of treatment.Betamimetics are commonly used tocolytic agents, but their mechanism of action affects multiple organ systems leading to numerous adverse events. The availability of an oxytocin receptor antagonist, specific for prevention of preterm labour, offers a treatment option that merits further evaluation. We aimed to compare economic implications of tocolysis using atosiban and betamimetics, considering treatment efficacy and safety, as well as cost consequences of treatment of associated adverse events.MethodsA systematic literature review identified six randomised clinical trials, three of them double-blinded, comparing atosiban with betamimetics, in which tocolysis was initiated within 48 hours of admission. Cost of drug treatment was calculated based on trial protocols and German hospital drug purchase costs. G-DRG Grouper was used to obtain cost per case. The drug regimen was concordant with the German guidelines for the management of preterm labour, with two alternative modalities of fenoterol analysed: continuous or bolus administrations.ResultsAccording to the results of the meta-analysis of the three double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trials, atosiban and betamimetics have similar efficacy (RR = 0.99, 95%CI:0.94–1.04, p = 0.772). Compared to betamimetics, use of atosiban was associated with a significantly lower frequency of adverse events for tachycardia, palpitation, vomiting, headache, hyperglycaemia, tremor, dyspnoea, chest pain, hypocalemia and foetal tachycardia.In our economic analysis, cost savings from using atosiban versus continuous, or bolus, fenoterol was 423€ per patient from the payer's perspective. From the hospital's perspective, savings from using atosiban versus continuous fenoterol ranged from 259€ for 18 hours of tocolysis to 105€ for 48 hours; the respective values for bolus fenoterol were 244€ and 55€. In the probabilistic sensitivity analysis atosiban was cost saving versus both continuous and bolus fenoterol in 87%–100% of scenarios.ConclusionIn a German setting, atosiban is cost saving versus betamimetics in the treatment of preterm labour from the payer, hospital and combined perspectives. Cost savings stem from the superior safety profile of atosiban.

UNEMPLOYMENT, LABOR MARKET TRANSITIONS, AND RESIDUAL WAGE DISPERSION

It is commonplace in the debate on Germany's labor market problems to argue that low wage dispersion is a major reason for the high unemployment rate. This paper analyzes the relationship between unemployment and residual wage dispersion for individuals with comparable attributes. In the conventional neoclassical point of view, wages are determined by the marginal product of the workers. Accordingly, increases in union minimum wages result in a decline of residual wage dispersion and higher unemployment. A competing view regards wage dispersion as the outcome of search frictions and the associated monopsony power of the firms. Accordingly, an increase in search frictions causes both higher unemployment and higher wage dispersion. The empirical analysis attempts to discriminate between the two hypotheses for West Germany analyzing the relationship between wage dispersion and both the level of unemployment as well as the transition rates between different labor market states. The findings are not completely consistent with either theory. However, as predicted by search theory, one robust result is that unemployment by cells is not negatively correlated with the within-cell wage dispersion.

Assimilation and Cohort Effects for German Immigrants

Demographic change and the rising demand for highly qualified labor in Germany attracts notice to the analysis of immigration. In addition, the pattern of immigration changed markedly during the past decades. Therefore we use the latest data of the German Socioeconomic Panel up to the year 2006 in order to investigate the economic performance of immigrants. We perform regressions of three pooled cross sections (1986, 1996, 2006) to estimate assimilation and quality of immigrants as reflected by their earnings. Further we take the heterogeneity of immigrants into account by separating them by country of origin. The rising wage inequality in Germany since the mid nineties will also be considered. We find a negative wage gap and a yearly assimilation rate of 2.3 percent. Due to a changing immigration pattern the cohort quality is declining.

The Role of Dismissal Protection in Personnel Management. From the Point of View of Personnel Managers

This article concerns itself with the effects of dismissal protection on personnel management behaviour within companies. The basis of the empirical analysis is 41 expert interviews conducted in 2006 as well as information available from a standardised survey of 750 personnel managers which was carried out in 2007. As a whole the effects of dismissal protection on personnel management are perceived by personnel managers to be insignificant. In general, employment law is considered to be a necessary framework which is, for the most part, non-obstructive yet at the same time non-supportive. Negative judgements relating to dismissal protection referred to its possible prohibitive effects (in the context of new-hirings), company-internal effects (in the context of confrontations within the company) and preventive effects (in the context of the dismissal of personnel). The prohibitive effect in the form of the non-hiring of new employees or the turning to other forms of employment rather than full time is rather weak. The decision to avoid hiring new employees is dependent upon the personnel manager's perception of employment law and not so much on an economical framework or the characteristics of the organisation. The role of dismissal protection within the company is also quite limited. In particular, having been employed by the company for a long time is considered very important for business management reasons. The judgements of those responsible for personnel are not to be explained with clear situational variables such as the business situation of the company or the development of the company's number of employees. There seems to be, rather, quite a lot of leeway regarding the understanding of Employment law and that this is dependent on the personnel managers' competence in this area as well as other factors. These findings are also relevant in light of the announced harmonisation with the European Labour Court (Green Paper labour law) Key words: Dismissal Protection, Perception, Personnel Manager 1. The discussion of dismissal protection and employment law This article concerns itself with the effects of dismissal protection on personnel management behaviour within companies. Germany's relatively high level of dismissal protection - compared internationally - is often named as a reason for the high unemployment rate. Possible effects are created particularly with regard to a prohibitive effect of dismissal protection: Is the hiring of new employees postponed or cancelled as a result of employment law? Do companies resort to other forms of employment to avoid the effects of dismissal protection? Which effects does the economic framework have on behaviour? In addition, we have addressed the effects of dismissal protection within the company: What role does dismissal protection play in the employment relationship? This article does not undertake an analysis of the preventive effect - in the sense of the postponing of employee termination or decision to not terminate an employee altogether. Because dismissal protection makes up an important part of employment law, the perceived functionality of employment law is subsequently discussed. Germany's labour law is considered comparatively rigid in international comparison and a special importance is attached to dismissal protection. Among other things, severance pay and notice periods play a role in this. With the help of an international comparative indicator system, a higher-than-average rigidity is shown in Germany (cp. Pierre / Scarpetta 2004: 10ff). The article is based upon two empirical investigations: The first being 41 expert interviews conducted with personnel managers in 2006 and, secondly, a standardised questionnaire of 750 personnel managers asking about the usage of employment law in their organization. The aim of the survey was to find out how various laws are actually applied within organisations and which attitudes personnel managers have regarding employment law and its sub-categories. …

The Division of Household Labor in Germany and Israel

We compare the patterns of household division of labor in Germany and Israel—two countries that share key elements of the corporatist welfare regime but differ in their gender regimes—and evaluate several hypotheses using data from the 2002 International Social Survey Program. Although time constraints and relative resources affect the division of household labor and women’s housework in both societies, we find that in Germany the gender order of household labor is more rigid, whereas in Israel the spouses’ linked labor market status exerts distinctive effects. We also find significant relationships between gender ideology and the division of household labor. We discuss the theoretical advantages of approaching the comparative study of gender inequality from the vantage point of family and gender regimes.

Zukunft der Arbeit und Arbeit der Zukunft in Deutschland

: Due to the fact that the unemployment rate of high skilled labour in Germany is about 3% in the last 30 years, this paper deals with theories that account for heterogeneous labour. The main finding is that the reduction of the labour costs cannot reduce the aggregated unemployment rate substantially. An important conclusion is that the skill upgrading of the labour force is slower than that of labour demand. The future of work in Germany lies not in low paid low skilled jobs, but in high(er) skilled occupation.

What ever happened to Germany? Is the decline of the former european key currency country caused by structural sclerosis or by macroeconomic mismanagement?

This paper challenges the institutional sclerosis view of the German crisis according to which rigid labour markets and generous welfare state institutions have driven Germany into its position as ‘Europe's sick man’. In general, the view is not convincing, because the underlying hypotheses about the effects of labour market regulation and welfare state institutions on employment and growth cannot unambiguously be derived from modern labour market theory and are at least partially at odds with accepted empirical findings. In particular, the explanation is unconvincing, because in international comparison Germany's labour market and welfare state institutions are simply not as sclerotic as often supposed. In most of the aggregate indicators for structural rigidities Germany is not worse than the average OECD or EU country. Moreover, there is a macroeconomic explanation focusing on the combined effects of restrictive and pro‐cyclical monetary, fiscal and wage policies in Germany that is broadly consistent with modern macroeconomic theory and is supported by empirical data.

A focus on the individual

In January 2003, Time magazine published a feature article on the ‘brain drain’ of the brightest researchers in Europe to the USA (Chu, 2004) and cited two German scientists who, on returning from the USA, were so upset about the situation that they planned to cross the Atlantic again as soon as possible. The Scientist was another journal that ran several articles about this problem (Stafford, 2004). The foreign press are not alone in highlighting the problem—these criticisms are also shared by German scientists. Thomas Tuschl, an assistant professor at Rockefeller University (New York, NY, USA), explained why he left a group leader position at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Gottingen, Germany, to work in the USA. “I had to get really good postdocs in order to withstand the competition,” he said, and he found it easier to attract them to his laboratory at Rockefeller University than if he had stayed in Germany. Gunter Meister, one of Tuschl's postdocs who actually plans to return to Germany, was even more blunt. “[Science in] Germany is not attractive, not even for Germans,” he said, referring to the arcane and unpredictable career paths for young scientists. Many science policy‐makers and administrators in Germany share his view. “It is safe to say that the new academic generation was not sufficiently supported over the last few years,” commented Hans‐Jurgen Promel, Vice President for Research at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. > Rather than nurturing the best and brightest, the post‐war educational system in Germany focused on equality and equity, which ensured free and broad access to education but created mediocrity in many areas, including research The good news is that the problem has dawned on both university presidents and the federal government in Berlin. Since she took office in 1998, Edelgard Bulmahn, the …

Holocaust Controversies in the 1990s: The Revenge of History or the History of Revenge?

During the 1990s it was often remarked that controversies about the persecution and mass murderof the Jews between 1933 and 1945 had acquired an unprecedented volume and vehemence. Indeed, the esca...

Preface: Volume 85, Issue 7

Preface: Volume 85, Issue 7

New Technologies and the Demand for Medium Qualified Labour in Germany

Die Literatur zum Einfluss des technologischen Fortschritts auf die Qualifikationsnachfrage konzentriert sich bisher auf die hochqualifizierten Beschäftigten und die Beschäftigten ohne Berufsabschluss. Es ist deshalb unklar, ob die Beschäftigungsmöglichkeiten der Mehrheit der Arbeitskräfte in Deutschland - Beschäftigte mit einer Dualen Ausbildung - positiv oder negativ durch neue Technologien beeinflusst werden. Der vorliegende Beitrag beantwortet diese Frage. Er behandelt außerdem eine Reihe von Schätz- und Datenproblemen auf der Basis eines aktuellen und umfangreichen Datensatzes. Er zeigt, dass Innovationsausgaben und Investitionen in Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien in den Betrieben fast aller westdeutschen Dienstleistungssektoren zu niedrigeren Beschäftigungsanteilen von Fachkräften mit Dualer Ausbildung führen. Andere Investitionen erhöhen hingegen häufig den Anteil der Fachkräfte an der Gesamtbeschäftigung. Eine deutliche Abweichung von diesem Muster ergibt sich für den Sektor Banken und Versicherungen, in dem Unternehmen, die Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien stark nutzen, höhere Fachkräfteanteile haben.

Working for the Enemy: Ford, General Motors, and Forced Labor in Germany during the Second World War

1Washington, DC Working for the Enemy: Ford, General Motors, and Forced Labor in Germany during the Second World War ReinholdBillsteinKarolaFingsAnitaKuglerNicholasLevis New York; OxfordBerghahn Books 2000xii + 310$49.95

New Technologies and the Demand for Medium Qualified Labour in Germany

The literature on skill-biased technological change concentrates on highly skilled and unskilled employees. It is unclear, however, if the employment opportunities of the majority of the labour force in Germany - employees with a degree from the dual apprenticeship system - increase or not. In addition, estimation and data problems are addressed in a topical and rich data set. The paper shows that innovation expenditures and investments in information and communication technologies lead to lower medium skilled employee shares, whereas other investments lead to higher shares.