Whatever Happened to the Bismarckian Welfare State? From Labor Shedding to Employment-Friendly Reforms

The paper challenges the widespread view that Bismarckian countries with a strong role of social insurance and labor market regulation are less successful than other employment regimes and hard to reforms. This has been true about a decade ago. But both the institutional set-up and the performance of BIsmarckian countries have changed fundamentally over the last years. The paper summarizes major reform dynamics in Bismarckian welfare states which had adopted a strategy of labor shedding in the 1970s and 1980s to combat open unemployment. As this was associated with an increasing burden of non-wage labor costs, this triggered a sequence of more employment-oriented and more fundamental reforms that eventually helped overcome a low employment situation. The paper pursues the trajectory of reforms, shows the structural change in labor market performance and points out the achievements of past reforms, but also emphasizes the need for further action in terms of education and training, activation and employment opportunities for all working age people in these countries so that flexibility and security can be reconciled.employment, Bismarckian welfare states, social insurance, social policy, labor market policies

Does vocational training help young people find a (good) job?

Youth unemployment has increased in many industrialized countries following the recent global recession. However, this reflects not only the cyclical shock, but also the crucial role of institutions in structuring the transition from school to work. Vocational training, in particular in a dual form combining vocational schooling and structured learning on-the-job, is often considered to be one of the most important policy solutions in combating youth unemployment. The evidence available supports this perception, but the institutional requirements of a successful training system also have to be taken into account from a policy perspective

The unexpected appearance of a new German model

Most Continental European labour markets and welfare states underwent a substantial transformation over the last two decades moving from a situation of low employment and limited labour market inequality to higher employment, but also more inequality. Germany is a case in point as it exhibits growing employment figures and growing shares of low pay and non-standard work. Furthermore, the German labour market has been remarkably resilient during the recent crisis. How can this be explained? The paper claims that changes in labour market institutions such as unemployment benefits, active labour market policies and employment protection play a major role, but changes in industrial relations at the sectoral level and individual firms' staffing practices are equally important in explaining actual labour market outcomes. Regarding labour market institutions, the pattern found in Germany shows sequences of de- and re-regulatory reforms of employment protection and increasing or decreasing unemployment benefit generosity, both mostly addressing the margins of the labour market, i.e. 'outsiders', and contributing to a growing dualisation of the employment system. The institutional status of 'insiders' was hardly affected by legislative changes. This dualisation trend was reinforced by micro-level dynamics in industrial relations and company employment practices where we can observe growing reliance on mechanisms of internal flexibility for the skilled core work force and increasing use of non-standard types of employment in less specifically skilled occupations

Labor market institutions and the future of work: Good jobs for all?

Work and employment around the globe change continuously, but there are potentially more rapid and fundamental transformations ahead as new technologies can have major impact on what jobs will exist in the future, how people will work and how the global division of labor will evolve. This contribution tries to assess the current outlook into the foreseeable future and highlights the importance of labor market institutions that can effectively influence the future of work. The paper in particular addresses the need to reform and update labor market regulation, social protection and active labor market policies as well as the education systems

Wie weiter am deutschen Arbeitsmarkt?

Der deutsche Arbeitsmarkt hat sich in den letzten Jahren stark verändert. Es sind viele zusätzliche Arbeitsplätze entstanden. Das bedeutet aber nicht, dass die Politik in der neuen Legislaturperiode nichts mehr zu tun hätte. Zwei wesentliche Handlungsfelder stehen auf der Agenda: die Überprüfung der Regulierung am Rand des Arbeitsmarktes auf der einen Seite und der Ausbau sozialer Dienstleistungen auf der anderen. Beide Bereiche können dazu beitragen, Fachkräftepotenziale zu mobilisieren und gleichzeitig die Unterschiede auf dem Arbeitsmarkt etwas einzudämmen, ohne die Flexibilität des Beschäftigungssystems über Gebühr zu beschneiden

The transition from work to retirement

The European Employment Strategy has set the goal of raising the retirement age of workers in the EU through a strategy of active ageing. Yet despite some progress over the last decade, empirical data show persistent diversity across EU member states. Institutional arrangements of social and labor market policies can be seen as the core factors behind cross-national diversity. Hence, institutional change is crucial to explain structural changes. The paper tries to assess the role of supranational policy initiatives and national politico-economic factors in shaping the transition from work to retirement in EU member states which is still governed by the national political economy. Taking the German case as an example in point, the paper shows the dynamic interaction between policy changes, in particular in benefit systems and activation, and changes in the approach of firms and workers to early retirement. Policy changes influence actors' behavior in the medium run and open up opportunities for subsequent reforms

Welfare and Employment: A European Dilemma?

The majority of the Member States of the European Union have undertaken remarkably comprehensive welfare and labor market reforms in the years since the 1990s. Many of these reforms, however, have not followed the conventional retrenchment and deregulation recipes, but rather took a liking to social pacts, activation, active ageing/avoidance of early retirement, part-time work, lifelong learning, parental leave, gender mainstreaming, flexicurity (balancing flexibility with security), reconciling work and family life. At first sight, these reforms seem to have resulted in relatively robust employment growth, especially for women and more recently older workers. European economic integration has fundamentally recast the boundaries of national systems of employment regulation and social protection, both by constraining the autonomy for domestic policy options but also by opening opportunities for EU-led social and employment coordination and agenda setting.labor market reforms, European integration, welfare states

Gleicher Lohn für gleiche Arbeit am gleichen Ort? : die Entsendung von Arbeitnehmern in der Europäischen Union (Equal pay for equal work in the same place? * the posting of workers in the European Union)

"Based on the example of the posting of workers in the construction industry, this paper examines what impact the opening up of the European Single Market for services has had on an industry that was protected in the past against international competition. It is shown how different institutional framework conditions in individual EU states lead to location competition also in the services sector. In a second step the study analyses how attempts have been made at European and national level to re-regulate the legislation applicable to posted workers. Starting out from a situation of legal uncertainty, countries with high labour costs attempted at national level to reduce the cost advantage of foreign producers by extending their respective minimum standards to cover posted workers. Diverging solutions emerge depending on the constellation of the political economy and on the institutional repertoire. These national regulations anticipated the effects of a Community law solution that was able to be adopted subsequently as a framework directive. It protects the national regulations legally without making substantial interventions. Whilst the European law regulation is 'gentle on the autonomy' in this sense, the national regulations on the posting of workers had to be 'acceptable to the Community'. Especially in Germany this led to modifications in the collective bargaining system in the construction industry. Finally the paper also shows that a regulation aimed at protecting an industry that is exposed to competition can not halt decline or structural change." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Arbeitnehmerentsendegesetz, Baugewerbe, ausländische Arbeitnehmer, EU-Binnenmarkt, Regulierung, Rechtsvereinheitlichung, EU-Osterweiterung - Auswirkungen, ökonomische Faktoren, internationaler Wettbewerb, internationale Zusammenarbeit, Lohnpolitik, Lohnhöhe, europäische Integration, Europäische Union

Vom kranken Mann zum Vorbild Europas: Kann Deutschlands Arbeitsmarkt noch vom Ausland lernen?

In den letzten zwanzig Jahren hat die Bedeutung internationaler Vergleiche für die Bewertung der Arbeitsmarkt- und Sozialpolitik deutlich zugenommen. Weniger eindeutig ist jedoch die Frage zu beantworten, ob und unter welchen Bedingungen von ausländischen Erfahrungen für die Gestaltung von Arbeitsmarkt- und Sozialstaatsreformen gelernt werden kann. Skepsis ist angebracht, was die Übertragbarkeit einzelner Politikinstrumente oder gar von tradierten Grundprinzipien anderer Staaten anbetrifft. Auch legt der Blick auf jüngste internationale Arbeitsmarktentwicklungen Zurückhaltung nahe: Galt Deutschland noch Anfang der 2000er Jahre vielen als beschäftigungspolitischer Dauerpatient, ist das Land aktuell in eine Vorbildrolle gerückt, so erfolgreich hat die Bundesrepublik die letzte weltweite Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise bis heute gemeistert. Ein Zwischenfazit zur deutschen Reformpolitik aus der Perspektive der international vergleichenden Arbeitsmarktforschung zeigt jedoch auch, dass vor allem auf den Handlungsfeldern von Erwerbsbeteiligung und Bildungspolitik dennoch ein erkennbarer deutscher Nachholbedarf fortbesteht