Labour hoarding in Germany: Employment effects of short-time work during the crises

During the crisis (2008-09) Germany experienced a huge decrease in GDP. Employment, however, remained surprisingly stable. A whole strand of literature has aimed at quantifying the contribution of short-time work to the German labour market miracle. In the course of this literature we estimate the treatment effect of short-time work on employment at establishment level using a dynamic propensity score matching approach. The analysis is based on data from the IAB Establishment Panel combined with administrative data on short-time work establishments from the Federal Employment Agency. Our results do not indicate any treatment effect of short-time work on employment.Während der Wirtschaftskrise (2008-09) erlebte auch Deutschland einen starken Rückgang des Bruttoinlandsprodukts. Die Beschäftigung blieb jedoch erstaunlich stabil. Seitdem zielen viele Publikationen darauf, den Anteil des arbeitsmarktpolitischen Instruments Kurzarbeit am sogenannten deutschen Arbeitsmarktwunder zu quantifizieren. Im Zuge dieser Literatur schätzen wir die kausale Wirkung von Kurzarbeit auf das Beschäftigungsniveau von Betrieben und nutzen dafür den Propensity Score Matching Ansatz. Die Analyse basiert auf Daten des IAB-Beschäftigtenpanels kombiniert mit administrativen Daten der Bundesagentur für Arbeit zur tatsächlichen betrieblichen Inanspruchnahme von Kurzarbeit. Unsere Ergebnisse geben keinerlei Hinweise auf eine kausale Wirkung von Kurzarbeit auf das betriebliche Beschäftigungsniveau

Kurzarbeit in Nürnberg: Beruflicher Zwischenstopp oder Abstellgleis?

Als 'German Jobwunder' bezeichnet man mittlerweile die überraschend stabile Arbeitsmarktsituation in Deutschland während und nach der globalen Rezession in Folge der Finanzmarktkrise der Jahre 2008 und 2009. Im internationalen Vergleich ging die Krise in Deutschland nur mit einem geringen Anstieg der Arbeitslosigkeit einher. Die starke Nutzung von Kurzarbeit leistete dazu einen wichtigen Beitrag. Am Beispiel der kurzarbeitenden Betriebe in Nürnberg wird untersucht, wer die Kurzarbeiter sind und in welchem Ausmaß sie von Kurzarbeit betroffen waren

Employers' selection behavior during short-time work

During the recession of 2008-09 Germany experienced a huge decrease in GDP. Employment, however, remained surprisingly stable. The so-called German labor market miracle is often ascribed to the intensive usage of short-time work. Despite the resurgence of this instrument, little is known about the employees affected by it. This paper analyzes whether employers select certain individuals for short-time work, where special focus is given on the effect of human capital. The analysis is based on a unique linked-employer-employee data set on short-time workers in the district of the employment agency of Nuremberg. We use methods of event history analysis to estimate transition rates from regular employment to short-time work. Our results indicate that employers select a broad range of workers for STW, irrespective of their level of human capital. Fears that short-time work is mainly applied to a certain group of workers are not confirmed.Während der Rezession der Jahre 2008 und 2009 sank das BIP in Deutschland stark.Nichtsdestotrotz blieb das Beschäftigungsniveau überraschend stabil. Das sogenannte deutsche Arbeitsmarktwunder wird oft auf die intensive Nutzung von Kurzarbeit zurückgeführt. Trotz des Wiederauflebens dieses Instruments, ist über die von Kurzarbeit betroffenen Beschäftigten wenig bekannt. Diese Studie analysiert, ob Arbeitgeber bestimmte Personen für Kurzarbeit auswählen, wobei der Einfluss des Humankapitals im Vordergrund steht. Die Analyse stützt sich auf einen einzigartigen linked-employer-employee Datensatz zu Kurzarbeitern im Arbeitsagenturbezirk Nürnberg. Unter Verwendung von Methoden der Ereignisanalyse werden Übergangsraten aus regulärer Beschäftigung in Kurzarbeit geschätzt. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Arbeitgeber ein breites Spektrum an Arbeitnehmern für Kurzarbeit auswählen, unabhängig von deren Humankapital. Befürchtungen, dass Kurzarbeit hauptsächlich auf eine bestimmte Gruppe von Arbeitnehmern angewendet wird, werden nicht bestätigt

Dynamic associations between stress and relationship functioning in the wake of COVID-19: Longitudinal data from the German family panel (pairfam)

Individuals all across the world experienced significant disruptions in their personal and family life with the outbreak of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The current study investigated dynamic associations between stress and relationship functioning over time in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceived stress, relationship satisfaction, and relationship quality (appreciation, intimacy, conflict) were reported by 1483 young to middle-aged participants who were in a romantic relationship and lived with their partner in 2018/2019 and in May–July 2020 (a few months after the onset of COVID-19). Data were analyzed using bivariate latent change score models. Relationship functioning (satisfaction, appreciation, intimacy) showed small decreases from before to during the pandemic. Contrary to expectations, levels of perceived stress also decreased on average from before to during the pandemic. Changes in relationship functioning were correlated with changes in stress over time, so that participants with greater decreases in relationship satisfaction, appreciation, and intimacy and greater increases in conflict from before to during the pandemic showed lesser decreases/greater increases in stress. Higher pre-pandemic relationship satisfaction was associated with greater decreases/lesser increases in stress from before to during the pandemic. Pre-pandemic levels of other measures of relationship functioning or stress were not associated with changes in outcomes over time. Results add to the literature demonstrating that stress is closely intertwined with the functioning of intimate relationships. Furthermore, they suggest that greater relationship satisfaction may serve as a protective factor for stressful life events

Das DIW-IAB-RWI-Nachbarschaftspanel: Ein Scientific-Use-File mit lokalen Aggregatdaten und dessen Verknüpfung mit dem deutschen Sozio-ökonomischen Panel

Für Analysen zu Nachbarschaftseffekten mangelt es an Individualdaten, die ausreichend Informationen zur direkten Nachbarschaft der Individuen beinhalten. Auf Ebene der Postleitzahlen soll diese Lücke mit dem DIW-IAB-RWI-Nachbarschaftspanel für Arbeitsmarktdaten geschlossen werden. Auf Grundlage der Integrierten Erwerbsbiografien (IEB) wurden aggregierte Daten zu sozialversicherungspflichtigen Beschäftigten und Arbeitslosen generiert. Diese Daten können an das Sozio-ökonomische Panel und weitere Datensätze der beteiligten FDZ angespielt werden. Die Daten sind im Sicherheitsbereich der FDZ für die wissenschaftliche Forschung nutzbar

In it Together: Relationship Transitions and Couple Concordance in Health and Well-Being

Events that change the family system have the potential to impact couple dynamics such as concordance, that is, partner similarity in health and well-being. This project analyzes longitudinal data (≥ two decades) from both partners of up to 3,501 German and 1,842 Australian couples to investigate how couple concordance in life satisfaction, self-rated health, mental health, and physical health might change with transitioning to parenthood and an empty nest. Results revealed couple concordance in intercepts (averaged r = .52), linear trajectories (averaged r = .55), and wave-specific fluctuations around trajectories (averaged r = .21). Concordance in linear trajectories was stronger after transitions (averaged r = .81) than before transitions (averaged r = .43), whereas no systematic transition-related change in concordance of wave-specific fluctuations was found. Findings emphasize that shared transitions represent windows of change capable of sending couples onto mutual upward or downward trajectories in health and well-being

Using Wearables to Study Biopsychosocial Dynamics in Couples Who Cope With a Chronic Health Condition: Ambulatory Assessment Study

Background: Technology has become an integral part of our everyday life, and its use to manage and study health is no exception. Romantic partners play a critical role in managing chronic health conditions as they tend to be a primary source of support. Objective: This study tests the feasibility of using commercial wearables to monitor couples’ unique way of communicating and supporting each other and documents the physiological correlates of interpersonal dynamics (ie, heart rate linkage). Methods: We analyzed 617 audio recordings of 5-minute duration (384 with concurrent heart rate data) and 527 brief self-reports collected from 11 couples in which 1 partner had type II diabetes during the course of their typical daily lives. Audio data were coded by trained raters for social support. The extent to which heart rate fluctuations were linked among couples was quantified using cross-correlations. Random-intercept multilevel models explored whether cross-correlations might differ by social contexts and exchanges. Results: Sixty percent of audio recordings captured speech between partners and partners reported personal contact with each other in 75% of self-reports. Based on the coding, social support was found in 6% of recordings, whereas at least 1 partner self-reported social support about half the time (53%). Couples, on average, showed small to moderate interconnections in their heart rate fluctuations (r=0.04-0.22). Couples also varied in the extent to which there was lagged linkage, that is, meaning that changes in one partner’s heart rate tended to precede changes in the other partner’s heart rate. Exploratory analyses showed that heart rate linkage was stronger (1) in rater-coded partner conversations (vs moments of no rater-coded partner conversations: rdiff=0.13; P=.03), (2) when partners self-reported interpersonal contact (vs moments of no self-reported interpersonal contact: rdiff=0.20; P<.001), and (3) when partners self-reported social support exchanges (vs moments of no self-reported social support exchange: rdiff=0.15; P=.004). Conclusions: Our study provides initial evidence for the utility of using wearables to collect biopsychosocial data in couples managing a chronic health condition in daily life. Specifically, heart rate linkage might play a role in fostering chronic disease management as a couple. Insights from collecting such data could inform future technology interventions to promote healthy lifestyle engagement and adaptive chronic disease management

Let’s Enjoy an Evening on the Couch? A Daily Life Investigation of Shared Problematic Behaviors in Three Couple Studies

Symptom-system fit theory proposes that problematic behaviors are maintained by the social system (e.g., the couple relationship) in which they occur because they help promote positive relationship functioning in the short-term. Across three daily life studies, we examined whether mixed-gender couples reported more positive relationship functioning on days in which they engaged in more shared problematic behaviors. In two studies (Study 1: 82 couples who smoke; Study 2: 117 couples who are inactive), days of more shared problematic behavior were accompanied by higher daily closeness and relationship satisfaction. A third study with 79 couples post-stroke investigating unhealthy eating failed to provide evidence for symptom-system fit. In exploratory lagged analyses, we found more support for prior-day problematic behavior being associated with next-day daily relationship functioning than vice-versa. Together, findings point to the importance of a systems perspective when studying interpersonal dynamics that might be involved in the maintenance of problematic behaviors

Parallel independent evolution of pathogenicity within the genus Yersinia

Peer reviewe