Holding the Shop Together: German Industrial Relations in the Postwar Era

[Excerpt] Since the onset of the global financial crisis in late 2008 there has been a boom in positive assessments of the German economy. Little wonder. Remarkably, Germany has managed to bring down unemployment to more than one percentage point below the precrisis level and to maintain a current account surplus equivalent to 5 percent of its gross domestic product. This is not the first time that Germany\u27s stock has ridden high. German economic institutions received praise for the economic miracle of the late 1950s and early 1960s, the model Germany economy that weathered the oil shocks comparatively well during the 1970s, and the export world champion economy of the mid-1980s. At other times, however, academics and journalists have been bearish on Germany. High unemployment dogged the German economy for a quarter century, starting in the early 1980s. From the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, Germany was generally dismissed as the economic sick man of Europe. These oscillating appraisals of the German economy raise two questions: Does the current positive assessment of German economic institutions reflect something real, or is it just another speculative bubble? And, what is it about German economic institutions that has drawn the attention of so many over the years? In this book I address these questions by examining a key pillar of the postwar German economy, namely, the industrial relations system

Corporate social reporting revisited

The intensity and scope of attention to the (negative) impacts of business activities on the social and natural environment have waxed and waned over the past forty years. A revival of interest on a wide scale is visible and audible again today. Numerous organizations, including the United Nations, the European Commission, national governments, and public interest groups, are calling for business to publish reports documenting their impacts on society and the environment. What can be learned from the early years of work in the area of corporate social responsibility and responsiveness, and how must the methods be altered in light of the changes that have occurred in the way the topic is defined today and in light of the new media available, especially the internet? This article tackles these two questions first by recalling which of the original concepts were found particularly useful, outlining their key strengths and weaknesses, and then by exploring the factors that currently characterize the field. -- Die Diskussion über die Auswirkungen von Unternehmensaktivitäten auf die soziale und natürliche Umwelt hat in den letzten vierzig Jahren große konjunkturelle Schwankungen erfahren. War zu bestimmten Zeiten die Intensität sehr hoch, mit der soziale Forderungen an die Unternehmen gestellt wurden, konnte man zu anderen Zeitpunkten, besonders unter der Dominanz des neoliberalen Wirtschaftsparadigmas, beobachten, wie die Verantwortung des Unternehmens gegenüber der Bezugsgruppe Anteilseigner unter dem Schlagwort shareholder value im Vordergrund der Diskussion stand. Heute ist in großem Umfang und in vielen Ländern ein Neuaufleben des Interesses an einer breit definierten gesellschaftlichen Verantwortung der Unternehmen festzustellen.

Trade Unions and European Social Policy:: the Example of the German DGB

Dieser Aufsatz analysiert am Beispiel des Deutschen Gewerkschaftsbundes (DGB) die Rolle der Gewerkschaften bei der Etablierung der EG-Sozialpolitik in den 1970er Jahren. Ausgehend von einer Bestandsaufnahme europäischer Gewerkschaftsstrukturen nach 1945 wird argumentiert, dass sich diese Rolle weder als die einer zivilgesellschaftlichen Avantgarde für eine Supranationalisierung dieses Politikfeldes noch als die eines defensiven „Bremsers“ angemessen beschreiben lässt. Es wird gezeigt, dass sich der DGB einerseits aktiv für eine supranationale Sozialpolitik einsetzte, diese aber andererseits auf eine Ergänzung und Koordinierung nationaler Wohlfahrtsstaatlichkeit begrenzen wollte, insbesondere im Hinblick auf redistributive Elemente der Sozialpolitik. Der Aufsatz illustriert damit, dass bei der Analyse nichtstaatlicher Akteure nicht nur auf deren Rolle als Lobbyisten in Brüssel zu achten ist, sondern auch darauf, wie solche Akteure die Reichweite supranationaler Politik definieren helfen

Collective skill formation regimes in times of Covid-19: a governance-focused analysis of the German dual training system

Context: Covid-19 poses major challenges for vocational education and training (VET), as VET—in contrast to general education—is closely linked to the economic system and cannot escape the impact of current economic restrictions. Additionally, strict infection control regulations, as well as temporary school and company closures, inhibit the teaching of practical skills at the workplace. Rapid action by the responsible actors is essential to ensure that VET can take place even under these difficult conditions. It can be assumed that both the complex decision-making processes and the multiplicity of actors involved in collective training systems complicate or delay the reaction to this exogenous shock. Using the example of the German dual training system, this explorative article aims to examine the ability of collective training systems to deal with the challenges posed by the pandemic. Methods: Based on a document analysis, various publications (e.g., press releases, reports) by central actors of the German dual system were reviewed, which provided information about the provision of training activities as well as the measures taken or required to counteract the pandemic-related consequences for dual apprenticeships. This corpus of literature was expanded by scientific studies and publications from national or international institutions related to VET. Following a governance-analytical and actor-centred perspective, the documents were analysed with regard to the indications they provide about the realised coordination of action between the actors, the realised processes and outcomes, as well as the levels affected within the VET system. Findings: The way of dealing with the crisis demonstrates that the German dual system is influenced by the actions of various actors at multiple levels. Actors who are involved in the decision-making processes share common interests, resulting in a strategically bound cooperation among them. However, influence or power from bottom-up seems to be rather limited, as not all of the actors considered in this study are included in essential governance processes. Despite the comprehensive reactions to the pandemic, problems and optimisation needs are also apparent, e.g. with regard to vocational orientation or the support of vocational schools. Conclusion: Despite its complexity, the dual system as a collective training model is capable of acting and adapting to face the challenges posed by the pandemic. This may also be due to the historically entrenched corporatist structures within the dual system: Even in times of crisis, the trust in this historically evolved institutional framework leads to a high degree of accountability and cooperation among the decisive actors. (DIPF/Orig.

The (Parlous) State of German Unions

This paper traces the profound decline in German unionism over the course of the last three decades. Today just one in five workers is a union member, and it is now moot whether this degree of penetration is consistent with a corporatist model built on encompassing unions. The decline in union membership and density is attributable to external forces that have confronted unions in many countries (such as globalization and compositional changes in the workforce) and to some specifically German considerations (such as the transition process in postcommunist Eastern Germany) and sustained intervals of classic insider behavior on the part of German unions. The ‘correctives’ have included mergers between unions, decentralization, and wages that are more responsive to unemployment. At issue is the success of these innovations. For instance, the trend toward decentralization in collective bargaining hinges in part on the health of that other pillar of the dual system of industrial relations, the works council. But works council coverage has also declined, leading some observers to equate decentralization with deregulation. While this conclusion is likely too radical, German unions are at the cross roads. It is argued here that if they fail to define what they stand for, are unable to increase their presence at the workplace, and continue to lack convincing strategies to deal with contemporary economic and political trends working against them, then their decline may become a rout.

Collective Skill Formation Regimes in Times of Covid-19: A Governance-Focused Analysis of the German Dual Training System

Context: Covid-19 poses major challenges for vocational education and training (VET), as VET - in contrast to general education - is closely linked to the economic system and cannot escape the impact of current economic restrictions. Additionally, strict infection control regulations, as well as temporary school and company closures, inhibit the teaching of practical skills at the workplace. Rapid action by the responsible actors is essential to ensure that VET can take place even under these difficult conditions. It can be assumed that both the complex decision-making processes and the multiplicity of actors involved in collective training systems complicate or delay the reaction to this exogenous shock. Using the example of the German dual training system, this explorative article aims to examine the ability of collective training systems to deal with the challenges posed by the pandemic. Methods: Based on a document analysis, various publications (e.g., press releases, reports) by central actors of the German dual system were reviewed, which provided information about the provision of training activities as well as the measures taken or required to counteract the pandemic-related consequences for dual apprenticeships. This corpus of literature was expanded by scientific studies and publications from national or international institutions related to VET. Following a governance-analytical and actor-centred perspective, the documents were analysed with regard to the indications they provide about the realised coordination of action between the actors, the realised processes and outcomes, as well as the levels affected within the VET system. Findings: The way of dealing with the crisis demonstrates that the German dual system is influenced by the actions of various actors at multiple levels. Actors who are involved in the decision-making processes share common interests, resulting in a strategically bound cooperation among them. However, influence or power from bottom-up seems to be rather limited, as not all of the actors considered in this study are included in essential governance processes. Despite the comprehensive reactions to the pandemic, problems and optimisation needs are also apparent, e.g. with regard to vocational orientation or the support of vocational schools. Conclusion: Despite its complexity, the dual system as a collective training model is capable of acting and adapting to face the challenges posed by the pandemic. This may also be due to the historically entrenched corporatist structures within the dual system: Even in times of crisis, the trust in this historically evolved institutional framework leads to a high degree of accountability and cooperation among the decisive actors

German works councils old and new: incidence, coverage and determinants

Although works councils are a core element of the German system of industrial relations, there is little reliable information on their incidence and coverage. This paper uses data from the nationally representative IAB establishment panel to fill this gap. We examine the frequency of works councils by establishment size and broad sector for eastern and western Germany, while at the same time charting the determinants of their presence. Furthermore, we identify newly established works councils and provide the first econometric analysis of the circumstances of their formation. Finally, we discuss the consequences of our findings for economic analysis of the institution and for public policy. -- Trotz ihrer großen Bedeutung im deutschen System der Arbeitsbeziehungen gibt es kaum gesicherte Erkenntnisse über den Verbreitungsund Deckungsgrad von Betriebsräten. Diese Forschungslücke soll in der vorliegenden Arbeit durch Verwendung von repräsentativen Daten des IABBetriebspanels geschlossen werden. Dabei wird die Verbreitung von Betriebsräten nach Firmengröße und Sektoren sowie für West- und Ostdeutschland ebenso analysiert wie deren Bestimmungsgründe. Zudem wird erstmals die Einrichtung neuer Betriebsräte ökonometrisch untersucht. Abschließend erörtern wir die ökonomischen und wirtschaftspolitischen Implikationen unserer Ergebnisse.Works Councils,Works Constitution Act,Germany

Changes in union membership over time : a panel analysis for West Germany

Despite the apparent stability of the wage bargaining institutions in West Germany, aggregate union membership has been declining dramatically since the early 90's. However, aggregate gross membership numbers do not distinguish by employment status and it is impossible to disaggregate these sufficiently. This paper uses four waves of the German Socioeconomic Panel in 1985, 1989, 1993, and 1998 to perform a panel analysis of net union membership among employees. We estimate a correlated random effects probit model suggested in Chamberlain (1984) to take proper account of individual specfic effects. Our results suggest that at the individual level the propensity to be a union member has not changed considerably over time. Thus, the aggregate decline in membership is due to composition effects. We also use the estimates to predict net union density at the industry level based on the IAB employment subsample for the time period 1985 to 1997. JEL - Klassifikation: J

Bewertung der Vorschläge zur Steuerfreistellung des Existenzminimums

Aufgrund der Entscheidung des Bundesverfassungsgerichts vom 25. September 1992 muß sich der Gesetzgeber ab 1996, nach einer Übergangsregelung bis 1995, zur Freistellung des Existenzminimums für einen neuen Einkommensteuertarif entscheiden. Einer großzügigen Bemessung des steuerfreien Existenzminimums bei leistungsfreundlichen Grenzsteuersätzen stehen jedoch haushaltspolitische Zwänge entgegen. Die wichtigsten Vorschläge werden im Hinblick auf ihre Grenzsteuersätze und Entlastungswirkungen miteinander verglichen und die Steuermindereinnahmen geschätzt. Der Vergleich der Steuermindereinnahmen auf einheitlicher methodischer Basis soll eine rationale Entscheidung unterstützen. ; In September 1992 the Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that the subsistence level must be exempted from income tax, and that the government, after a transitional period ending in 1995, has to change the tax rules accordingly. The already high levels of the budget deficit and public debt do not allow a generous calculation of the tax free subsistence level with incentive-compatible marginal tax rates. The paper compares the most important reform proposals with respect to the implied marginal tax rates and reductions of the tax burden as well as their budgetary costs. The comparison of costs of these proposals based on an uniform method should support a rational decision. --