Churning and institutions : Dutch and German establishments compared with micro-level data

"Often the high level of unemployment in Germany is explained by a lack of flexibility, over-regulation in the labour market and disincentives of the social security system. However, these institutional effects are difficult to test by means of data from only one country. Cross-country comparisons are hindered by the availability of comparable datasets, especially at the establishment level. The comparative analysis of labour markets with different degrees of flexibility, regulation, and social security systems will show the importance of these institutions for the mobility of individuals. In this paper we will estimate regressions - almost identically specified - using establishment datasets from Germany and the Netherlands. We do not only analyse the process of hiring and firing, but also the extent to which they occur simultaneously. Churning can be regarded as the part of hiring which occurs above the level of replacement of separations. Our results show that German establishments have significantly lower churning rates than their Dutch counterparts. To some extent this can be explained by a different economic situation and a different age-structure of the working population. Important labour market institutions exerting some influence on churning appear to be: the share of fixed term contracts in total employment (higher in the Netherlands), the German apprenticeship system, and the German works councils." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))IAB-Betriebspanel, Arbeitskräftenachfrage, institutionelle Faktoren, Arbeitskräftemobilität, Personaleinstellung, Entlassungen, Personalplanung, befristeter Arbeitsvertrag, Berufsbildungssystem, Gewerkschaft, Altersstruktur, Erwerbsbevölkerung, Arbeitsmarktstruktur - internationaler Vergleich, Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Niederlande

Churning and institutions: Dutch and German establishments compared with micro-level data

"Often the high level of unemployment in Germany is explained by a lack of flexibility, over-regulation in the labour market and disincentives of the social security system. However, these institutional effects are difficult to test by means of data from only one country. Cross-country comparisons are hindered by the availability of comparable datasets, especially at the establishment level. The comparative analysis of labour markets with different degrees of flexibility, regulation, and social security systems will show the importance of these institutions for the mobility of individuals. In this paper we will estimate regressions - almost identically specified - using establishment datasets from Germany and the Netherlands. We do not only analyse the process of hiring and firing, but also the extent to which they occur simultaneously. Churning can be regarded as the part of hiring which occurs above the level of replacement of separations. Our results show that German establishments have significantly lower churning rates than their Dutch counterparts. To some extent this can be explained by a different economic situation and a different age-structure of the working population. Important labour market institutions exerting some influence on churning appear to be: the share of fixed term contracts in total employment (higher in the Netherlands), the German apprenticeship system, and the German works councils." (author's abstract)Der niederländische und der deutsche Arbeitsmarkt unterscheiden sich in Hinblick auf Flexibilität, Regulation und soziale Sicherheit. Durch eine vergleichende Analyse von nahezu identischen Datensätzen beider Länder wird die Bedeutung dieser institutionellen Faktoren für die Arbeitskräftemobilität herausgearbeitet. Dabei werden nicht nur Einstellungen und Entlassungen untersucht, sondern auch das parallele Auftreten von Zu- und Abgängen. Unter 'Churning' wird dabei der Anteil der Einstellungen betrachtet, der über einen bestandsneutralen Personalaustausch hinausgeht. Es zeigt sich, dass die Churning-Raten in Deutschland niedriger liegen als in den Niederlanden. Dies wird zum Teil auf die unterschiedliche wirtschaftliche Situation und Altersstruktur der Erwerbsbevölkerung zurückgeführt. Auch institutionelle Faktoren spielen jedoch eine Rolle: der Anteil der befristeten Verträge, der in den Niederlanden höher ist als in Deutschland, das deutsche Berufsbildungssystem und die deutschen Gewerkschaften. Diese Faktoren führen zu einer höheren Arbeitsplatzsicherheit, geringeren Churning-Raten und einer geringeren Flexibiliät des deutschen Arbeitsmarktes. (IAB

Genome-Wide Association Study and Gene Expression Analysis Identifies CD84 as a Predictor of Response to Etanercept Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNF) biologic therapy is a widely used treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It is unknown why some RA patients fail to respond adequately to anti-TNF therapy, which limits the development of clinical biomarkers to predict response or new drugs to target refractory cases. To understand the biological basis of response to anti-TNF therapy, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis of more than 2 million common variants in 2,706 RA patients from 13 different collections. Patients were treated with one of three anti-TNF medications: etanercept (n = 733), infliximab (n = 894), or adalimumab (n = 1,071). We identified a SNP (rs6427528) at the 1q23 locus that was associated with change in disease activity score (ΔDAS) in the etanercept subset of patients (P = 8×10-8), but not in the infliximab or adalimumab subsets (P>0.05). The SNP is predicted to disrupt transcription factor binding site motifs in the 3′ UTR of an immune-related gene, CD84, and the allele associated with better response to etanercept was associated with higher CD84 gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (P = 1×10-11 in 228 non-RA patients and P = 0.004 in 132 RA patients). Consistent with the genetic findings, higher CD84 gene expression correlated with lower cross-sectional DAS (P = 0.02, n = 210) and showed a non-significant trend for better ΔDAS in a subset of RA patients with gene expression data (n = 31, etanercept-treated). A small, multi-ethnic replication showed a non-significant trend towards an association among etanercept-treated RA patients of Portuguese ancestry (n = 139, P = 0.4), but no association among patients of Japanese ancestry (n = 151, P = 0.8). Our study demonstrates that an allele associated with response to etanercept therapy is also associated with CD84 gene expression, and further that CD84 expression correlates with disease activity. These findings support a model in which CD84 genotypes and/or expression may serve as a useful biomarker for response to etanercept treatment in RA patients of European ancestry. © 2013 Cui et al

Company-provided further training in Germany and the Netherlands

This study investigates the impact of determining factors of firms’ further training activities from a cross-country perspective. Since the differences in the institutional background of training are of special interest we choose the Netherlands and Germany. Using the IAB (German) and OSA (Dutch) establishment panels we are able to control for additional differences in country-specific labour market institutions, the personnel structure, the firm structure and technology. Holding everything else constant the firms’ engagement in further training in the Netherlands is much higher than in Germany, especially in SME and with respect to older workers. (DIPF/Orig.

Selection in hiring, in relation to employer characteristics and non-wage job characteristics

In the selection of new employees four hiring categories are distinguished: from another job, school-leavers, unemployed and non-participants. Concluded is that for the selection process the labour market situation is less important than the characteristics of employers and jobs. More workers from another job are hired when the quit-rate is high and for skilled work with a high job security and little unpleasant aspects. More school-leavers are hired in establishments with high knowledge intensity and where a vocational education is important. More unemployed workers are hired in case of a relatively low job security.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Selection in hiring, in relation to employer characteristics and non-wage job characteristics

In the selection of new employees four hiring categories are distinguished: from another job, school-leavers, unemployed and non-participants. Concluded is that for the selection process the labour market situation is less important than the characteristics of employers and jobs. More workers from another job are hired when the quit-rate is high and for skilled work with a high job security and little unpleasant aspects. More school-leavers are hired in establishments with high knowledge intensity and where a vocational education is important. More unemployed workers are hired in case of a relatively low job security.Hiring; Non-wage job characteristics

Reasons for part-time work: an empirical analysis for Germany and The Netherlands

Purpose – This paper is a cross-national study of the incidence of part-time work. The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent the difference between Germany and The Netherlands can be explained from the demand side of the labour market. Design/methodology/approach – Several motives of employers for the introduction of part-time jobs are distinguished. Their relevance is tested by means of firm-level data for the two countries within the framework of a multivariate analysis. Findings – The study finds that, in The Netherlands, part-time jobs are more widespread than in Germany. The reasons for this difference are diverse: the difference in industrial structure (more manufacturing in Germany, more services in The Netherlands), less working students in Germany, and probably more reluctance on the side of German employers to meet the preferences of their workers. Originality/value – The paper fills a gap in the literature on part-time work, especially about the importance of institutions differing between the countries. This evidence may be useful in designing policies to increase the incidence of part-time work.Demand, Germany, Labour, Part time workers, The Netherlands

Workshop for New Developers

Notes and Nuances: Programming for New Faculty Programming for Teaching Faculty and Staff Characteristics of New Faculty and Staff Notes and Nuances: Reflections on Getting Ol