Why don't they answer? Unit non-response in the IAB Establishment Panel

"With the IAB Establishment Panel the Institute for Employment Research (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung - IAB) has conducted a large-scale annual establishment survey in western Germany since 1993 and also in eastern Germany since 1996, covering some 15,500 establishments in the meantime. In this panel survey the establishments are asked in face-to-face interviews1 to provide information on key determinants of employment. The IAB Establishment Panel is a survey in which the same establishments are contacted each year. New establishments are added to the sample each year in order to depict structural change. Furthermore additional establishments have to be included in the sample to replace those which have dropped out of the sample in the course of time. For despite all efforts, one problem arises in every survey: individual establishments' unwillingness to participate, which leads to so-called non-response. Two forms of non-response can be distinguished. First, an establishment may refuse to participate in the survey at all (unit non-response). Second, participating establishments may fail to answer individual questions in the questionnaire (item non-response). Both types of non-response can lead to biased results if the cases of non-response are not random. Unit non-response leads to greater problems, however, as no interview is available for these establishments and it is not just the case that individual questions are not answered. Experience made with the IAB Establishment Panel shows that the willingness of establishments surveyed for the first time to participate in the survey is clearly lower, at 36 percent, than that of establishments which have already been included in the survey at least once. Furthermore the unit non-response of establishments surveyed for the first time has increased in the past few years. The willingness of the panel establishments, in other words the repeat respondents from previous years, to complete the questionnaire is considerably higher at about 80 percent. There is no indication that the willingness to participate is declining over the years. The advantage of panel surveys is also that a wealth of establishment information is available from previous years for the establishments which have been surveyed repeatedly but which no longer respond and this can be used to model the non-response process. On the other hand little information is available about the establishments which are included in the survey for the first time. It is important to analyse the non-response processes in order to gain the most precise insight possible into the survey process. The findings obtained in this way make it possible to optimise the fieldwork management, thus contributing to quality improvements and possibly to cost reductions. In addition to this, the analyses can reveal any selectivities that may lead to biased estimates. The representativeness of the projection of all variables can also be jeopardised by possible selectivities. Furthermore, in panel surveys selectivities may intensify over time. The aim of this paper is to examine the unit non-response of establishments which have already taken part in the survey at least once and are approached again. On the basis of an extended conceptual framework for establishment surveys, determinants that influence the non-response process are to be brought out. For the first time for establishment surveys the interviewer's influence on the success of the interview is taken into account both in the conceptual framework and in the analyses." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Datengewinnung, Antwortverhalten, IAB-Betriebspanel, Befragung, Non Response

A double hurdle approach for company further training behaviour and an empirical test of this using data from the IAB establishment panel

"In this paper the further training behaviour of firms is explained using a double hurdle approach: the first hurdle is that the further training of employees is worthwhile for the firms in general, the second hurdle is that demand for further training arises. The empirical test is conducted using data from the IAB establishment panel: by combining the balanced panel for three waves into a cross-section it is possible to determine the effect of extending the observation period for the provision of further training (probit estimates) and the intensity of further training (quasi-likelihood estimates). The results confirm the double hurdle approach: variables for capital intensity, innovation orientation and the employee structure have a significant impact on whether further training is generally worthwhile for the firms, and investment in data processing and in the field of communication as well as organisational changes are significant motivations for providing further training." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) Additional Information Kurzfassung (deutsch) Executive summary (English)Weiterbildungsverhalten - Determinanten, betriebliche Weiterbildung, Betrieb, Qualifikationsbedarf, Weiterbildungsbedarf, Bildungsertrag, Kapitalintensität, Innovation, Beschäftigtenstruktur, technischer Wandel, informationstechnische Bildung, organisatorischer Wandel, Bildungsinvestitionen, Bildungsökonomie, IAB-Betriebspanel

Collective bargaining structure and its determinants : an empirical analysis with British and German establishment data

"Using two nationally representative establishment data sets, this paper investigates collective bargaining coverage and firms' choice of governance structures for the employment relationship in Britain and in (western and eastern) Germany. Both countries have experienced a substantial decline in collective bargaining coverage in the last decades. While bargaining coverage is generally lower in Britain, single-employer bargaining is relatively more important in Britain, whereas multi-employer collective bargaining clearly dominates in Germany. Econometric analyses show that more or less the same set of variables play a statistically significant role in explaining the structure of collective bargaining in both countries. These include establishment size, establishment age, foreign ownership, public sector affiliation and being a branch plant." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Tarifverhandlungen - internationaler Vergleich, Tarifautonomie, Tarifpartner, Tarifbindung, Tarifverhandlungen - Determinanten, Betriebsvereinbarung, Flächentarifvertrag, Dezentralisation, IAB-Betriebspanel, Unternehmensgröße, Betriebsgröße, Wirtschaftszweige, Arbeitsbeziehungen, Unternehmenspolitik, Unternehmensführung, Unternehmensalter, öffentlicher Dienst, ausländische Arbeitgeber, regionaler Vergleich, Firmentarifvertrag, Tarifbindung, Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Großbritannien, Ostdeutschland, Westdeutschland

Employment Stability of Entrants in Newly Founded Firms: A Matching Approach Using Linked Employer-Employee Data from Germany

Using a linked employer-employee dataset and taking the perspective of individuals rather than firms, this paper analyzes some effects of joining start-ups. We show that entrants in new firms differ from those joining incumbent firms, and we use a matching approach to compare a group of employees joining new firms in 1995/96 with a control group entering incumbent firms. Our results indicate that individuals’ employment stability was higher in incumbent than in newly founded firms while their risk of becoming unemployed was lower. In particular in eastern Germany, joining firms that were older than six years was the best strategy.linked employer-employee data, newly founded firms, unemployment, employment, Germany

Employment stability of entrants in newly founded firms: a matching approach using linked employer-employee data from Germany

Using a linked employer-employee dataset and taking the perspective of individuals rather than firms, this paper analyzes some effects of joining start-ups. We show that entrants in new firms differ from those joining incumbent firms, and we use a matching approach to compare a group of employees joining new firms in 1995/96 with a control group entering incumbent firms. Our results indicate that individuals' employment stability was higher in incumbent than in newly founded firms while their risk of becoming unemployed was lower. In particular in eastern Germany, joining firms that were older than six years was the best strategy. -- Diese Arbeit analysiert unter Verwendung eines verbundenen Arbeitgeber-Arbeitnehmer-Datensatzes einige Auswirkungen des Eintritts in Neugründungen, wobei die Sicht von Individuen statt von Firmen eingenommen wird. Wir zeigen, dass Personen, die in neue Firmen eintreten, sich von Eintreten-den in bestehende Firmen unterscheiden, und wir verwenden einen Matching-Ansatz, um eine Gruppe von Personen, die 1995/96 in Neugründungen eintrat, mit einer Kontrollgruppe von Eintretenden in bestehende Firmen zu vergleichen. Unsere Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die Beschäftigungsstabilität der eintre-tenden Personen in bestehenden Firmen höher als in Neugründungen ausfiel, während ihr Risiko arbeitslos zu werden geringer war. Insbesondere in den neuen Bundesländern bestand die beste Strategie darin, in Firmen einzutreten, die älter als sechs Jahre waren.employment,unemployment,newly founded firma,linked employer-employee data,Germany

Do newly founded firms pay lower wages? : first evidence from Germany

"Using a linked employer-employee data set for Germany, this paper analyses wage setting in a cohort of newly founded and other establishments from 1997 to 2001. While theory provides alternative explanations for higher or lower wages in newly founded firms, we show empirically that start-ups tend to pay lower wages, ceteris paribus. On average, wages in newly founded establishments are 8 percent lower than in similar incumbent firms. This negative wage differential is substantially smaller in eastern than in western Germany. The wage differential is shown to decline over time as the newly founded firms become more mature." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))IAB-Linked-Employer-Employee-Datensatz, Unternehmensgründung, Unternehmensalter, Lohnstruktur, Lohnhöhe

Employment stability of entrants in newly founded firms : a matching approach using linked employer-employee data from Germany

"Using a linked employer-employee dataset and taking the perspective of individuals rather than firms, this paper analyzes some effects of joining start-ups. We show that entrants in new firms differ from those joining incumbent firms, and we use a matching approach to compare a group of employees joining new firms in 1995/96 with a control group entering incumbent firms. Our results indicate that individuals' employment stability was higher in incumbent than in newly founded firms while their risk of becoming unemployed was lower. In particular in eastern Germany, joining firms that were older than six years was the best strategy." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Unternehmen, Arbeitskräfte, berufliche Qualifikation, Betriebszugehörigkeit - Dauer, Beschäftigungsdauer, Arbeitslosigkeit, Berufsverlauf, zwischenbetriebliche Mobilität, Arbeitsplatzwechsel, Arbeitskräftemobilität

Verbreitung, Ausmaß und Determinanten der übertariflichen Entlohnung (Distribution, scale and determinants of payment in excess of the collectively agreed wage)

"Representative data of the IAB establishment panel for the year 2002 show that in the private sector nearly half of the western German but not even one fifth of the eastern German establishments that are obliged to pay in line with a collective wage agreement pay above the negotiated wage. In these establishments, the scale of the payment exceeding the collectively agreed wage is in the order of 10 per cent. The distribution and scale of payment in excess of the collectively agreed wage show a declining tendency over time. As indicated by theoretical considerations and empirical analyses, the few possibilities to differentiate permitted by the German system of relatively centralised collective bargaining form an important background to payment in excess of the collectively agreed wage. The structure of the employees, the standard of the technical equipment, and (at least in western Germany) the size of an establishment play a role as well. However, many of the potential determinants of payment in excess of the collectively agreed wage do not prove to be factors of significant influence when examined econometrically in western and/or eastern Germany." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))übertariflicher Lohn - Determinanten, IAB-Betriebspanel, Tarifverhandlungen, Lohnfindung, Wirtschaftszweige, Betriebsgröße, Lohnentwicklung, Tarifbindung, Westdeutschland, Ostdeutschland, Bundesrepublik Deutschland