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Germany’s economic resurgence due to decentralised wage bargaining rather than Hartz reforms: new research

By Guest PostFebruary 4, 2014Economy, Politicsalexandra spitz oener, autonomy, bernd fitzenberger, cezary piwowarski, christian dustmann, decentralization, Europe, france, german economy, german system, government policy, hartz reforms, humboldt university, industrial relations, italy, labour market, resurgent economy, sick man, southern europe, ucl, university of freiburg, uta schoenberg, wage rate

The astonishing transformation of the German economy from the ‘sick man of Europe’ to a lean and highly competitive economy is predominantly due to the decentralisation of wage bargaining rather than government labour market reforms, according to new research led by UCL.

The resurgence of the German economy has often been attributed to government policy, notably the so-called ‘Hartz reforms’ implemented in 2003. But research, forthcoming in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, suggests that it is instead down to the inherent flexibility of the German system of industrial relations – most specifically, the autonomy of labour market institutions to set wage rates – that has led to a dramatic increase in the competitiveness of the German economy. (more…)

‘Zeitarbeitsfirma’ (temporary employment agency): The ‘other side’ of Germany’s labour market

By Guest PostOctober 20, 2013Economy, General, Jobs, Media, Politicsaaron, anonymous, central storage facility, construction works, der Spiegel, desert, euro, European Union, everyday life, exploitation, fictional, german authorities, german government, Germany, international labor organisation, justice, kuendigung machen, labour market, landsberg, leased worker, leipzig, leipzig airport, lieharbeiter, lost, manuel, mariam, nightshift, poland, polish colleagues, rail lines, rossmann, temporary employment agency, the mirror, zeitarbeiter, zeitarbeitsfirma, zentrallager

There are hundreds of ‘Zeitarbeitsfirma’ or ‘temporary employment agency’ dominating the current German labour market. These agencies lease workers mostly on short-term basis to different industries, supermarkets and other business enterprises. Leased workers (In German: Lieharbeiter or Zeitarbeiter) are normally low-paid and forced to do the heaviest works at their work places. Often they have to accept or bow down to inhuman demands of the ‘Zeitarbeitsfirma’.

Summarized here are few cases from different sources who experienced the hardship under the so-called ‘Zeitarbeitsfirma’: (more…)

Second-generation Immigrants Outperform Mainstream Populations in the US, Canada, and Australia

By Guest PostOctober 6, 2012Culture, Economy, Education, Politicsafro caribbean, australia, canada, canadian integration, canadian perspective, census data, chinese, cross national, difference, employment success, heather zhang, higher education, higher generation, immigrant, immigrant success, jeffrey reitz, labour market, mainstream population, mcgill university, multiculturalism, naoko hawkins, offspring, professional occupation, reflective, research journal, second generation, social science, south asian, survey, toronto, united states, university, US, white

TORONTO, ON – A new study published by the Social Science Research journal reveals that second-generation Chinese and South Asian immigrants in the US, Canada, and Australia are more successful than the respective mainstream populations (third- and higher-generation whites).

Jeffrey G. Reitz and Naoko Hawkins from the University of Toronto and Heather Zhang from McGill University examined survey and census data from these countries to compare the achievements of immigrants and their offspring. (more…)

Tag Archives: labour market

Germany’s economic resurgence due to decentralised wage bargaining rather than Hartz reforms: new research

‘Zeitarbeitsfirma’ (temporary employment agency): The ‘other side’ of Germany’s labour market

Second-generation Immigrants Outperform Mainstream Populations in the US, Canada, and Australia