"We begin by analysing gender differences in forms of work, working times and earnings over a long-term comparison on the basis of a large set of microdata, the Integrated Employment Biographies Sample (SIAB). After that, we turn to the economic effects of family-conditioned interruptions in gainful employment and carry out a cohort analysis on this subject. Following on from that, we examine, on the basis of the Socioeconomic Panel (SOEP), to what extent individual forms of working time, work preferences and measurements of flexibility connect up to the job and life satisfaction of (married) partners with children." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))
This contribution focuses on the relation between wage inequality, participation behavior and employment and the analysis in the project 'Flexibility of the wage distribution, inequality and employment'. In this project we investigate whether the popular idea of an encrusted German labor market with institutional regulations, minimum wages, high reservation wages, union power or insider behavior is consistent with the actual conditions. At first we critically assess the hypothesis that wage compression in Germany leads to employment losses. It can be shown theoretically that higher wage dispersion lower labor market participation as a negative side-effect. Empirical analyses support this result. A higher regional wage level as well as low unemployment -- as an indicator for the stability of jobs -- come along with high participation. A rise in wage dispersion in the lower part of the wage distribution is connected with decreasing employment participation, in the upper part with rising employment participation. As a further result it is shown that interdependencies between regions strongly matter. Additionally we highlight stylized facts about the development of wage inequality. We compare the US and Germany -- countries with high and low wage flexibility respectively -- based on harmonized micro data. We analyze the hypothesis that rigidities due to institutional influences imply a deformation of the wage distribution in the left tail. Such a characteristic wage compression would have to appear particularly for groups of low wage workers in countries like Germany. The comparison with the US labor market suggests the assumption that the deformation of the German wage structure with negative impacts on employment is a distorted picture. A further topic addresses the consequences of setting bounds to the extending inequality in the lower part of the wage distribution by introducing a wage floor. We focus on the effects of a minimum wage on wage inequality and employment. This minimum wage was introduced in 1997 in the German construction sector related to the German Workers Posting Law. We find positive wage effects of the minimum wage regulation in Eastern as well as in Western Germany, albeit the wage reaction in Eastern Germany was considerably larger. When it comes to employment effects, negative effects arise for Eastern Germany and positive for West Germany, although the latter are not always statistically significant. This result shows that a binding minimum wage does not necessarily imply negative employment effects. Finally, this contribution deals with a specific aspect of the wage inequality, the gender pay gap. The focus here is on the influence of the regional context. Having controlled for differences in individual characteristics, education and work places between men and women we show that the gender-specific wage differential is considerably higher in rural than in metropolitan areas. This differential has decreased notably in the last three decades in both regional types. The pay gap between young women and men in rural areas, in an environment with low firm density, is almost constantly ten percentage points higher during the whole observational period than in metropolitan settings. This result is consistent with a theoretical model that additionally takes into account market power of firms.
"This paper aims at analyzing the development of wage inequality for the German labor market from 1984 to 2008. Using the S-IAB, a large administrative data set based on social security data, we have access to very reliable earnings information for a 2 percent random sample of the German workforce. We find that between 1984 and 2008, average earnings of full-time male workers aged 25 to 55 increased by 13 percent in real terms. However, the development of earnings was very different in different parts of the distribution. At the first decile real wages have fallen by about 10 percent, whereas at the ninth decile they have increased by more than 30 percent. Moreover, we show that between 1984 and 2008 earnings inequality rose both between and within age and education subgroups. A substantial part of the increase in inequality is due to changes below the median. Following the decomposition method based on Juhn, Murphy, Pierce (1993), we can disentangle the different sources for the increased wage inequality, namely the price effect, the effect of characteristics and the effect of unobserved residuals which account for 12, 25 and 63 percent respectively in 2008. But also here there are substantial differences between the different subgroups, and the composition shows remarkable changes over time as well. We show that controlling for sector information partly reduces the otherwise clearly dominating residual effect. However, the main explanation (78%) for the increase in the raw variation of male earnings is that wage dispersion within the different sectors increased whereas composition effects seem to be only of minor importance." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
"This paper aims at analyzing the development of wage inequality for the German labor market from 1984 to 2008. Using the S-IAB, a large administrative data set based on social security data, we have access to very reliable earnings information for a 2 percent random sample of the German workforce. We find that between 1984 and 2008, average earnings of full-time male workers aged 25 to 55 increased by 13 percent in real terms. However, the development of earnings was very different in different parts of the distribution. At the first decile real wages have fallen by about 10 percent, whereas at the ninth decile they have increased by more than 30 percent. Moreover, we show that between 1984 and 2008 earnings inequality rose both between and within age and education subgroups. A substantial part of the increase in inequality is due to changes below the median. Following the decomposition method based on Juhn, Murphy, Pierce (1993), we can disentangle the different sources for the increased wage inequality, namely the price effect, the effect of characteristics and the effect of unobserved residuals which account for 12, 25 and 63 percent respectively in 2008. But also here there are substantial differences between the different subgroups, and the composition shows remarkable changes over time as well. We show that controlling for sector information partly reduces the otherwise clearly dominating residual effect. However, the main explanation (78%) for the increase in the raw variation of male earnings is that wage dispersion within the different sectors increased whereas composition effects seem to be only of minor importance." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku). Die Untersuchung enthält quantitative Daten. Forschungsmethode: empirisch-quantitativ; empirisch; Sekundäranalyse. Die Untersuchung bezieht sich auf den Zeitraum 1984 bis 2008.
The paper analyses the relationship between regional mobility and earnings for different groups of workers. Using a large panel microdata set we find negative earnings differentials of movers in the year before migration and strong evidence for significant wage gains through mobility. A decomposition of Blinder/ Oaxaca type reveals different group-specific rewards effects suggesting a positive post-mobility wage differential of movers over the incumbent workforce for some groups irrespective of the region of destination. The existence of a general wage growth effect of mobility appears to be robust and cannot be explained by the time-invariant part of unobserved heterogeneity.
"In the seventies and eighties various competing theories put forward by the classical and Keynesian camps tried to find a convincing explanation for the unemployment problem. The structuralist model emerged from these research efforts as the dominant approach of the nineties, combining both classical and Keynesian features. By generating a relationship between changes in inflation and deviations of unemployment from the long-run equilibrium, this approach carries on where the old Phillips curve debate left off. In our contribution we do not confine ourselves to a review of the research from the last decade, but rather stress the implications of several extensions of the macroeconomic model as well. Whereas in the standard structuralist model the demand side has a negligible influence on unemployment in the medium run, we show that stabilization policies are of greater importance once unemployment persistence and/or the openness of economies are taken into account. Furthermore, we build on the structuralist framework to not only address the macroeconomic aspects of the unemployment problem, but also the debate between trade theorists and labor economists about the impact of globalisation and biased technical change on the employment performance of different skill groups. In the literature, contra-factual implications of the standard Heckscher-Ohlin model are often used as an argument against trade-based explanations of the unemployment problem. By relaxing the assumption of perfect competition, we show that major aspects of this critique can be overcome. On the other hand, conventional wisdom which favors the biased technical change hypothesis can be questioned. Things are less obvious if the general equilibrium effects of biased technical change are taken into account. In contrast to results following from a simple partial framework, it has been shown that the unskilled could profit via indirect effects from biased technical change. To obtain the stylized fact that the unskilled loose employment shares, one not only needs a high elasticity of substitution, but also certain additional assumptions about the impact of biased productivity growth on the skill-specific wage formation process." (author's abstract)
"In the seventies and eighties various competing theories put forward by the classical and Keynesian camps tried to find a convincing explanation for the unemployment problem. The structuralist model emerged from these research efforts as the dominant approach of the nineties, combining both classical and Keynesian features. By generating a relationship between changes in inflation and deviations of unemployment from the long-run equilibrium, this approach carries on where the old Phillips curve debate left off. In our contribution we do not confine ourselves to a review of the research from the last decade, but rather stress the implications of several extensions of the macroeconomic model as well. Whereas in the standard structuralist model the demand side has a negligible influence on unemployment in the medium run, we show that stabilization policies are of greater importance once unemployment persistence and/or the openness of economies are taken into account. Furthermore, we build on the structuralist framework to not only address the macroeconomic aspects of the unemployment problem, but also the debate between trade theorists and labor economists about the impact of globalisation and biased technical change on the employment performance of different skill groups. In the literature, contra-factual implications of the standard Heckscher-Ohlin model are often used as an argument against trade-based explanations of the unemployment problem. By relaxing the assumption of perfect competition, we show that major aspects of this critique can be overcome. On the other hand, conventional wisdom which favors the biased technical change hypothesis can be questioned. Things are less obvious if the general equilibrium effects of biased technical change are taken into account. In contrast to results following from a simple partial framework, it has been shown that the unskilled could profit via indirect effects from biased technical change. To obtain the stylized fact that the unskilled loose employment shares, one not only needs a high elasticity of substitution, but also certain additional assumptions about the impact of biased productivity growth on the skill-specific wage formation process." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
The present paper analyzes deviations from Uncovered Interest Parity by applying a Kalman filter procedure based on optimal initial information to the estimation of this arbitrage equilibrium for the Mark/Dollar rate and the Swiss Franc/Dollar rate. The results demonstrate that the hypothesis of a time-varying deviation from Uncovered Interest Parity in these equations cannot be rejected. Furthermore, these models are shown to out-perform the random walk in forecasting. An examination of the stochastic disturbances indicates that the shocks responsible for the deviations cover a wide range of economic and political issues.
In dieser Stellungnahme äußert sich das IAB zum Entwurf der Regierungsfraktionen CDU/CSU und SPD für ein Integrationsgesetz (Bundestagsdrucksache 18/8615) sowie zu dem Antrag "Flüchtlinge auf dem Weg in Arbeit unterstützen, Integration befördern und Lohndumping bekämpfen" der Fraktion Die Linke (Bundestagsdrucksache 18/6644) und zu den beiden Anträgen "Arbeitsmarktpolitik für Flüchtlinge - Praxisnahe Förderung von Anfang an" (Bundestagsdrucksache 18/7653) und "Integration ist gelebte Demokratie und stärkt den sozialen Zusammenhalt" (Bundestagsdrucksache 18/7651) der Fraktion Bündnis 90/Die Grünen. Die Integration der Geflüchteten verlangt einen systematischen, umfassenden Ansatz, der Bund, Länder und Kommunen, öffentliche Einrichtungen wie das Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge und die Bundesagentur für Arbeit, die Schulen und Hochschulen und nicht zuletzt das starke Engagement von Ehrenamtlichen und Organisationen der Zivilgesellschaft mit einbezieht. Dies kann durch ein Integrationsgesetz allein nicht geleistet werden. Auch die Anträge der Fraktionen Bündnis 90/Die Grünen und Die Linke verweisen darauf. Bevor auf die einzelnen Regelungen des Integrationsgesetzes eingegangen wird, werden in dieser Stellungnahme deshalb zunächst die aus Sicht des IAB zentralen Grundsätze einer Integration von geflüchteten Menschen in Deutschland erläutert, aus denen dann auch die Kriterien für die Bewertung der einzelnen Regelungen des Entwurfs des Integrationsgesetzes der Koalitionsfraktionen CDU/CSU und SPD abgeleitet werden. Die einzelnen Maßnahmen werden vor dem Hintergrund der dem IAB vorliegenden Evidenz kritisch gewürdigt. ; In this Statement, the IAB is commenting on the draft of the ruling coalition of the CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union) and the SPD (Social Democratic Party) concerning an integration law (printed parliamentary document 18/8615) as well as on the motion "Supporting refugees in finding work, promoting integration and combatting wage dumping" ("Flüchtlinge auf dem Weg in Arbeit unterstützen, Integration befördern und Lohndumping bekämpfen") of the parliamentary party Die Linke (The Left) (printed parliamentary document 18/6644) and on the two motions "Labour market policy for refugees - practical support from the beginning" ("Arbeitsmarktpolitik für Flüchtlinge - Praxisnahe Förderung von Anfang an") (printed parliamentary document 18/7653) and "Integration is live democracy and strengthens social cohesion" ("Integration ist gelebte Demokratie und stärkt den sozialen Zusammenhalt") (printed parliamentary document 18/7651) of the parliamentary group Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (Alliance 90/The Greens). The integration of refugees demands a systematic, comprehensive approach which encompasses the Federal Government, the Federal States and local authorities, public institutions such as the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees and the Federal Employment Agency, schools and universities and, not least, strong commitment from volunteers and civil society organisations. It will not be achieved through an integration law alone. The motions of the parliamentary groups Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and Die Linke also make this point. Before the individual provisions of the integration law are dealt with, this Statement will first outline from the perspective of the IAB the central principles relating to integration of persons who have fled from their home countries and are now in Germany; from these, the criteria will then be derived through which the individual provisions of the draft integration law of the coalition groups CDU/CSU and SPD can be evaluated. The individual measures will be weighed up critically against the background of the evidence available to the IAB.
"Der Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über verschiedene Dimensionen der Beschäftigungswirkungen der Energiewende. Schon die anfangs dargelegten Ziele der Energiewende machen deutlich, dass es sich um eine ganzes Universum verschiedenster Handlungsstränge handelt, die hier allenfalls skizziert werden konnten." (Textauszug, IAB-Doku)
AbstractIn this paper, we investigate regional differences in the gender pay gap both theoretically and empirically. Within a spatial model of monopsonistic competition, we show that more densely populated labour markets are more competitive and constrain employers' ability to discriminate against women. Utilizing a large administrative data set for western Germany and a flexible semi‐parametric propensity score matching approach, we find that the unexplained gender pay gap for young workers is substantially lower in large metropolitan than in rural areas. This regional gap in the gap of roughly 10 percentage points remained surprisingly constant over the entire observation period of 30 years.
