ZEW Discussion Papers

The present paper deals with the question whether "Gibrat's law" is applicable to firms founded between 1989 and 1996 within the Western German manufacturing sector or not. The underlying assumption is that size…

This paper analyzes the influence of the structure of collective bargaining on foreign direct investment abroad, using a panel of 19 OECD countries in 1980, 1990, and 1994. The degree of centralization as well…

At the turn of the millenium three frequently cited potential causes of new challenges for wage policy in Germany are revisited in this study: skilled-biased technological progress, the increasing international…

At the turn of the millenium three frequently cited potential causes of new challenges for wage policy in Germany are revisited in this study: skilled-biased technological progress, the increasing international…

We analyze wage developments in the East German transition process both at the macro and at the microeconomic level. At the macroeconomic level, we draw special attention to the important distinction between…

We analyse Polish active labour market policy (ALMP) training programmes from a macroeconomic (regional) point of view. The effects of training programmes on the outflows from unemployment and the effects of all…

In order to reduce unemployment, it is often recommended that industry-levelwage bargaining in Germany should be replaced by a more decentralized system.This paper provides a critical assessment of the current…

Reputation indexes of employment protection have proven popular constructs in studies of the covariation of labor market institutions and macroeconomic outcomes. Portugal occupies an unenviable rank order in…

This paper demonstrates that insiders can erect barriers to entry and skim rents by sinking costs in human capital when labour markets are otherwise perfectlycontestable. The sunk costs nature of human capital…