The paper compares employment structures in five Continental welfare states. These countries feature broad similarities in their reliance on a more dualised model of labour market flexibility, particularly in service occupations with low skill requirements. However, a closer look also reveals...

The current crisis, while of a global nature, has affected national labor markets to a varying extent. While some countries have experienced a steep increase in unemployment, employment in other developed economies has not fallen in parallel with a significant decline in GDP. Our analysis shows...

This study gives a comparative overview of labor market dynamics and institutional arrangements in Germany and Brazil with particular emphasis on industrial relations, wage setting, unemployment benefits, employment protection and vocational training. The paper shows that institutions determine...

This paper proposes a new unified theory of sociobehavioral forces. The goal of the new theory isto integrate theories describing five sociobehavioral processes - comparison (including justiceand self-esteem), status, power, identity, and happiness - bringing under a single theoreticalumbrella...

Germany and France are both Continental European welfare states with severe labor market problems such as low employment and high and persistent unemployment which can be explained by labor market institutions that inhibit labor market adaptability. This paper analyzes recent reforms in core...

Die Beschäftigung älterer Arbeitnehmer in Deutschland hat in den letzten Jahren merklich zugenommen. Die Studie untersucht diese jüngste Verbesserung der Arbeitsmarktsituation Älterer und analysiert den Beitrag, den die arbeitsmarkt- und sozialpolitischen Reformen der letzten Jahre dabei...

The trend towards activation has been one of the major issues in recent welfare and labour market reforms in Europe and the US. Despite considerable initial variation across national models with respect to the scope and intensity of activation, redefining the link between social protection and...

The European Employment Strategy has set the goal of raising the retirement age of workers in the EU through a strategy of active ageing. Yet despite some progress over the last decade, empirical data show persistent diversity across EU member states. Institutional arrangements of social and...

Most Continental European labour markets and welfare states underwent a substantial transformation over the last two decades moving from a situation of low employment and limited labour market inequality to higher employment, but also more inequality. Germany is a case in point as it exhibits...

With young people among the big losers of the recent financial crisis, vocational education and training (VET) is often seen as the silver bullet to the problem of youth joblessness. This paper provides a better understanding of VET around the world, dealing with three types of vocational...