The potential benefits of higher minimum wages come from the higher wages for affected workers, some of whom are in poor or low-income families. The potential downside is that a higher minimum wage may discourage employers from using the low-wage, low-skill workers that minimum wages are...

Summary We analyze the effectiveness of publicly financed training and retraining programs in east Germany as measured by their effects on individual re-employment probabilities after training. These are estimated by discrete hazard rate models on the basis of individual-level panel data. We...

Zusammenfassung Eine Sonderauswertung der Schweizerischen Nationalbank zu den Direktinvestitionen schweizerischer Unternehmen desaggregiert nach Zielländern und Branchen erlaubt erstmals für den langen Zeitraum von 1985 bis 1997 sowohl für die Gesamtwirtschaft als auch für die zentralen...

Summary Job creation schemes (JCS) have been one important programme of active labour market policy (ALMP) in Germany for a long time. They aim at the re-integration of hard-to-place unemployed individuals into regular employment. A thorough microeconometric evaluation of these programmes was...

Summary Company-level pacts for employment are agreements between management and the company's work force that are characterized by concessions from both bargaining partners. Employees agree to company-specific deviations from a collective contract that include negative components like reduced...

In-plant alliances that tailor specific deviations from sectoral collective agreements on wages and working time are intended to hold down labor costs. These agreements enable reorganizations to respond to an imminent economic crisis or to improve competitiveness. They encourage social partners...