In public discussion in Germany it is often argued that jobs are mainly created in small and medium-sized firms (i.e. the Mittelstandʺ), whereas large firms tend to reduce their number of jobs. An empirical analysis for the period 1999 to 2005 with data of all western and eastern German firms...

According to the German Works Constitution Act, establishments above certain thresholds defined by the number of employees must release members of their works councils from work and enable them to do a full-time job as works councilors. Using a full sample of all establishments affected, we...

German labour law contains a large number of thresholds. These indicate which number of employees in the establishment is needed so that the law or regulation comes into effect. The paper shows how different definitions of the term number of employeesʺ can make it difficult for enterprises to...

This empirical study investigates the effect of the German disability law on employment dynamics, using data from the Federal Labour Office and the IAB Establish-ment Panel. The data allow us to analyze the second threshold of this law which stated (in our observation period 1999/2000) that...