We provide estimates of the effect of migrant labor supply on resident employment. We exploit variation in the number of asylum seekers eligible to the suspension of a major hiring restriction implemented in a subset of German counties. Our difference-in-difference design allows us to provide...

Job mobility offers opportunities for workers to obtain wage increases, but returns to job changes differ considerably. We argue that parts of this inequality result from a trade-off between occupational and regional mobility. Both mobility types offer alternative strategies to improve one's...

This paper investigates the short-term effects of a reduction in the length of high school on students' personality traits using a school reform carried out at the state level in Germany as a quasi-natural experiment. Starting in 2001, academic-track high school (Gymnasium) was reduced from nine...

We use an extensive,matched employer-employee dataset to analyze the employer-size wage relation and its contribution to wage inequality in Germany. Applying models with additive fixed effects for workers and establishments, we document that the large firm wage premium, which has risen over 25...

This paper investigates the extent to which the returns to gaining a PhD degree depend upon the region of birth, the region where the degree was earned, and the place of work. Eastern Germany serves as an interesting showcase in light of the ongoing debate surrounding the underrepresentation of...

In a structural macroeconometric analysis based on comprehensive micro data, we examine the role of skill-biased technical change for the flattening of productivity growth and effects on hours worked. The results show that more than 60 percent of the slowdown in productivity growth in Germany...

Do investments in the Czech Republic lead to employment growth or employment losses in the German firms involved? To address this question, a unique database about German firms with foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Czech Republic and firms without FDI in any country has been established...

Young firms find it difficult to attract (skilled) workers. Using linked employer-employee data for Germany we investigate how local labor market conditions affect the hiring success of young firms. In a first step, we estimate the probability of the founder becoming an employer. In a second...