This paper uses unique new data for German manufacturing enterprises from matched regular surveys and a special purpose survey to investigate the causal effect of relocation of activities to a foreign country on various dimensions of firm performance. Enterprises that relocated activities abroad...

This paper uses a large plant level panel data set from Germany and a matching approach to look for casual effects of starting to export on plant performance. We find positive effects on growth of employment, labor productivity, and wages.

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...

This paper considers labor market adjustments following a large import shock in the German clothing industry caused by the phasing out of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement. Using the German shoe industry as a control group and administrative data, we study adjustments on the individual and firm level...

Das Schwerbehindertengesetz verpflichtete in seiner bis 30.9.2000 gültigen Fassung alle Arbeitgeber ab 16 Beschäftigten, sechs Prozent der Arbeitsplätze mit Schwerbehinderten zu besetzen, ansonsten war für jeden nicht entsprechend besetzten Arbeitsplatz eine Ausgleichsabgabe von monatlich...

Using a large administrative dataset for Germany, this paper compares employment developments in exiting and surviving establishments. For both West and East Germany we find a clear "shadow of death" effect reflecting lingering illness: establishments shrink dramatically already several years...

Using a large administrative dataset for Germany, this paper compares employment developments in exiting and surviving establishments. For both West and East Germany we find a clear “shadow of death” effect reflecting lingering illness: establishments shrink dramatically already several...

According to the German disability law, or Schwerbehindertengesetz, either six percent of all jobs in an establishment must be occupied by disabled empoyees or the firm has to pay a penalty of DM 200 per month for every job under consideration. This note reports results from the first...