Youth unemployment is notoriously high in France, in particular for the low-skilled. Within the EU, only the crisis countries of Southern Europe fare worse. This report delivered to the French Council of Economic Analysis analyzes the causes and consequences of this alarming trend. In addition,...

In March 1996, the Bundestag introduced a minimum wage law for the German construction business in order to protect native workers from low wage competition by posted workers from other EU countries. This Entsendegesetz (Posted Workers Act) was backed formally by the EU Posted Workers Directive...

Mit dem Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz (AEntG) vom 29. Februar 1996 hat der deutsche Gesetzgeber eine Mindestlohnregelung eingeführt, die den Arbeitsmarkt in der Baubranche entlasten soll, der sich nach dem ersten Bauboom der deutschen Vereinigung seit wenigen Jahren in einer konjunkturellen und...

France and Germany are two polar cases in the European debate about rising youth unemployment. Similar to what can be observed in Southern European countries, a "lost generation" may arise in France. In stark contrast, youth unemployment has been on continuous decline in Germany for many years,...

Sharing the available stock of work more fairly is a popular concern in the public policy debate. One policy proposal is to reduce overtime work in order to allow the employment of more people. This paper suggests that such a concept faces major problems. Using Germany as a case study, it is...