Short-time work was the "German answer" to the economic crisis. The number of short-time workers strongly increased in the recession and peaked at more than 1.5 million. Without the extensive use of short-time work, unemployment would have risen by approximately twice as much as it actually did....

The prominence of part-time employment has dramatically increased both in Germany and across Europe. Germany has experienced above- average growth and currently the prevalence of part-time employment there also exceeds the EU average. Evidently, this involves fundamental structural change as...

The enlargement of the EU in 2004 has had numerous effects- and the German labor market has not been left untouched. Among migrant laborers coming to Germany, self-employment has been the most frequent form of labor market participation to date. Despite barriers to immigration and the need to...

Greece has been living beyond its means for a long time now and has accumulated foreign debt. The high level of national debt is merely a reflection of the problems; the actual cause is insufficient economic power. The top-priority political objective is to strengthen the substance of the...

The German economy has been growing significantly recently, also due to strong foreign trade, and will experience a powerful increase of 1.9 percent in 2016. In the coming quarters, the drag of the Brexit decision should become noticeable. This will dampen the year-on-year growth rate in 2017 to...

In spite of persisting unfavorable external economic conditions, the German economy's upward trend continues, with a growth of 1.2 percent expected for the coming year - slightly less than the 1.8 percent growth rate of 2016, a difference primarily due to the fact that 2017 has fewer workdays. A...

Following the enormous growth in household incomes in the former East Germany during the first half of the 1990s (which was based, in particular, on meteoric wage rises, accompanying pension adjustments, and the increase in receipt of social welfare benefits), east German incomes subsequently...

Even though the share of workers retiring prematurely is growing, the average age of the labor force is rising because the younger age groups are contracting and the length of time they spend in education is increasing. And yet the German higher education system is relatively unproductive. While...

The upcoming World Cup has raised high expectations in Germany, not just for the national team, but for the economy as well. As the cyclical upswing has mainly been supported by exports so far, hopes have been growing recently that this sporting event will have a positive and stimulating effect...