During the next decades the populations of most developed countries will grow older as a result of the low level of birth rates since the 1970s and/or the continuously increasing life expectancy. We show within a Generational Accounting framework how unsustainable the public finances of France,...

In a sharp break with past German research, some recent estimates have suggested that plants with work councils have 25 to 30 per cent higher productivity than their works-councilfree counterparts. Such findings can only serve to buttress the strong theoretical and policy interest in the German...

Theory suggests that firms confront a hold-up problem in dealing with workplace unionism: unions will appropriate a portion of the quasi rents stemming from long-lived capital. As a result, firms may be expected to limit their exposure to rent seeking by reducing investments, among other things....

Although works councils are a core element of the German system of industrial relations, there is little reliable information on their incidence and coverage. This paper uses data from the nationally representative IAB establishment panel to fill this gap. We examine the frequency of works...

German law guaranteeing works councils is not a datum. The thrust of legislation has changed significantly on a number of occasions since 1920. The most recent legal change in the form of the Works Constitution Reform Act marks a controversial swing in favor of works council formation and...

Despite its lack of attractiveness to other countries, the German system of quasi-parity codetermination at company level has held up remarkably well. We recount the theoretical arguments for and against codetermination and survey the empirical evidence on the effects of the institution, tracing...

Im Folgenden wird zunächst die doppelte Funktion des Wohneigentums als Alters- und Generationenvorsorge analysiert, um die Potentiale des Wohneigentums im Hinblick auf einen Beitrag zur Lösung des "demographischen Problems" aufzuzeigen. Anschließend erfolgt die Vorstellung der Freiburger...

Der dringend notwendige Reformierungsbedarf in der sozialen Pflegeversicherung hat in jüngster Zeit verschiedene Reformkonzepte auf den Weg gebracht. Unter anderem auch den einer Bürgerpflegeversicherung, welche die Ausweitung des Umlageverfahrens auf die gesamte Bevölkerung vollzieht. Im...

During the next decades the populations of most developed countries will grow older as a result of the low level of birth rates since the 1970s and/or the continuously increasing life expectancy. We show within a Generational Accounting framework how unsustainable the public finances of France,...