Path dependence as a concept in institutional theories has become increasingly popular in economics and other social sciences. The key idea is that in a sequence of events, the latter events are not (completely) independent from those that occurred in the past. Yet, common usage of the concept...

Path dependence as a concept in institutional theories has become increasingly popular in economics and other social sciences. The key idea is that in a sequence of events, the latter events are not (completely) independent from those that occurred in the past. Yet, common usage of the concept...

The reform of the welfare state entails changes in interdependent policy fields stretching from social policies to employment and wage policies. These linked policy fields are often governed by varying sets of corporate actors and involve different decision making procedures. Adaptation in one...

Der Mitgliederschwund sollte die deutschen Gewerkschaften alarmieren: nur noch jeder fünfte Arbeitnehmer der noch nicht im (Vor-)Ruhestand ist, zahlt heute einen Mitgliedschaftsbeitrag, während die anderen als Trittbrettfahrer von der Arbeit der Tarifverbände profitieren, ohne hierzu...

The paper provides an overview of institutional provisions and reforms regarding employment protection, active and passive labor market policies in Germany as well as of actors' responsibilities in these areas. It covers the period between the early 1990s and the most recent Hartz reforms....

While the financial sustainability of pension systems has been high on reform agendas, the adequacy of retirement incomes has only recently come into focus. This chapter analyses old-age poverty from a comparative and longitudinal perspective using repeated waves of cross-sectional micro-level...

Die Entwicklung moderner Gesellschaften wird durch die Dynamik des Zusammenwirkens von Märkten und marktkorrigierenden Institutionen, von Wirtschaft und Politik bestimmt. Wirtschaftlicher Erfolg, soziale Ordnung, politische Stabilität hängen wesentlich von ihrem Zusammenspiel ab. Die...