Like most Western European countries, Germany stringently regulates dismissals and layoffs. Critics contend that this regulation raises the costs of employment adjustment and hence impedes employers' ability to respond to fluctuations in demand. Other German labor policies, however, most...

Recent studies have documented the growth of earnings inequality in the United States during the 1980s. In contrast to these studies' findings, our analysis of micro data for the former West Germany yields virtually no evidence of growth in earnings inequality over the same period. Between 1978...

type="main" xml:id="irel12069-abs-0001" <p>During the recent recession only seventeen states offered short-time compensation (STC)—prorated unemployment benefits for workers whose hours are reduced for economic reasons. Federal legislation passed in 2012 will encourage the expansion of STC....</p>