The State of Collective Bargaining and Worker Representation in Germany: The Erosion Continues

John Addison, Alex Bryson, Paulino Teixeira, André Pahnke and Lutz Bellmann (lutz.bellmann@iab.de)
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Lutz Bellmann: Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg

No 5030, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper investigates trends in collective bargaining and worker representation in Germany from 2000 to 2008. It seeks to update and widen earlier analyses pointing to a decline in collective bargaining, while providing more information on the dual system as a whole. Using data from the IAB Employment Panel and the German Employment Register, we report evidence of a systematic and continuing erosion of the dual system. Not unnaturally the decline is led by developments in western Germany. Arguably, the path of erosion will continue until rough and ready convergence is reached with eastern Germany. Expressed differently, if the process of decentralization underpinning these developments once was ‘regulated’ it no longer appears to be so.

Keywords: erosion of the dual system; collective bargaining/works council coverage; eastern and western Germany; institutional transitions; permanent stayers; newly-founded firms; closing/failing firms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J50 J53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 38 pages
Date: 2010-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-eur, nep-lab, nep-ltv and nep-tra
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

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