From deregulation to re-regulation : a turn around in German labour law and its possible implications

Abstract

"In the period from the mid 1980s until 2005 the German labour market was characterised by continual deregulation. The previous as well as the present German governments have recently imposed measures to re-regulate the labour market aimed at more protection for workers. This is happening in a period in which the German labour market has significantly improved. At the same time one can observe a tendency towards more atypical employment forms and an increase in low-wage employment. Two questions arise which are closely connected: What role did deregulation play with respect to the overall improvement of the German labour market and with respect to shifts in the composition of employment? And what may be the possible impacts of re-regulation in future with respect to both labour market performance and employment composition? The paper presents evidence that deregulation was obviously one important driver of the improvement of the German labour market as well as of shifts in employment but definitely not the only one. This result suggests that with regard to the potential effects of recent re-regulation neither concerns with respect to job losses nor hopes concerning less precarious employment should be overestimated." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Walwei, U. (2015): Von der Deregulierung zur Re-Regulierung. Trendwende im Arbeitsrecht und ihre Konsequenzen für den Arbeitsmarkt? In: Industrielle Beziehungen, Vol. 22, No. 1, p. 13-32. DOI:10.1688/IndB-2015-01-Walwei