Competitiveness and unit labour costs in structural analysis

Abstract

"There is virtually a unanimous opinion in academic circles that the competitiveness of eastern German enterprises is being diminished by wage costs that are too high. This conclusion is reached if the competitiveness of an enterprise is measured on the basis of unit labour costs, which is a common indicator in macroeconomic analyses. First of all this article looks into the question of how suitable this indicator is for assessing the competitive situation for each industry. This is then followed by a discussion, on the basis of the cost structures of western and eastern German enterprises, of the extent to which other cost factors besides wages are responsible for the inadequate profits of eastern German enterprises." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Görzig, B. (1998): Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Lohnstückkosten in der Strukturanalyse. In: Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Vol. 31, No. 4, p. 690-696.