The miracle of the German labour market : an attempt at an explanation

Abstract

"The 'German labour market miracle' has now become a set term on the international stage to describe the extremely restrained reaction of employment and unemployment to the worldwide recession in the wake of the economic crisis. ... For many an international observer ... the way the crisis was overcome was so successful that one can once more speak with a positive connotation of a German model. This is all the more surprising because in the 1980s and 1990s the German labour market was viewed as a model of institutional inflexibility. Apparently a remarkable change in the way Germany was seen from abroad had taken place within a few years, namely from being a fortress of 'eurosclerose' to becoming a paragon in its ability to absorb external shocks. Hence the question arises as to whether the German labour market institutions have changed fundamentally, or whether the recession was of such a nature that the specific mechanisms of the German labour market for coping with crises, which had always been present, were able to be effective. What is clear, however, is that the cushioning of the shock did not take place via the reduction of workforces but through in-house adaptation. Hence it was not external but internal flexibility that was decisive. The following article looks behind the scenes and attempts to contribute to explaining the so-called 'German miracle'." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Möller, J. (2011): Das deutsche Arbeitsmarktwunder. Versuch einer Erklärung. In: B. Nietert (Hrsg.) (2011): Die Eskalation der Finanz- zur Wirtschaftskrise, p. 105-123.