Matthias Knuth

Unemployment as an Institutional Construct? Structural Differences in Non-Employment between Selected European Countries and the United States

A comparison of unemployment rates in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, the UK and the United States suggests poor performance by the German labour market. The present study endeavours to show that a more sophisticated picture of unemployment can be drawn by taking into account additional forms of non-employment (such as incapacity, retirement or labour reserve). For this purpose, data from the ‘European Social Survey’ (ESS) and the survey ‘Citizenship, Involvement and Democracy’ collected in 2004 and 2005 have been analysed. While ‘unemployment’ plays a dominant role in Germany, people with comparable demographic characteristics and similar health status are more likely to identify themselves as ‘permanently sick or disabled’ and hence are classified thus in other countries. The results of this study underline that an international comparison of labour market performance, particularly a comparison of the effectiveness of labour market and social policy reforms, should not rely only on employment and unemployment rates. Taking alternate forms of non-employment into account can enhance ones knowledge and understanding of the functional differences between the labour markets in Europe and the United States.

In search of turbulence Labour market mobility and job stability in Germany

In the course of the transition from an industrial to a service economy, fundamental changes in the functioning of the labour market are expected to occur. A number of authors assert that these changes will result in an increasing external-numerical flexibility of firms which is assumed to affect labour market processes in terms of a generally higher labour market mobility and a decreasing employment stability (‘high-velocity labour market’). This paper examines the hypothesis of a growing importance of numeric-external flexibility, applying simple descriptive statistical methods to the event-history data of the IAB Employment Subsample for the West German labour market covering the years 1976 to 1995. There is no evidence for an acceleration of labour market ‘churning’, but rather for a stagnation or even slight decline of labour market mobility since the 1970s. Furthermore, job stability has not decreased over time, as one might have expected, but rather increased. In spite of these general results it might be conceivable that service-sector jobs have become more unstable but that this effect is cancelled out by a considerable stabilization of jobs in manufacturing. It turns out, however, that there is no evidence for developments in the ‘old’ and ‘new’ labour markets to contrast in such a simple way. Services display divergent trends when broken down by sub-sectors; jobs in some of them have stabilized while there is no or an opposite change in others.

Path Shifting and Path Dependence: Labor Market Policy Reforms Under German Federalism

Abstract Previously a laggard in labor market policy reforms, Germany has combined a fundamental change of its benefit system with a reorganization of its employment services since 2005. The reform has resulted in a hitherto unresolved constitutional dispute that calls the “joined-up” governance of employment and municipal welfare services into question. The article endeavors to explain this outcome and the reforms uncertain destiny in terms of a dynamic version of path dependence theory.

Rise up and Work! Workless People with Impaired Health under Germany's New Activation Regime

‘Unemployment Benefit II’ (Arbeitslosengeld II) is the newly created benefit in Germany for workless and needy people of working age who either lack or have exhausted entitlements in the contribution-based unemployment insurance system. This paper explores the effects of an ‘activating’ benefit regime on respondents with inferior healthrelated capacities by re-analysing data from a recent customer panel survey of this population of recipients. For one, the overall level of activation produced by the new system is differentiated with regard to the health status of the target population. Second, the effects of activation on two employment-related outcomes are estimated, taking health into account.

Increasing Roles for Municipalities in Delivering Public Employment Services: The Cases of Germany and Denmark

Literature on labour market policy reforms and, in particular, on ‘activation has tended to treat the ‘state’ or ‘public authorities’ as given actors, no matter how much their roles may change in the process. However, ‘the state’ may have several faces in countries with strong legacies of municipal self-government as well as in countries with a federal constitutional set-up. Taking Denmark and Germany as examples, this article analyses the changing roles of municipalities in the process of ‘activating’ labour market policy reforms. It does so with regard to organisational development in the process of co-locating or even merging municipal with national agencies, the role of social partners in social protection against unemployment and the public employment service, the impact of municipal social assistance in the process of hybridisation of benefit regimes, and the governance conflicts involved when shifting responsibilities for employment services.

Reforms of Welfare Administration and Policy—A Comparison of Complexity and Hybridization: An Introduction

Reforms of Welfare Administration and Policy—A Comparison of Complexity and Hybridization: An Introduction Tom Christensen a , Matthias Knuth b , Per Laegreid c & Jay Wiggan d a Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway b Institute for Work, Skills and Training, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany c Department of Administration and Organisation Theory, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway d School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Queens University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom

Grundsicherung "für Arbeitsuchende": ein hybrides Regime sozialer Sicherung auf der Suche nach stabiler Governance *

Vier Jahre nach ihrer Einfuhrung hat die Grundsicherung „fur Arbeitsuchende“ noch immer keine sichere Governance gefunden. Es liegt durchaus im Bereich des Moglichen, dass das zentrale Versprechen der Hartz-Reformen, namlich „Moderne Dienstleistungen am Arbeitsmarkt aus einer Hand“ zu schaffen, fur die Mehrheit der Erwerbslosen und Erwerbsarmen am Ende unerfullt bleibt, weil dafur keine verfassungskonforme und politisch mehrheitsfahige Losung gefunden werden kann. Die von diesem Dilemma Betroffenen sind zum grosen Teil jene, die den nach der Logik der Hartz-Reformen angeblich notwendigen Preis - die Abschaffung der Arbeitslosenhilfe – fur die versprochenen „Dienstleistungen aus einer Hand“ zu zahlen hatten.

Germany: Attempting to Activate the Long-Term Unemployed with Reduced Working Capacity

Unlike in the United Kingdom, there is nothing in Germany that could be aptly called a ‘disability crisis’, and there is no equivalent discourse. Although it has often been hinted that restrictions on early retirement, which have become effective gradually in Germany since 1997, would result in an increased influx into disability pensions, there is no empirical sign of this. Strict gatekeeping and financial unattractiveness of disability pensions have led to a decline in take-up, arguably aided by improvements in public health in general.

“Neue” Formen der Unternehmenskooperation — Innovationschance für Regionen, Erosionsgefahr für industrielle Beziehungen ?

Die Diskussion um Unternehmensnetzwerke als “neuen” Mustern der Unternehmenskooperation wird offenbar in der Hoffnung gefuhrt, das daraus neue Innovationspotentiale erwachsen konnten, die insbesondere fur die Regionen neue Entwicklungsperspektiven eroffnen. In der aktuellen regionalokonomischen Diskussion ist die Forderung von Netzwerken zumindest als eine mogliche und in einigen Fallen erfolgreiche Strategie regionaler Entwicklung ins Blickfeld geruckt. Andererseits ist das gegenwartige westdeutsche System der industriellen Beziehungen mit der bisherigen Struktur von Produktion und Unternehmen gewachsen. Veranderungen dieser Struktur stellen seine Grundlagen praktisch wie rechtlich in Frage. Dies fuhrt dazu, das neue Entwicklungstendenzen, soweit sie im Bereich der Gewerkschaften zur Kenntnis genommen werden, eher die Besorgnisse einer “schleichenden Deregulierung” auslosen.

Vermarktlichung von Arbeitsmarktdienstleistungen als Legitimationsbeschaffung

Ein bisher wenig diskutierter Aspekt der Umgestaltung nationaler Arbeitsmarktpolitiken unter dem „Aktivierungsparadigma“ ist die Veranderung der Transaktionsformen zwischen Arbeitsverwaltung und Tragern. Unabhangig davon, ob gleichzeitig auch eine Aufgabenverlagerung von der offentlichen Arbeitsverwaltung auf Dritte, also eine „Privatisierung“ stattfindet, kommt es aufgrund der Orientierung an Prinzipien des New Public Management zur „Vermarktlichung“: Die Transaktionen zwischen Arbeitsverwaltung und Dritten werden zunehmend uber staatlich inszenierte Quasi-Markte abgewickelt. Die konkrete Ausgestaltung und Struktur dieser Markte bleibt jedoch bemerkenswert unterschiedlich und zeigt keine Anzeichen von Konvergenz. Die in Danemark, Grosbritannien und Deutschland zu beobachtenden Marktformen lassen sich weniger mit „Wohlfahrtsregimes“ gangiger Typologien in Verbindung bringen, als dass sie von nationalen Traditionen, der Struktur und Verfasstheit der jeweiligen staatlichen Akteure und von nationalen „Spielarten des Liberalismus“ abzuhangen scheinen. Den durch Einfuhrung marktformiger Transaktionsformen induzierten Preissenkungen bzw. –dampfungen stehen Transaktionskosten, Qualitatsrisiken und andere nicht intendierte Effekte in einem Ausmas gegenuber, das die Rechtfertigung der Vermarktlichung durch Effizienzgewinne infrage stellt. Eher scheint es darum zu gehen, staatliche Entscheidungen zu legitimieren bzw. gegen Kritik zu immunisieren: Vermarktlichung ersetzt das Risiko von „Staatsversagen“ durch das Risiko von „Marktversagen“, fur das kein Entscheidungstrager Verantwortung tragt. Die Reichweite moglicher Reformvorschlage bleibt beschrankt auf das, was in der jeweiligen nationalen Diskursarena als legitim gelten kann. Vermarktlichung hat die Denkweisen aller beteiligten Akteure verandert, einschlieslich derer, die ihre Folgen beklagen. Jedoch offnet das neue Europaische Vergaberecht den Blick auf zulassige Varianten, die bisher in Deutschland nicht ausgeschopft sind.