Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download Low-Wage Work in Germany PDF full book. Access full book title Low-Wage Work in Germany by Gerhard Bosch. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: Gerhard Bosch Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation ISBN: 1610440765 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 344
Book Description
In recent years, the German government has intentionally expanded the low-wage work sector in an effort to reduce exceptionally high levels of unemployment. As a result, the share of the German workforce employed in low-paying jobs now rivals that of the United States. Low Wage Work in Germany examines both the federal policies and changing economic conditions that have driven this increase in low-wage work. The new "mini-job" reflects the federal government's attempt to make certain low-paying jobs attractive to both employers and employees. Employers pay a low flat rate for benefits, and employees, who work a limited number of hours per week, are exempt from social security and tax contributions. Other factors, including slow economic growth, a declining collective bargaining system, and the influx of foreign workers, also contribute to the growing incidence of low-wage work. Yet while both Germany and the United States have large shares of low-wage workers, German workers receive health insurance, four weeks of paid vacation, and generous old age support—benefits most low-wage workers in the United States can only dream of. The German experience offers an important opportunity to explore difficult trade-offs between unemployment and low-wage work. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Case Studies of Job Quality in Advanced Economies
Author: Gerhard Bosch Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation ISBN: 1610440765 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 344
Book Description
In recent years, the German government has intentionally expanded the low-wage work sector in an effort to reduce exceptionally high levels of unemployment. As a result, the share of the German workforce employed in low-paying jobs now rivals that of the United States. Low Wage Work in Germany examines both the federal policies and changing economic conditions that have driven this increase in low-wage work. The new "mini-job" reflects the federal government's attempt to make certain low-paying jobs attractive to both employers and employees. Employers pay a low flat rate for benefits, and employees, who work a limited number of hours per week, are exempt from social security and tax contributions. Other factors, including slow economic growth, a declining collective bargaining system, and the influx of foreign workers, also contribute to the growing incidence of low-wage work. Yet while both Germany and the United States have large shares of low-wage workers, German workers receive health insurance, four weeks of paid vacation, and generous old age support—benefits most low-wage workers in the United States can only dream of. The German experience offers an important opportunity to explore difficult trade-offs between unemployment and low-wage work. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Case Studies of Job Quality in Advanced Economies
Author: Jens Stephani Publisher: wbv Media GmbH & Company KG ISBN: 376394088X Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 146
Book Description
Dieses Buch thematisiert verschiedene Aspekte der Lohndynamik in Deutschland. Während der Hauptteil des Buches sich mit dem Lohnwachstum und der Aufstiegsmobilität von Geringverdienern beschäftigt, analysiert ein kleinerer Teil die Entwicklung der Lohneffekte der Tarifbindung für alle Beschäftigten. Unter anderem wird gezeigt, dass die Aufstiegsmobilität von Geringverdienern in besser bezahlte Jobs kein lediglich temporäres Phänomen ist, sondern für diese Beschäftigten zu längerfristig höheren Lohnniveaus führen kann. Das Lohnwachstum von Geringverdienern hängt allerdings von anderen betrieblichen Einflussfaktoren ab als das Lohnwachstum von Besserverdienern. Auch Persönlichkeitsmerkmale wie zum Beispiel die individuelle Kontrollüberzeugung beeinflussen die Aufstiegsmobilität von Geringverdienern. Weiterhin zeigen die Analysen, dass trotz des kontinuierlichen Rückgangs des gewerkschaftlichen Organisationsgrads und der Tarifbindung im letzten Jahrzehnt weiterhin eine - wenn auch geringe - positive Lohnprämie der Tarifbindung existiert.
Author: Jerome Gautie Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation ISBN: 1610446305 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 506
Book Description
As global flows of goods, capital, information, and people accelerate competitive pressure on businesses throughout the industrialized world, firms have responded by reorganizing work in a variety of efforts to improve efficiency and cut costs. In the United States, where minimum wages are low, unions are weak, and immigrants are numerous, this has often lead to declining wages, increased job insecurity, and deteriorating working conditions for workers with little bargaining power in the lower tiers of the labor market. Low-Wage Work in the Wealthy World builds on an earlier Russell Sage Foundation study (Low-Wage America) to compare the plight of low-wage workers in the United States to five European countries—Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom—where wage supports, worker protections, and social benefits have generally been stronger. By examining low-wage jobs in systematic case studies across five industries, this groundbreaking international study goes well beyond standard statistics to reveal national differences in the quality of low-wage work and the well being of low-wage workers. The United States has a high percentage of low-wage workers—nearly three times more than Denmark and twice more than France. Since the early 1990s, however, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany have all seen substantial increases in low-wage jobs. While these jobs often entail much the same drudgery in Europe and the United States, quality of life for low-wage workers varies substantially across countries. The authors focus their analysis on the "inclusiveness" of each country's industrial relations system, including national collective bargaining agreements and minimum-wage laws, and the generosity of social benefits such as health insurance, pensions, family leave, and paid vacation time—which together sustain a significantly higher quality of life for low-wage workers in some countries. Investigating conditions in retail sales, hospitals, food processing, hotels, and call centers, the book's industry case studies shed new light on how national institutions influence the way employers organize work and shape the quality of low-wage jobs. A telling example: in the United States and several European nations, wages and working conditions of front-line workers in meat processing plants are deteriorating as large retailers put severe pressure on prices, and firms respond by employing low-wage immigrant labor. But in Denmark, where unions are strong, and, to a lesser extent, in France, where the statutory minimum wage is high, the low-wage path is blocked, and firms have opted instead to invest more heavily in automation to raise productivity, improve product quality, and sustain higher wages. However, as Low-Wage Work in the Wealthy World also shows, the European nations' higher level of inclusiveness is increasingly at risk. "Exit options," both formal and informal, have emerged to give employers ways around national wage supports and collectively bargained agreements. For some jobs, such as room cleaners in hotels, stronger labor relations systems in Europe have not had much impact on the quality of work. Low-Wage Work in the Wealthy World offers an analysis of low-wage work in Europe and the United States based on concrete, detailed, and systematic contrasts. Its revealing case studies not only provide a human context but also vividly remind us that the quality and incidence of low-wage work is more a matter of national choice than economic necessity and that government policies and business practices have inevitable consequences for the quality of workers' lives. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Case Studies of Job Quality in Advanced Economies
Author: Fabian Uyanakumarage Publisher: GRIN Verlag ISBN: 3346135128 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 38
Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject Economics - Other, grade: 1,3, University of Applied Sciences Riedlingen, language: English, abstract: „Minimum wage is the minimum amount of remuneration that an employer is required to pay wage earners for the work performed during a given period, which cannot be reduced by collective agreement or an individual contract”. The government uses the minimum wage as a basic price control, which can force companies to create equal pay for all employees regardless of their origin, gender or belief. Currently, 90 percent of countries have regulations or binding tariff regulations that determine the minimum wage. In countries such as Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria and Italy there is no legal minimum wage. There, the government leaves the employer associations and unions to set a minimum wage in collective bargaining. New Zealand was the first country to introduce the minimum wage in 1894, and 192 more followed until 2019. Many of these countries have very complex systems, for example India has more than 1200 different minimum wage rates. Hardly any other labour market policy measure has been discussed as extensively as the introduction of the minimum wage of EUR 8.50 gross per hour on January 1, 2015 in Germany. For the supporters it was a long overdue step to offer low-wage earners a higher wage and thus a better standard of living. However, economists warned in advance that introducing minimum wages would only have negative consequences, especially when it comes to employment. Various studies have predicted that it could result in the loss of thousands of jobs. For example, the Ifo Institute in Munich forecasted a threat to up to 900 thousand jobs. Opponents of the minimum wage also pointed out that low-skilled workers would find it difficult to get into employment and would make little contribution to fighting poverty. The aim of this paper is to analyse how the market in Germany reacted to the introduction of the minimum wage. Also the history and structure of the minimum wage is described and the different economic theories are compared.
Author: Eileen Appelbaum Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation ISBN: 1610440145 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 552
Book Description
About 27.5 million Americans—nearly 24 percent of the labor force—earn less than $8.70 an hour, not enough to keep a family of four out of poverty, even working full-time year-round. Job ladders for these workers have been dismantled, limiting their ability to get ahead in today's labor market. Low-Wage America is the most extensive study to date of how the choices employers make in response to economic globalization, industry deregulation, and advances in information technology affect the lives of tens of millions of workers at the bottom of the wage distribution. Based on data from hundreds of establishments in twenty-five industries—including manufacturing, telecommunications, hospitality, and health care—the case studies document how firms' responses to economic restructuring often results in harsh working conditions, reduced benefits, and fewer opportunities for advancement. For instance, increased pressure for profits in newly consolidated hotel chains has led to cost-cutting strategies such as requiring maids to increase the number of rooms they clean by 50 percent. Technological changes in the organization of call centers—the ultimate "disposable workplace"—have led to monitoring of operators' work performance, and eroded job ladders. Other chapters show how the temporary staffing industry has provided paths to better work for some, but to dead end jobs for many others; how new technology has reorganized work in the back offices of banks, raising skill requirements for workers; and how increased competition from abroad has forced U.S. manufacturers to cut costs by reducing wages and speeding production. Although employers' responses to economic pressures have had a generally negative effect on frontline workers, some employers manage to resist this trend and still compete successfully. The benefits to workers of multi-employer training consortia and the continuing relevance of unions offer important clues about what public policy can do to support the job prospects of this vast, but largely overlooked segment of the American workforce. Low-Wage America challenges us to a national self-examination about the nature of low-wage work in this country and asks whether we are willing to tolerate the profound social and economic consequences entailed by these jobs. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Case Studies of Job Quality in Advanced Economies
Author: Arne Heise Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 19
Book Description
Abstract: There has been a long discussion about the employment impact of minimum wages and this discussion has recently been renewed with the introduction of an economy-wide, binding minimum wage in Germany in 2015. In traditional reasoning, based on the allocational approach of modern labour market economics, it has been suggested that the impact is clearly negative on the assumption of a competitive labour market and clearly positive on the assumption of a monopsonistic labour market. Unfortunately, both predictions conflict with the empirical findings, which do not show a clear-cut impact of significant size in any direction. As an alternative, a Post Keynesian two-sector model including an employment market is presented here. Its most likely prediction of a negligible employment effect and a sectoral shift is tested against the German case of an introduction of a statutory minimum wage in 2015. Despite substantial wage increases in the low wage sector, our empirical analysis reveals ver
Author: Antonia Kupfer Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing ISBN: 1035321688 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 171
Book Description
Work Appropriation of Low-Wage Workers in the Service Sector deftly explores how supermarket clerks perceive their work when faced with meagre pay and frequently precarious working conditions. Speaking substantively on current social problems within clerksÕ livelihoods, this essential book provides a fascinating comparison between German and US-based low-wage worker experiences.
Author: Weimer Salverda Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation ISBN: 9780871547705 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 352
Book Description
Examines the extent of low paid jobs in call centres, food processing, hospitals, hotels, and retail outlets, partly over the period 1980-2005. Reflects on the role of labour market institutions with respect to part-time working and non-standard work contracts.
Author: Jerome Gautie Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation ISBN: 9780871540614 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 505
Book Description
As global flows of goods, capital, information, and people accelerate competitive pressure on businesses throughout the industrialized world, firms have responded by reorganizing work in a variety of efforts to improve efficiency and cut costs. In the United States, where minimum wages are low, unions are weak, and immigrants are numerous, this has often lead to declining wages, increased job insecurity, and deteriorating working conditions for workers with little bargaining power in the lower tiers of the labor market. Low-Wage Work in the Wealthy World builds on an earlier Russell Sage Foundation study (Low-Wage America) to compare the plight of low-wage workers in the United States to five European countries—Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom—where wage supports, worker protections, and social benefits have generally been stronger. By examining low-wage jobs in systematic case studies across five industries, this groundbreaking international study goes well beyond standard statistics to reveal national differences in the quality of low-wage work and the well being of low-wage workers. The United States has a high percentage of low-wage workers—nearly three times more than Denmark and twice more than France. Since the early 1990s, however, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany have all seen substantial increases in low-wage jobs. While these jobs often entail much the same drudgery in Europe and the United States, quality of life for low-wage workers varies substantially across countries. The authors focus their analysis on the "inclusiveness" of each country's industrial relations system, including national collective bargaining agreements and minimum-wage laws, and the generosity of social benefits such as health insurance, pensions, family leave, and paid vacation time—which together sustain a significantly higher quality of life for low-wage workers in some countries. Investigating conditions in retail sales, hospitals, food processing, hotels, and call centers, the book's industry case studies shed new light on how national institutions influence the way employers organize work and shape the quality of low-wage jobs. A telling example: in the United States and several European nations, wages and working conditions of front-line workers in meat processing plants are deteriorating as large retailers put severe pressure on prices, and firms respond by employing low-wage immigrant labor. But in Denmark, where unions are strong, and, to a lesser extent, in France, where the statutory minimum wage is high, the low-wage path is blocked, and firms have opted instead to invest more heavily in automation to raise productivity, improve product quality, and sustain higher wages. However, as Low-Wage Work in the Wealthy World also shows, the European nations' higher level of inclusiveness is increasingly at risk. "Exit options," both formal and informal, have emerged to give employers ways around national wage supports and collectively bargained agreements. For some jobs, such as room cleaners in hotels, stronger labor relations systems in Europe have not had much impact on the quality of work. Low-Wage Work in the Wealthy World offers an analysis of low-wage work in Europe and the United States based on concrete, detailed, and systematic contrasts. Its revealing case studies not only provide a human context but also vividly remind us that the quality and incidence of low-wage work is more a matter of national choice than economic necessity and that government policies and business practices have inevitable consequences for the quality of workers' lives. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Case Studies of Job Quality in Advanced Economies