Abstract
Like other nations, Germany has witnessed a fall in unskilled worker employment in recent years. As we shall see, the data point to a decline of almost 4 percent per year between 1976 and 1989. The German problem would appear to have been exacerbated by sticky relative wages; that is, one does not observe any increase in the qualifications premium over the same time period (see also Steiner and Wagner in this volume). Ironically, in view of past European criticism of U.S. job creation, in Germany as elsewhere in continental Europe there have been calls for measures to create low-wage jobs, albeit topped up with wage supplements.
John Addison is John M. Olin Visiting Professor of Labor Economics and Public Policy, Center for the Study of American Business, Washington University; and Professor of Economics at the University of South Carolina. Joachim Wagner is Professor of Economics, Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre, Universität Lüneburg.
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Addison, J.T., Wagner, J. (1998). The Changing Skill Structure of Employment in German Manufacturing: A Peek Inside the Industry Black Box. In: Black, S.W. (eds) Globalization, Technological Change, and Labor Markets. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4965-9_4
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