Arbeitspapier

Labour Demand in Germany: An Assessment of Non-Wage Labour Costs

The data indicate that non-wage labour costs in Germany have reached a record high in recent years. From 1972 to 2001, the ratio of non-wage labour costs to direct compensation in West German manufacturing industry rose from 55.6 per cent to 81.2 per cent. The topic of non-wage labour costs is increasingly being discussed among and between the political parties because non-wage labour costs are likely to have major negative effects on employment. We follow the real options approach, which allows us to investigate the value to a firm of waiting to adjust labour when the firm´s revenues are stochastic and adjustment costs are sunk. Simulation exercises show that the interaction between hiring and firing costs, non-wage labour costs and uncertainty can have important ramifications for employment dynamics.

Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 952

Classification
Wirtschaft
Subject
real options
labour demand
non-wage labour costs
hiring and firing costs
Germany

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Chen, Yu-Fu
Funke, Michael
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
(where)
Munich
(when)
2003

Handle
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET

Data provider

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Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Chen, Yu-Fu
  • Funke, Michael
  • Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)

Time of origin

  • 2003

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