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Some influential studies show that many self-employed could apparently achieve higher earnings were they working in paid employment. One potential explanation for this 'return-to-entrepreneurship puzzle', not empirically tested yet, is that entrepreneurship entails non-monetary benefits, such as autonomy, flexibility, and task variety. Using German data and a decomposition analysis, I examine the contribution of these working conditions to the observed earnings differential between self-employment and paid employment. I confirm that self-employed individuals report lower earnings than what they are expected to earn in paid employment. However, differences in working conditions barely contribute to the earnings gap. This finding casts some doubt on the relevance of compensating differentials for explaining the return-to-entrepreneurship puzzle.

"We examine the gender wage gap in Austria using new matched employer-employee data from 2007. We estimate quantile regressions and investigate the gender wage gap at the conditional wage distribution of men and women. We decompose the gender wage gap into the parts which are due to different characteristics and different returns to these characteristics. About 60 % of the gender wage gap cannot be explained by differences in human capital or other observable indicators of productivity. Taking differences in the characteristics into account, we find that women earn on average about 11 % less than men. We further estimate that differences in the returns for women and men increase over the wage distribution." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

"This paper presents evidence on the impact of hours spent on housework activities on individuals' wages for Germany using data from both the German Socio-Economic Panel and the German Time Use Survey. In contrast to most of the international literature, we find no negative effect of housework on wages. This holds for men and women, for married and single individuals, and for part-time and full-time workers both in West and East Germany. Our insights do not change when we distinguish different types of housework activities or address the endogeneity of housework in our wage regressions by using instrumental variables estimators." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

This contribution focuses on the relation between wage inequality, participation behavior and employment and the analysis in the project 'Flexibility of the wage distribution, inequality and employment'. In this project we investigate whether the popular idea of an encrusted German labor market with institutional regulations, minimum wages, high reservation wages, union power or insider behavior is consistent with the actual conditions. At first we critically assess the hypothesis that wage compression in Germany leads to employment losses. It can be shown theoretically that higher wage dispersion lower labor market participation as a negative side-effect. Empirical analyses support this result. A higher regional wage level as well as low unemployment -- as an indicator for the stability of jobs -- come along with high participation. A rise in wage dispersion in the lower part of the wage distribution is connected with decreasing employment participation, in the upper part with rising employment participation. As a further result it is shown that interdependencies between regions strongly matter. Additionally we highlight stylized facts about the development of wage inequality. We compare the US and Germany -- countries with high and low wage flexibility respectively -- based on harmonized micro data. We analyze the hypothesis that rigidities due to institutional influences imply a deformation of the wage distribution in the left tail. Such a characteristic wage compression would have to appear particularly for groups of low wage workers in countries like Germany. The comparison with the US labor market suggests the assumption that the deformation of the German wage structure with negative impacts on employment is a distorted picture. A further topic addresses the consequences of setting bounds to the extending inequality in the lower part of the wage distribution by introducing a wage floor. We focus on the effects of a minimum wage on wage inequality and employment. This minimum wage was introduced in 1997 in the German construction sector related to the German Workers Posting Law. We find positive wage effects of the minimum wage regulation in Eastern as well as in Western Germany, albeit the wage reaction in Eastern Germany was considerably larger. When it comes to employment effects, negative effects arise for Eastern Germany and positive for West Germany, although the latter are not always statistically significant. This result shows that a binding minimum wage does not necessarily imply negative employment effects. Finally, this contribution deals with a specific aspect of the wage inequality, the gender pay gap. The focus here is on the influence of the regional context. Having controlled for differences in individual characteristics, education and work places between men and women we show that the gender-specific wage differential is considerably higher in rural than in metropolitan areas. This differential has decreased notably in the last three decades in both regional types. The pay gap between young women and men in rural areas, in an environment with low firm density, is almost constantly ten percentage points higher during the whole observational period than in metropolitan settings. This result is consistent with a theoretical model that additionally takes into account market power of firms.

In dem Beitrag wird untersucht, ob Berufe durch ihre strukturellen Merkmale zu einer sozialen Schließung beitragen. Zu diesem Zweck wurden auf Basis der Berufsordnungen der KldB88 die vier Strukturindikatoren berufliche Spezifität, Standardisierung durch eine Ausbildungsvorschrift, freiwillige Zertifizierung durch private Bildungsträger und Repräsentation durch einen Berufsverband gebildet. Konkret wird der Frage nachgegangen, inwiefern diese vier Strukturmerkmale die berufliche Mobilität von Absolventen einer dualen Ausbildung restringieren. Aus theoretischer Sicht ist zu erwarten, dass bei einer hohen Ausprägung der Indikatoren eine größere soziale Schließung des jeweiligen Berufs herrscht und somit ein Wechsel in einen solchen Beruf schwieriger möglich sein sollte. Empirisch zeigt sich, dass drei Strukturindikatoren in die prognostizierte Richtung weisen: Der Zugang zu Berufen, die durch eine Ausbildungsvorschrift standardisiert oder durch private Träger zertifiziert sind, ist schwieriger. Auch bei einer höheren Ausprägung der beruflichen Spezifität sinken die Chancen, in einen solchen Beruf zu wechseln. Entgegen der theoretischen Überlegungen verhält sich jedoch die Variable Berufsverband - sie besitzt einen positiven Einfluss auf berufliche Mobilitätschancen. Die gleichen Wirkungszusammenhänge ergaben sich, bei einer nach Berufsbereichen differenzierten Betrachtung, für Technische und Dienstleistungsberufe. Im Fertigungsbereich allerdings weichen die Effekte der beruflichen Spezifität und der Berufsverbände von den übrigen Ergebnissen ab. This article examines if occupations contribute to social closure by their structural characteristics. For this purpose the four structural indicators occupational specificity, standardization by training regulation, voluntary certification by private educational providers and representation by an occupational association were created on the basis of the Berufsordnungen of the KldB88. The main question is how these structural traits restrict occupational mobility of graduates of an apprenticeship in the dual system. From a theoretical perspective it is expected that a high manifestation of these indicators goes along with a stronger social closure of the particular occu-pation and so switching into such an occupation is more difficult. The empirical results show that three structural variables indicate the predicted tendency: the access to occupations which are standardized by a training regulation or certified by private educational providers is more difficult. A higher manifestation of occupational specificity also decreases the opportunities to switch into such an occupation. Contrary to the supposed correlations is the variable occupational associations - it has a positive effect on occupational mobility. The differentiation into three occupational areas showed the same results for technical and service occupations. However, in the production sector the effects of occupational specificity and occupational associations differed.

This paper summarizes the findings of studies which investigate the determinants of wages in Germany, using data of the German Socioeconomic Panel (GSOEP). The empirical analyses apply least squares estimates as well as the estimators developed by Altonji and Shakotko, Rev. Econ. Stud. 54, 437 (1987) and Topel, J. Polit Econ. 99(1), 145 (1991). These estimators reduce the endogeneity of indicators of specific and general labor market experience. The studies focus on the heterogeneity in wage determinants in the private and the public sector, in East and West Germany, for men and women, as well as in large versus small firms. Among the most interesting results, we find clear differences in returns to experience between East and West and by employer size.

Using a large linked employer–employee data set for Germany, we investigate differences in the unexplained gender pay gap between owner-run and manager-run firms. We hypothesise that owner-managers and hired managers differ in their discretion to engage in profit-reducing taste discrimination against women, which would translate into different pay gaps depending on leadership regime. We find that unexplained gaps are significantly higher in owner-run firms, both statistically and economically. Yet, scrutinising these results by restricting our analysis to firms that only differ in leadership regime, this substantial difference disappears. Therefore, our findings do not support that active owners are more discriminatory per se. Auf Grundlage eines großen kombinierten Arbeitgeber-Arbeitnehmer-Datensatzes für Deutschland untersuchen wir Unterschiede im unerklärten geschlechtsspezifischen Lohndifferential zwischen eigentümer- und managementgeführten Unternehmen. Wir stellen die Hypothese auf, dass sich aktiven Eigentümern und angestellten Managern unterschiedliche Spielräume zur Auslebung ihrer gewinnsenkenden diskriminatorischen Präferenzen eröffnen und sich daher die Lohndifferentiale zwischen eigentümer- und managementgeführten Unternehmen unterscheiden sollten. Empirisch finden wir statistisch wie ökonomisch signifikant höhere Lohndifferentiale in eigentümergeführten Unternehmen. Die Beschränkung der Stichproben auf hinreichend ähnliche eigentümer- und managementgeführte Unternehmen lässt diese markanten Unterschiede in den Lohndifferentialen jedoch verschwinden. Unsere Ergebnisse deuten daher nicht darauf hin, dass aktive Eigentümer per se mehr diskriminieren.

The unemployment rate in East Germany has been almost twice as high as in West Germany since unification. At the same time, employment subject to social security contributions decreased markedly. We analyse how these developments are reflected in the careers of birth cohorts born between 1937 and 1971. German reunification affected these cohorts differently as they were between 53 and 29 years of age when the wall came down and thus in different stages of their careers. To account for this, we estimate cohort effects in employment careers for men and women differentiated by skill group on the basis of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Our projection of future careers, based on the estimated cohort effects, shows a massive decline in cumulated full-time employment over the life-cycle and a dramatic increase of unemployment for younger birth cohorts. Given that the estimation of cohort effects and the projection of future careers are based on a negative labour market development in East Germany since unification, we also analyse an alternative scenario characterized by an improvement of future employment careers of younger birth cohorts.

Frauen und Männern steht heute theoretisch jeder Beruf offen. Von der Baggerfahrerin bis zum Zahnarzthelfer, von der Bundeskanzlerin bis zum Grundschullehrer. In der Praxis greifen viele jedoch gern auf ein vertrautes Spektrum zurück. So sind manche Berufsfelder nach wie vor entweder stärker von Frauen geprägt oder von Männern. In anderen Feldern brechen die Strukturen auf und Bewegung kommt hinein.

Zusammenfassung Die im Zuge der Bildungsexpansion zunehmende Anzahl Hochqualifizierter wirft zwei Fragen auf. Erstens: Gelingt es den Akademikerinnen und Akademikern, auf dem Arbeitsmarkt Fus zu fassen, oder sehen sie sich zunehmend mit Arbeitslosigkeit konfrontiert? Zweitens: Finden Hochqualifizierte eine ihrer Ausbildung angemessene Beschaftigung oder mussen sie mit inadaquaten Stellen vorlieb nehmen? Im Rahmen einer empirischen Analyse der Studie „Promotion und Karriere“ werden beide Thematiken erstmals fur die Schweiz fur die Gruppe der Hochstqualifizierten (Promovierte der Abschlussjahrgange 1996–2002 Deutschschweizer Hochschulen) im Bildungssystem beleuchtet. Adaquanz wird auf verschiedenen Ebenen (vertikal, horizontal und subjektiv) untersucht und ermoglicht so ein umfassendes Bild der Situation der Promovierten nach Geschlecht und Fachbereich. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Arbeitslosigkeit und inadaquate Beschaftigung fur Promovierte in der Schweiz eher marginale Probleme darstellen. Fachbereichsspezifisch zeigen sich jedoch ausgepragte Unterschiede je nach verwendetem Adaquanzmas. Differenzen zwischen den Geschlechtern bestehen zu Ungunsten der Frauen, was vor allem auf den hohen Anteil der Teilzeitbeschaftigung und den erschwerten Zugang der Frauen zu Fuhrungspositionen zuruck zu fuhren ist.

"'The vitality and stability of our democracy - as well as the economy - eventually depend on the social permeability of our society.' (Horst Köhler, German Federal President, 29. 12. 2007, authors' own translation) This statement draws attention to the strong meritocratic beliefs concerning the equality of opportunity that dominate public debates. This is especially true of the education system. But does this general concern translate into a society in which one's economic success in the labor market is independent of the family into which one was born? And if so, to what degree? In this study, we investigate intergenerational earnings persistence among German workers. Our measure of labor market success is real monthly earnings before taxes and social security contributions. The relationship between fathers' and sons' labor market earnings is assessed using samples drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) 1984-2006. We introduce a novel sampling procedure that allows us to observe father-son pairs at a fairly similar stage in their lives. From a variety of microeconometric estimates (utilizing both OLS and IV methods) we suggest that the best point estimate of intergenerational earnings elasticity among German workers is one-third. Hence, if in the period of investigation a father's permanent labor market earnings increased by 10 percent ( EURO 231 at the mean of our father sample), the son's long-run economic status grew by 3.33 percent. Evaluated at the mean of our sample of sons ( EURO 1,937), this implies a step up of EURO 63 for the son. This figure indicates a lower degree of mobility (and a higher degree of persistence) in Germany compared to preceding studies. In an international perspective, the intergenerational earnings persistence in Germany seems to be lower than that in the United States and higher than that in Sweden. To summarize: there still seems to be substantial intergenerational earnings mobility among German workers, but more persistence than previous research suggested." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) Additional Information Kurzfassung (deutsch) Executive summary (english)

Using unique personnel data from one Russian firm for the years 1997 to 2002 we study the size, development and determinants of the gender earnings gap in an internal labor market during late transition. The estimated gender earnings gap at the firm level falls from about 38 percent in 1997 to 18 percent in 2002. It is of similar magnitude and evolves in a parallel fashion to estimates of the gender earnings gap for the economy as a whole that are based on household survey data. Gender earnings differentials are largest for production workers, who constitute the largest employee group in the firm. Various decompositions show that these differentials and their dynamics remain largely unexplained by observable characteristics at the mean and across the wage distribution. Our analysis also reveals that the earnings differentials for production workers largely stem from job assignment, as women are predominately assigned to lower-paid jobs. Earnings gaps within job levels are small and almost fully explained by observed characteristics. The convergence of male and female earnings is largely driven by an increase in the rewards for women, which is most pronounced in the lower part of the distribution.

"This study uses recent data taken from the German Socio-Economic Panel (2002-2006) to evaluate the extent of and heterogeneity in returns to tenure for men in eastern and western Germany, employed in both the private and the public sector. We find significantly different wage patterns in eastern and western Germany as well as between the private and public sectors. Irrespective of the particular subsample, the application of the Altonji-Shakotko estimation approach yields minute and insignificant returns to tenure and more substantial returns to experience. The profile of the eastern German wage structure is surprisingly flat: after the first ten years of experience - and in contrast to the situation in western Germany - there appear to be no returns to additional general human capital." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) Additional Information Kurzfassung (deutsch) Executive summary (English)

"In welchem Ausmaß ist das Lohngefälle zwischen vollzeitbeschäftigten Frauen und Männern auf Produktivitätsunterschiede zurückzuführen? Welchen Anteil hat die Diskriminierung von Arbeitnehmerinnen und wie wirken sich betriebliche Merkmale auf die Lohnunterschiede aus? Diese Fragen untersuchen wir mit einem verbundenen Personen- und Betriebsdatensatz des Instituts für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung für das Jahr 2000 in Ost- und Westdeutschland. Im Mittelpunkt steht die Frage, wie sich die Geschlechterzusammensetzung von Berufsgruppen in Betrieben (Jobzellen) auf die Lohnhöhe auswirkt. Um zwischen Ausstattungs- und Entlohnungseffekten trennen zu können, wird eine von Oaxaca und Blinder vorgeschlagene Zerlegung des Lohndifferentials vorgenommen. Wie sich zeigt, kann nur etwa ein Zehntel der Lohnlücke zwischen Frauen und Männern durch die Unterschiede im gemessenen Humankapitalbestand erklärt werden. Mit steigendem Frauenanteil in den Jobzellen sinken die Löhne, wobei die Lohnabschläge von Frauen höher ausfallen als die von Männern. Diskriminierung, so die Folgerung, greift insbesondere bei der geschlechtsbasierten Zuweisung von Arbeitsplätzen. Mit dem Vorhandensein von Betriebsräten steigen die Löhne, was vorrangig den beschäftigten Frauen zu Gute kommt." (Autorenreferat) "To what extent is the gender wage gap of fulltime employees due to differences in productivity-related characteristics, to discrimination of female employees, and how is the wage gap affected by firm specific features? To analyze these problems we use a linked employer-employee database for East and West Germany in 2000, made available by the Institute for Labour Market Research. In particular, we address the effect on wage levels of the sex com-position of occupations within firms (job cells). Our estimations rely on the decomposition of the wage differential proposed by Oaxaca and Blinder. We find that only one tenth of the gender gap in wages is explained by human capital differences between men and women. Regarding the gender wage gap in Germany we conclude that discrimination in the allocation of men and women to different jobs is an important mechanism: With increasing proportions of women within job cells we observe decreasing wage levels for men and women but with higher rates of decline for women than for men. While the presence of worker's councils are shown to have a positive impact on wage levels, women are found to profit most from their presence within firms." (author's abstract)