We study whether referrals deliver better information about the productivity of new hires than other recruiting channels. Using combined vacancy-register data, we document that referrals are associated with less screening and lower search costs. We demonstrate that the referral wage premium is informative on referrals’ information advantage only if differences in screening are accounted for. Consistent with the predictions from a learning model, referrals increase new hires’ job stability and wages, with the effects diminishing over time. Results suggest that the referral information advantage is particularly pronounced for males and when employers use referrals as the only search channel.

We study how connections to German federal parliamentarians affect firm dynamics by constructing a novel dataset to measure connections between politicians and the universe of firms. To identify the causal effect of access to political power, we exploit (i) new appointments to the company leadership team and (ii) discontinuities around the marginal seat of party election lists. Our results reveal that connections lead to reductions in firm exits, gradual increases in employment growth without improvements in productivity. The economic effects are mediated by better credit ratings while access to subsidies or procurement contracts are documented to be of lower importance.

Using a novel firm survey matched to administrative employee records, we demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic was a push factor for the diffusion of digital technologies in Germany. Two out of three firms invested in digital technologies. Three quarters of those investing firms invested because of the pandemic, particularly in hardware and software to enable decentralized communication, management, and coordination. These investments also fostered additional firm-sponsored training, underscoring the complementarity between investments in digital technologies and training. We then show that the investments helped firms insure their workers against the economic downturn. Firms with additional digital investments retained more of their employees on regular working hours and relied less on short-time work. Low- and medium-skilled, as well as young workers, benefited the most from the insurance effect of digital investments.

In this article, we study whether performance evaluations can serve as an instrument for firms to increase employee retention. Feedback on one's own performance may affect individual turnover intentions differently depending on the relative wage rank of workers among their peers. In line with these considerations, empirical evidence based on panel employer-employee data shows that relatively low-paid employees decrease their turnover intentions after the implementation of a performance evaluation system at the establishment level. We find no effect for relatively high-paid employees.

We structurally estimate an equilibrium search model using German administrative data and use the model for counterfactual analyses of a uniform minimum wage. The model with worker and firm heterogeneity does not restrict the sign of employment effects a priori; it allows for different job offer arrival rates for the employed and the unemployed and lets firms optimally choose their recruiting intensity. We find that unemployment is a non-monotonic function of the minimum wage level. Effects differ strongly by labor market segment defined by region, skill, and permanent worker ability.

This paper studies the long-term consequences of unemployment on different dimensions of social exclusion. Based on longitudinal linked survey and administrative data from Germany and an event study analysis combined with inverse propensity score weighting, I document that becoming unemployed has lasting adverse effects on both individuals’ material well-being and their subjective perception of social status and integration, persisting even after four years. An examination of effect heterogeneity underscores that the enduring effects of job loss are more pronounced for individuals confronted with challenging labor market conditions, those with a history of repeated unemployment, and individuals with lower levels of educational attainment.

This paper analyzes the individual-level effects of disability onset on labor market outcomes using novel administrative data from Germany. Combining propensity score matching techniques with an event-study design, we find lasting negative impacts on employment and wages. One important mechanism is transitions to nonemployment after disability onset: newly disabled individuals' probability of becoming nonemployed increases by 10 percentage points after one year and by 15 percentage points after five years relative to that of the control group. For those who stay in employment, working part-time and switching to less physically or psychosocially demanding jobs are important adjustment paths. The negative labor market effects of disability onset are more pronounced for severely disabled, older and low-skilled individuals.

Routine-intensive occupations have been declining in many countries, but how does this affect individual workers’ careers if this decline is particularly severe in their local labor market? This paper uses administrative data from Germany and a matched difference-in-differences approach to show that the individual costs of job loss strongly depend on the task-bias of regional structural change. Workers displaced from routine manual occupations have substantially higher and more persistent employment and wage losses in regions where such occupations decline the most. Regional and occupational mobility partly serve as an adjustment mechanism, but come at high cost as these switches also involve losses in firm wage premia. Non-displaced workers, by contrast, remain largely unaffected by structural change.

In this paper, we study whether performance feedback can serve as an instrument for firms to increase employee retention. Feedback on the relative performance may affect individual job search behavior differently depending on workers’ relative rank among their peers. In line with these considerations, empirical evidence based on panel employer-employee data shows that employees performing below the median decrease their turnover intentions after the implementation of a performance feedback system at the establishment level. We find no effect for employees performing above the median.

This article shows the extent to which companies' investments in digital technologies have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a large German company survey conducted by the Institute for Employment Research, the authors examine whether and which companies have invested in different types of digital technologies, how these investments are connected to working from home, and how investments are influenced by the economic situation of companies during the pandemic. The authors also discuss further training activities provided and planned by employers and how those are related to their investments in digital technologies.

Working from home even after the coronavirus pandemic? Advantages and disadvantages from a business perspective Aims: This article provides an overview of the business perspective on working from home even after the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Reasons for and against an expansion of working from home are analyzed. Method: The analyses are based on the fourth wave of the “Businesses in the COVID-19 crisis” study, in which businesses were asked in detail about their current experiences with and future plans for working from home. For the descriptive analyses, only businesses in which the possibility of working from home exists in principle were taken into account (n = 1,059). Results: Working from home has become more important in German businesses during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. At the same time, the majority of businesses are aiming to return to their pre-crisis levels. About one fifth of the businesses plan to expand working from home in the future. Large businesses in particular want to expand their options. Businesses that want to reduce the proportion of staff working from home or teleworking again after the crisis state that the activities of the employees are not suitable for working from home. When businesses want to expand working from home options, they most often aim to improve the flexibility and work-life balance of their employees. Conclusion: Increasing work-from-home activities poses new challenges for occupational safety and health, and company regulations on the organization of work-from-home activities are gaining in importance. Large businesses in particular see a possible perceived unequal treatment of employees as a future issue. Keywords: working from home – home office – teleworking – mobile working – business survey – SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This data report describes the data from an establishment survey conducted as part of the Establishments in the Covid-19 Crisis project. A representative sample of 1,500 to 2,000 establishments of different sizes and from various economic sectors was surveyed at regular intervals. By utilizing a high-frequency, rotating panel design, the survey provides a database that closely tracks the consequences of the pandemic. So far, fourteen waves (period: 08/03/2020 - 06/18/2021) are available to external researchers. (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

ZusammenfassungDurch die Corona-Pandemie haben digitale Technologien in Unternehmen an Bedeutung gewonnen. Auf Basis einer Betriebsbefragung des Instituts für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung untersuchen die Autor:innen, ob Unternehmen vermehrt in digitale Technologien investiert haben und welche Rolle dabei die wirtschaftliche Situation gespielt hat. Neben den Investitionen in digitale Technologien haben auch Weiterbildungsaktivitäten in den Betrieben zugenommen.

This paper studies the effects of the high-speed internet expansion on the match quality of new hires. We combine data on internet availability at the local level with German individual register and vacancy data. Results show that internet availability has no major impact on the stability of new matches and their wages. We confirm these findings using vacancy data, by explicitly comparing match outcomes of online and non-online recruits. Further results show that online recruiting not only raises the number of applicants and the share of unsuitable candidates per vacancy, but also induces employers to post more vacancies.

This data report describes the data from an establishment survey conducted as part of the Establishments in the Covid-19 Crisis project. A representative sample of 1,500 to 2,000 establishments of different sizes and from various economic sectors was surveyed at regular intervals. By utilizing a high-frequency, rotating panel design, the survey provides a database that closely tracks the consequences of the pandemic. So far, fourteen waves (period: 08/03/2020 - 06/18/2021) are available to external researchers. (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

This data report describes the data from an establishment survey conducted as part of the Establishments in the Covid-19 Crisis project. A representative sample of 1,500 to 2,000 establishments from various economic sectors and different sizes was surveyed at regular intervals. By utilizing a high-frequency, rotating panel design, the survey provides a database that maps the consequences of the pandemic in a tight way. So far, nine waves (period: 08/03/2020 - 02/19/2021) are available to external researchers. Details for access routes, conditions of use and how to request the data set can be found on the FDZ website at http://fdz.iab.de/. (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) Additional Information DOI: 10.5164/IAB.FDZD.2102.de.v1 Auszahlungen Frequencies and labels

In this paper we analyze the effects of a German job creation scheme (JCS) on the social integration and well-being of long-term unemployed individuals. Using linked survey and administrative data for participants and a group of matched non-participants, we find significant positive effects of being employed within this program. They are larger for individuals with health impairments and above-average duration of welfare dependence. The program effects decline over time, which cannot be explained by decreasing levels of well-being and social integration of the participants. Instead, this decrease is driven by a rising share of controls who find a job and catch up to similar outcome levels as program participants. Overall, our results suggest that JCSs can be an efficient labor market policy instrument to improve the quality of life of the long-term unemployed.

Langzeitarbeitslosigkeit ist ein soziales Problem, das auch in wirtschaftlich guten Zeiten nie ganz verschwindet. Die Integration in Beschaftigung ist vor allem fur altere Personen, die bereits sehr lange Perioden von Arbeitslosigkeit erfahren haben, nicht einfach, mit entsprechenden negativen Folgen fur die soziale Teilhabe. Offentlich geforderte Beschaftigung fur Langzeitarbeitslose kann jedoch nach einer aktuellen Studie eines Forschungskonsortiums von IAQ, ZOOM, SOKO und ZEW Mannheim helfen, die soziale Teilhabe der geforderten Personen zu erhohen und auch effizient gestaltet werden – insbesondere wenn es gelingt, solche Programme auf die Gruppe der Langzeitarbeitslosen ohne Chancen auf eine ungeforderte Beschaftigung zu konzentrieren.

This paper analyzes the economic and social consequences of job loss which contribute to exclusion from society based on German linked survey and administrative data. To study the causal relationship between unemployment and multiple dimensions of social marginalization, I combine inverse propensity score weighting with a difference-in-differences approach. The results suggest that job loss has particularly detrimental effects on the subjective perception of social integration, life satisfaction, the access to economic resources and mental health. Moreover, this paper shows that becoming unemployed hinders the fulfillment of psychosocial needs that are typically associated with working, such as social status and higher self-efficacy. The effects of job loss are long-lasting, growing more profound the longer the duration of unemployment and persisting following reemployment. Looking at effect heterogeneity, I find that having a partner and being highly educated reduces the negative effects of job loss.