TY - JOUR

T1 - On the determinants of mandatory works councils in Germany

AU - Schnabel, Claus

AU - Wagner, J

AU - Addison, John T.

PY - 1997/10/1

Y1 - 1997/10/1

N2 - German works councils are often thought of as operating in all firms that exceed the basic size threshold (of five permanent employees) established under law. Drawing on a new large-scale, representative German data set, we report that only one-fifth of firms in our sample have works councils even if such firms do account for almost three-fourths of employment. The principal factors behind works council presence emerge as fairly conventional: firm size, firm age, branch plant status, the gender composition of the work force, and certain working arrangements. There are also signs of a close relation between workplace union density and council presence. However, some controversial causal links suggested in an earlier econometric literature receive little support.

AB - German works councils are often thought of as operating in all firms that exceed the basic size threshold (of five permanent employees) established under law. Drawing on a new large-scale, representative German data set, we report that only one-fifth of firms in our sample have works councils even if such firms do account for almost three-fourths of employment. The principal factors behind works council presence emerge as fairly conventional: firm size, firm age, branch plant status, the gender composition of the work force, and certain working arrangements. There are also signs of a close relation between workplace union density and council presence. However, some controversial causal links suggested in an earlier econometric literature receive little support.

KW - Economics

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0000913189&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/0019-8676.00062

DO - 10.1111/0019-8676.00062

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 36

SP - 419

EP - 445

JO - Industrial Relations

JF - Industrial Relations

SN - 0019-8676

IS - 4

ER -