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Liberalization Only at the Margins? Analysing the Growth of Temporary Work in German Core Manufacturing Sectors

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  • Chiara Benassi

Abstract

Drawing on workers’ surveys and workplace interviews, this article investigates the growth of temporary work in German manufacturing sectors since the 1980s. Findings partly confirm a ‘dualization’ scenario as workers without industry-specific vocational training are more likely to be on a temporary contract than skilled workers, and the gap has widened over time. However, also skilled workers have become increasingly vulnerable to casualization due to job routine and the erosion of industrial relations. Evidence confirms the crucial role of institutions in supporting the linkage between specific skills and employment stability, and suggests that the liberalization of the employment relationship has the potential to advance also in the core of the German economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Chiara Benassi, 2016. "Liberalization Only at the Margins? Analysing the Growth of Temporary Work in German Core Manufacturing Sectors," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(3), pages 597-622, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:54:y:2016:i:3:p:597-622
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Weisstanner, David, 2019. "Insiders under pressure: Flexible employment and wage inequality," INET Oxford Working Papers 2019-06, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    3. Doellgast, Virginia & Marsden, David, 2019. "Institutions as constraints and resources: explaining cross-national divergence in performance management," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 89978, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. David Weisstanner, 2017. "Dualization and inequality revisited: Temporary employment regulation and middle-class incomes," LIS Working papers 720, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    5. Thomas Paster & Dennie Oude Nijhuis & Maximilian Kiecker, 2020. "To Extend or Not to Extend: Explaining the Divergent Use of Statutory Bargaining Extensions in the Netherlands and Germany," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(3), pages 532-557, September.
    6. Xavier St‐Denis & Matissa Hollister, 2023. "Two paths towards job instability: Comparing changes in the distribution of job tenure duration in the United Kingdom and Germany, 1984–2014," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 723-751, September.

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