The introduction of the minimum wage in the German painter and varnisher trade in 2003 is used as a natural experiment to study the effects of minimum wages on wages and employment. We find a significant positive effect on the average hourly wage of skilled workers in East Germany, but not in...

Am 23. Februar 2011 veranstaltete das ifo Institut gemeinsam mit dem Bayerischen Handwerkstag ein Symposium unter dem Titel »Demographischer Wandel und Fachkräfteentwicklung – Konsequenzen für Bildung und Handwerk«. Die Veranstaltung unter der Moderation von Sigmund Gottlieb, Chefredakteur...

"Politically adrift, alienated from Weimar society, and fearful of competition from industrial elites and the working class alike, the independent artisans of interwar Germany were a particularly receptive audience for National Socialist ideology. As Hitler consolidated power, they emerged as an...