The paper raises the proposition that Central Europe?s integration into the international division of labour has added significantly to competitive pressure in the German automobile industry. Based on production and trade data, we trace two dimensions of competitive pressure: relocation of...

The paper empirically examines three possible reasons for the high and rising unemployment of low-skilled employees in Germany: (i) an upsurge in interindustry trade, (ii) a skill-biased technical change, and (iii) a failure of labour market adjustment. The empirical analyses indicate that an...