Temporal work flexibility is often viewed as means to improve the reconciliation of family and work. By exploiting theGerman re-unification and the particularities of the labor market of the German Democratic Republic, I show that flexitime allows mothers to spend more time with their children....

We analyze the effect of outsourcing on union wages in a simple two-stage game between a firm and a union. In contrast to public perception the ease with which the firm can outsource parts of their production does not necessarily reduce the wage set by the union. Even in the simple model...