Author: Nicola Düll

Publisher: Aging Societies published by B. Bosworth & G. Burtless, Brookings Institution, Washington

Year: 1998

Language: English

In the short-run reforming of German social policy involves reducing non-wage labour costs, in the long-run it means coping with an ageing population. Several studies have targeted these problems and their impact on the German labour market:

  • A basic study for the Tokyo Club Foundation for Global Studies analysed the interrelationship between ageing and economic performance.
  • The impact of ageing on manpower policies of companies was investigated for the European Commission.
  • The macro-economic effects of a partially capital funded pension scheme were calculated on behalf of the German Bundestag.

All these studies showed that the German labour market is highly sensitive to changes in non-wage labour costs which are affected by all political proposals. The core problem of any long-term change in the German social system, however, is the intergenerational conflict which arises with any reform.