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Abstract:
How stable is the German system of industrial relations? The answer to this question depends on two factors. First, it depends on what we assume to be the important indicators for measuring institutional stability. And second, it depends on what we choose as the benchmark between stability and change. The main concern of Thomas Klikauer's critique of my `erosion thesis' seems to be the question of how to interpret the existing material. Is the glass half empty or half full? Are the changes in coverage of institutions signs for a fundamental long-term decline, or are these merely fluctuations that depend on the business cycle and are likely to pick up when unemployment vanishes? How can we accommodate contradicting accounts on the stability of German industrial relations institutions?
