The labour market economists amongst you know how arduous it can be to trace the path of how certain institutional changes influence the situation on the labour market.
However, several studies, including those by some Bundesbank researchers, indicate that the labour market reforms of recent years played a crucial role in contributing to the turnaround on the labour market and to its resilience during the crisis. 1 However, the German example also shows that labour market reforms need time to take their full effect.