ABSTRACT
W. Ettl and A. Heikenroth estimate that while 80 per cent of western workers are in enterprises who are members of the employers' federation, the figure in the east is 60 per cent and falling. Within the German media leaders of the Employers' Federations had also openly begun talking of the need for further austerity measures, reductions in non-wage labour costs and cuts in public holiday provision and related payments. This chapter addresses two questions. First, is an assessment of the permanency or otherwise of the underlying reasons for crisis in Germany of the late 1990s comparable to earlier crises in previous decades? Secondly, is the impact of this changed economic and political environment on the institutions and practice of co-determination associated with Modell Deutschland and German economic growth and stability? Despite the difficulties of the post-unification period it is remains fashionable in political economy circles to praise the 'German Model' of advanced capitalism for its efficiency and productivity.
