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Dr Jens Stegmaier

Dr Jens Stegmaier
Current Position

since 3/15

Research Affiliate

Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) – Member of the Leibniz Association

since 2006

Researcher

Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg

Research Interests
  • evolutionary economics

Jens Stegmaier joined the institute as a Research Affiliate in March 2015. His research focuses on the evolution and failure of firms as well as the consequences for affected employees such as unemployment or earnings losses among others. Other fields of interest cover the German system of industrial relations and non-standard employment.

Jens Stegmaier is a researcher at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nuremberg.

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Publications

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Robots, Occupations, and Worker Age: A Production-unit Analysis of Employment

Liuchun Deng Steffen Müller Verena Plümpe Jens Stegmaier

in: European Economic Review, November 2024

Abstract

We analyse the impact of robot adoption on employment composition using novel micro data on robot use in German manufacturing plants linked with social security records and data on job tasks. Our task-based model predicts more favourable employment effects for the least routine-task intensive occupations and for young workers, with the latter being better at adapting to change. An event-study analysis of robot adoption confirms both predictions. We do not find adverse employment effects for any occupational or age group, but churning among low-skilled workers rises sharply. We conclude that the displacement effect of robots is occupation biased but age neutral, whereas the reinstatement effect is age biased and benefits young workers most.

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Industry Mix, Local Labor Markets, and the Incidence of Trade Shocks

Steffen Müller Jens Stegmaier Moises Yi

in: Journal of Labor Economics, No. 3, 2024

Abstract

We analyze how skill transferability and the local industry mix affect the adjustment costs of workers hit by a trade shock. Using German administrative data and novel measures of economic distance we construct an index of labor market absorptiveness that captures the degree to which workers from a particular industry are able to reallocate into other jobs. Among manufacturing workers, we find that the earnings loss associated with increased import exposure is much higher for those who live in the least absorptive regions. We conclude that the local industry composition plays an important role in the adjustment processes of workers.

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Robot Adoption at German Plants

Liuchun Deng Verena Plümpe Jens Stegmaier

in: Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik, No. 3, 2024

Abstract

Using a newly collected dataset at the plant level from 2014 to 2018, we provide the first microscopic portrait of robotization in Germany and study the correlates of robot adoption. Our descriptive analysis uncovers five stylized facts: (1) Robot use is relatively rare. (2) The distribution of robots is highly skewed. (3) New robot adopters contribute substantially to the recent robotization. (4) Robot users are exceptional. (5) Heterogeneity in robot types matters. Our regression results further suggest plant size, high-skilled labor share, exporter status, and labor shortage to be strongly associated with the future probability of robot adoption.

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Working Papers

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Safety Net or Helping Hand? The Effect of Job Search Assistance and Compensation on Displaced Workers

Daniel Fackler Jens Stegmaier Richard Upward

in: IWH Discussion Papers, No. 18, 2023

Abstract

We provide the first systematic evidence on the effectiveness of a contested policy in Germany to help displaced workers. So-called “transfer companies” (<i>Transfergesellschaften</i>) employ displaced workers for a fixed period, during which time workers are provided with job-search assistance and are paid a wage which is a substantial fraction of their pre-displacement wage. Using rich and accurate data on workers’ employment patterns before and after displacement, we compare the earnings and employment outcomes of displaced workers who entered transfer companies with those that did not. Workers can choose whether or not to accept a position in a transfer company, and therefore we use the availability of a transfer company at the establishment level as an IV in a model of one-sided compliance. Using an event study, we find that workers who enter a transfer company have significantly worse post-displacement outcomes, but we show that this is likely to be the result of negative selection: workers who lack good outside opportunities are more likely to choose to enter the transfer company. In contrast, ITT and IV estimates indicate that the use of a transfer company has a positive and significant effect on employment rates five years after job loss, but no significant effect on earnings. In addition, the transfer company provides significant additional compensation to displaced workers in the first 12 months after job loss.

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Robots, Occupations, and Worker Age: A Production-unit Analysis of Employment

Liuchun Deng Steffen Müller Verena Plümpe Jens Stegmaier

in: IWH Discussion Papers, No. 5, 2023

Abstract

We analyse the impact of robot adoption on employment composition using novel micro data on robot use in German manufacturing plants linked with social security records and data on job tasks. Our task-based model predicts more favourable employment effects for the least routine-task intensive occupations and for young workers, with the latter being better at adapting to change. An event-study analysis of robot adoption confirms both predictions. We do not find adverse employment effects for any occupational or age group, but churning among low-skilled workers rises sharply. We conclude that the displacement effect of robots is occupation biased but age neutral, whereas the reinstatement effect is age biased and benefits young workers most.

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Identifying Bankruptcies in German Social Security Data

Daniel Fackler Eva Hank Steffen Müller Jens Stegmaier

in: FDZ-Methodenreport, No. 10, 2017

Abstract

In empirischen Studien über Firmenschließungen wird häufig die Notwendigkeit betont, zwischen verschiedenen Arten von Schließungen, z.B. freiwilligen und unfreiwilligen, zu unterscheiden. Dieser Methodenreport erläutert vor diesem Hintergrund, wie im Betriebs-Historik-Panel (BHP) Betriebsstillegungen aufgrund von Insolvenzen identifiziert werden können. Insolvenzen können im Gegensatz zu anderen Schließungen eindeutig als Ausdruck ökonomischen Scheiterns und somit als unfreiwillige Schließungen interpretiert werden. (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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