Good for him. He is still full of it. There are plenty of well-known and influential crackpots in the US, as well.

But my biggest beef is the seeming lack of support for this assertion. Has he published any scholarly papers on the subject of hidden unemployment in a comparative context? Does he have his own estimates of US unemployment, that would be consistent with the German methodology? Considering that such comparative studies are a cottage industry of organizations such as the OECD, he should not want for funding for his research.

Since 2% of the U.S. population is in prison, if they were counted as unemployed, that would change everything.

I know, all the german goverment advisors are on crack anyway :D.

Kerouac, it still wouldn't explain why Germany has higher unemployment (and lower labor market participation) than those European countries with less restrictive labor markets. This has been a persistent difference.

"Since 2% of the U.S. population is in prison, if they were counted as unemployed, that would change everything."

But many prisoners do work. We bought some very nice bookcases made by inmates at one prison (and yes, they were paid for it). Prisoners also do things like train guide dogs.

BTilke

oh yes, they do. here you are:
www.gitterladen.de

they sell items made in saxon prisons. so they have work for the convicts. if you have any need, don´t hesistate to buy.

There had been a certain "immigration" of 16 million East Germans 18 years ago, which the job market still has not digested.
Unemployment figures for ex West Germany are still mostly lower than for those states which formerly were in the GDR.

In Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg (both states have twice or more as many inhabitants than Denmark, respectively), for example, the rate of unemployment is at 4.1% now, even though companies and entrepreneurs in both states have to follow the same federal working regulations as elsewhere.

In some fields, government intervention is surprisingly low. Minimum wages are almost unknown, so you can start picking crops at €2 per hour any time.

HH: what do you mean "oh yes they do."

I merely pointed out that many inmates in American prisons do work and they do get paid for it (therefore, you can't count all of them as unemployed). The part of my post that was in quotation marks came from Kerouac. not me.

If German prisoners also work, then good for them. But I said NOTHING about German prisons, so why the "oh yes they do" comment?

It not the question if someone works or not. The question is, if it counts for the statistic. US unemployment statistics are tuned to attract foreign inverstors in the first place, not to reflect unemployment accurately.

BTilke,

you wrote
But many prisoners do work

my answer was, yes they do and I added a link to a prisonshop.

maybe, some readers use the opportunity to shop, as it is good for the prisoners to be occupied.

nothing more was my intention.

OK logos... In what ways, exactly do the statistics differ? Feel free to provide references. As someone who has actually studied comparative economics, I am not just going to accept your blanket assertion, especially as numbers reported by the ILO are consistent with what I noted above. You can read all about the conventions of the ILO, which have been ratified by both the US and Germany.

http://tinyurl.com/59ldaa

And again, please explain why Germany has lower employment and higher unemployment numbers than Denmark and the Netherlands? Both numbers are reported by Eurostat.

Cowboy: Persistent and high unemployment has been a characteristic of the German labor market since the 80's. Not all of the problems are the result of reunification. And the real issue isn't minimum wage, but more the other restrictions, particularly those related to work weeks and hiring and firing.

>actually studied comparative economics
Well, I'll beat you there :D. Whereever "comparative economics" is tought, it's neither Princeton, nor Harvard :D

All good and well logos. I'll take that to mean, "I have no evidence whatsoever to support my claims of substantial differences in the statistics."

And Harvard and Princeton both have extensive course offerings in comparative economics. No degree by name, but the education is surely there if you want it.

A degree counts a lot in this society. :D

But actually I'm not willing to discuss this. There are many flaws in your argumentation, but since you want to be right nevertheless, it's not possible to transfer any insight to you. So what would a discussion be good for anyway...

logos: Nice cop-out. I'm the only one who has actually made a coherent argument, and backed it up with sources. You've done neither, but made a lot of vague assertions. But this is par for the course, isn't it? I don't have to be right, it just so happens that I am in this instance.

And I have no idea what you are talking about with regards to the degree. Someone at Harvard would have a degree in Economics and choose certain courses to form a specialization. No sense creating a separate degree for every specialization.