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"The behaviour o£ job creating institutions is counterproductiye" (Hypothesis 2)

The fact that a programme has caught on does not necessarily prove it to be productive in achieving the aims set. In this context, two doubts tend to be ralsed:

either that a conversion of proper jobs into ”experimental” ones takes place;

or that the Incumbents of such experimental jobs get no chance to exercise relevant work skill, let alone to acąulre new ones.

The ”conversion” argument Is not borne out by avallable data on the behavlour of the job creating institutions funded by the "Aktion 8000”. Houghly one-third of all ”experimental” jobs are transformed into permanent ones, i.e., the job creating institution keeps the person on its payroll after the funding of the labour market agency has come to an end. Only one-fifth of all jobs are merely transitory.

Even stronger evidence against the ”conversion” hypothesis is the structure of wages paid for experimental jobs. Whereas in the early stages of the "Aktion 8000” the pay scales were substantially below standard rates, they seem to converge towards the union level the longer the programme lasts. In this sense, very little undercutting of going wagę rates can take place in jobs created through the ”Aktion 8000”. At least, it