PhD defence – Carolin Linckh

On Tuesday, 3 March 2026, Carolin Linckh successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled:

“Firms’ Skill Demand: The Role of Minimum Wages, Tightness and Informal Training”

This thesis explores how firms address their skills demand in the context of rising minimum wages for apprentices, increasing skill shortages and informal training for new hires. Firstly, the research reveals that eliminating wage inequalities among young workers can result in new inequalities within the labour market. Secondly, it shows that, rather than raising the starting wage, firms in Germany adapt to labour market tightness by improving onboarding and adjusting hiring standards. Finally, the dissertation reveals that both informal training during the onboarding and wages are important factors to limit the costly turnover of new hires. Together, these findings demonstrate the close link between firms' skill demand and changing labour market conditions and institutions.

Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Didier Fouarge, Prof. Dr. Harald Pfeifer
Co-supervisor: Prof. Dr. Samuel Muehlemann

Click here to read the full thesis.