While a proper retrospective of the Hartz measures and wage moderation must necessarily be undertaken elsewhere, two cautionary notes on the policy measures are worth considering.
First, Dew-Becker and Gordon (2012) point out that starting in the mid-1990s, similar reforms were undertaken throughout much of Europe. (…)

The pressure from international competition and globalization forced German enterprises to integrate with (Eastern) Europe and Asia in worldwide supply chains. Such links have been somewhat pejoratively described as the evolution of Germany as a “bazaar economy,” with German companies increasingly engaged in “outsourcing” (e.g., Sinn, 2006).