Return on shareholder's equity declined between 1975 and 1983 for large German codetermined firms.

"In Table 4 we consider a measure of accounting profitability, return on shareholders' equity. The COD coefficient was not significantly different from zero in 1975, but declined to -0.17 in 1983. This coefficient was significant at 5 per cent, and the change was also significant. Thus the loss of productivity appears to have reduced profits without affecting labour cost. Other interesting results here are the significantly negative effects of size (L) and capital intensity on ROE."