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Dr Eva Dettmann

Dr Eva Dettmann
Current Position

since 3/18

Deputy Head of the Centre for Evidence-based Policy Advice (IWH-CEP)

Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) – Member of the Leibniz Association

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Research Interests
  • empirical evaluation of regional and innovation policy
  • efficiency of economic policy
  • applied microeconometrics

Eva Dettmann joined the institute in 2002. She is deputy head of the Centre for Evidence-based Policy Advice (IWH-CEP) since 2018. Her research focuses on microeconometric analyses, especially the evaluation of economic policy measures.

Eva Dettmann earned a diploma and doctoral degree from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.

Your contact

Dr Eva Dettmann
Dr Eva Dettmann
- Department Centre for Evidence-based Policy Advice
Send Message +49 345 7753-855

Publications

Citations
401

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The Regional Effects of a Place-based Policy – Causal Evidence from Germany

Matthias Brachert Eva Dettmann Mirko Titze

in: Regional Science and Urban Economics, November 2019

Abstract

The German government provides discretionary investment grants to structurally weak regions in order to reduce regional inequality. We use a regression discontinuity design that exploits an exogenous discrete jump in the probability of regional actors to receive investment grants to identify the causal effects of the policy. We find positive effects of the programme on district-level gross value-added and productivity growth, but no effects on employment and gross wage growth.

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The Impact of Innovation and Innovation Subsidies on Economic Development in German Regions

Uwe Cantner Eva Dettmann Alexander Giebler Jutta Günther Maria Kristalova

in: Regional Studies, No. 9, 2019

Abstract

Public innovation subsidies in a regional environment are expected to unfold a positive economic impact over time. The focus of this paper is on an assessment of the long-run impact of innovation and innovation subsidies in German regions. This is scrutinized by an estimation approach combining panel model and time-series characteristics and using regional data for the years 1980–2014. The results show that innovation and innovation subsidies in the long run have a positive impact on the economic development of regions in Germany. This supports a long-term strategy for regional and innovation policy.

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Public Investment Subsidies and Firm Performance – Evidence from Germany

Matthias Brachert Eva Dettmann Mirko Titze

in: Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik, No. 2, 2018

Abstract

This paper assesses firm-level effects of the single largest investment subsidy programme in Germany. The analysis considers grants allocated to firms in East German regions over the period 2007 to 2013 under the regional policy scheme Joint Task ‘Improving Regional Economic Structures’ (GRW). We apply a coarsened exact matching (CEM) in combination with a fixed effects difference-in-differences (FEDiD) estimator to identify the effects of programme participation on the treated firms. For the assessment, we use administrative data from the Federal Statistical Office and the Offices of the Länder to demonstrate that this administrative database offers a huge potential for evidence-based policy advice. The results suggest that investment subsidies have a positive impact on different dimensions of firm development, but do not affect overall firm competitiveness. We find positive short- and medium-run effects on firm employment. The effects on firm turnover remain significant and positive only in the medium-run. Gross fixed capital formation responses positively to GRW funding only during the mean implementation period of the projects but becomes insignificant afterwards. Finally, the effect of GRW-funding on labour productivity remains insignificant throughout the whole period of analysis.

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Working Papers

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Employment Effects of Investment Grants and Firm Heterogeneity – Evidence from a Staggered Adoption Approach

Eva Dettmann Mirko Titze Antje Weyh

in: IWH Discussion Papers, No. 6, 2023

Abstract

<p>This study estimates the firm-level employment effects of investment grants in Germany. In addition to the average treatment effect on the treated, we examine discrimination in the funding rules as potential source of effect heterogeneity. We combine a staggered difference-in-differences approach that explicitly models variations in treatment timing with a matching procedure at the cohort level. The findings reveal a positive effect of investment grants on employment development in the full sample. The subsample analysis yields strong evidence for heterogeneous effects based on firm characteristics and the economic environment. This can help to improve the future design of the program.</p>

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flexpaneldid: A Stata Toolbox for Causal Analysis with Varying Treatment Time and Duration

Eva Dettmann Alexander Giebler Antje Weyh

in: IWH Discussion Papers, No. 3, 2020

Abstract

The paper presents a modification of the matching and difference-in-differences approach of Heckman et al. (1998) for the staggered treatment adoption design and a Stata tool that implements the approach. This flexible conditional difference-in-differences approach is particularly useful for causal analysis of treatments with varying start dates and varying treatment durations. Introducing more flexibility enables the user to consider individual treatment periods for the treated observations and thus circumventing problems arising in canonical difference-in-differences approaches. The open-source flexpaneldid toolbox for Stata implements the developed approach and allows comprehensive robustness checks and quality tests. The core of the paper gives comprehensive examples to explain the use of the commands and its options on the basis of a publicly accessible data set.

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Who Benefits from GRW? Heterogeneous Employment Effects of Investment Subsidies in Saxony Anhalt

Eva Dettmann Mirko Titze Antje Weyh

in: IWH Discussion Papers, No. 27, 2017

Abstract

The paper estimates the plant level employment effects of investment subsidies in one of the most strongly subsidized German Federal States. We analyze the treated plants as a whole, as well as the influence of heterogeneity in plant characteristics and the economic environment. Modifying the standard matching and difference-in-difference approach, we develop a new procedure that is particularly useful for the evaluation of funding programs with individual treatment phases within the funding period. Our data base combines treatment, employment and regional information from different sources. So, we can relate the absolute effects to the amount of the subsidy paid. The results suggest that investment subsidies have a positive influence on the employment development in absolute and standardized figures – with considerable effect heterogeneity.

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Topics

Policy Evaluation Econometrics
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