Evaluation of Further Training Programmes with an Optimal Matching Algorithm
Eva Reinowski, Birgit Schultz, Jürgen Wiemers
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 188,
2004
Abstract
This study evaluates the effects of further training on the individual unemployment duration of different groups of persons representing individual characteristics and some aspects of the economic environment. The Micro Census Saxony enables us to include additional information about a person's employment history to eliminate the bias resulting from unobservable characteristics and to avoid Ashenfelter's Dip. In order to solve the sample selection problem we employ an optimal full matching assignment, the Hungarian algorithm. The impact of participation in further training is evaluated by comparing the unemployment duration between participants and non-participants using the Kaplan-Meier-estimator. Overall, we find empirical evidence that participation in further training programmes results in even longer unemployment duration.
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Estimating large-scale factor models for economic activity in Germany: Do they outperform simpler models?
Christian Dreger, Christian Schumacher
Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik,
2004
Abstract
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A macroeconometric model for the Euro economy
Christian Dreger
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 181,
2003
Abstract
In this paper a structural macroeconometric model for the Eurozone is presented. In opposite to the multi country modelling approach, the model relies on aggregate data on the supra-national level. Due to nonstationarity, all equations are estimated in an error correction form. The cointegrating relations are derived jointly with the short-run dynamics, avoiding the finite sample bias of the two step Engle Granger procedure. The validity of the aggregated approach is confirmed by out-of-sample forecasts and two simulation exercises. In particular the implications of a lower economic recovery in the US and a shock in the nominal Euro area interest rate are discussed.
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Non-parametric regression with BayesX: a flexible estimation of trends in human physical stature in 19th century America.
S. Lang, Marco Sunder
Economics and Human Biology 1 (1),
2003
Abstract
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Explaining Investment Trends in European Union Countries
Klaus Weyerstraß
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 174,
2003
Abstract
In the 1980s and, in particular, in the 1990s the countries of the European Union experienced divergent developments of gross fixed capital formation. Estimating an investment function for a panel of ten countries and analyzing the paths of the determinants of investment in the countries under consideration reveals that the different development of final demand is the main factor responsible for the divergences in investment. Other factors are disparities in the decline of real interest rates and of relative prices for capital goods.
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The use of unit values in estimating trade-related capital flight -The case of CEE countries with special focus on Russia
Hubert Gabrisch, Karin Szalai
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 161,
2002
Abstract
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Bank Concentration and Retail Interest Rates
S. Corvoisier, Reint E. Gropp
Journal of Banking and Finance,
No. 11,
2002
Abstract
The recent wave of mergers in the euro area raises the question whether the increase in concentration has offset the increase in competition in European banking through deregulation. We test this question by estimating a simple Cournot model of bank pricing. We construct country and product specific measures of bank concentration and find that for loans and demand deposits increasing concentration may have resulted in less competitive pricing by banks, whereas for savings and time deposits, the model is rejected, suggesting increases in contestability and/or efficiency in these markets. Finally, the paper discusses some implications for tests of the effect of concentration on monetary policy transmission.
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Methods of estimating the overall economic production potential and the productivity gap
Klaus Weyerstraß
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 142,
2001
Abstract
Für die wirtschaftspolitischen Instanzen stellt die Kenntnis des Produktionspotentials und des daraus abgeleiteten gesamtwirtschaftlichen Kapazitätsauslastungsgrades eine wichtige Orientierungsgröße dar. In diesem Diskussionspapier werden verschiedene Methoden der Schätzung des Produktionspotentials dargestellt. Diese umfassen Unternehmensbefragungen, reine Zeitreihenmethoden und Verfahren, die explizit die ökonomische Theorie berücksichtigen. Hier ist insbesondere der Produktionsfunktions-Ansatz zu nennen. Abschließend werden einige der vorgestellten Schätzmethoden auf Daten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland angewandt.
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The empirical importance of the real business cycle theory: A comparison of alternative estimation methods
Christian Schumacher
Forschungsreihe,
No. 6,
1999
Abstract
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The Effect of Expected Effective Corporate Tax Rates on Incremental Financing Decisions
Reint E. Gropp
IMF Staff Papers,
No. 4,
1997
Abstract
This paper uses U.S. panel data to estimate the effect of expected effective corporate tax rates on the amount of debt issued by firms. The paper directly estimates expected corporate tax rates using rational expectations. The estimated measures of expected effective tax rates of firms are related to a continuous measure of incremental debt financing. The paper finds that expected effective tax rates are significantly and positively related to a higher level of debt financing. Simulations suggest that debt issues would double if firms were unable to shield profits and actually faced the statutory tax rate.
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