IWH FDI Micro Database – Methodological Note – Survey 2009 in East Germany
Andrea Gauselmann, Gabriele Hardt, Björn Jindra, Philipp Marek
Einzelveröffentlichungen,
No. 3,
2009
Abstract
The paper is a methodological report on the IWH-FDI-Micro Database of the year 2009. It contains a motivation of the research questions and describes the availability of existing data sources on multinational affiliates in transition economies. In its core it describes the population, survey sampling and implementation, in depth information on the survey representativeness, and questionnaire design. The 2009 survey covers multinationals affiliates in manufacturing and selected services of Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and East Germany.
Read article
IWH FDI Micro Database – Methodological Note – Survey 2010 in East Germany
Andrea Gauselmann, Gabriele Hardt, Björn Jindra, Philipp Marek
Einzelveröffentlichungen,
2010
Abstract
The paper is a methodological report on the IWH-FDI-Micro Database of the year 2010. It contains a motivation of the research questions and describes the availability of existing data sources on multinational affiliates in transition economies. In its core it describes the population, survey sampling and implementation, in depth information on the survey representativeness, and questionnaire design. The 2010 survey covers multinationals affiliates in manufacturing and selected services of East Germany.
Read article
IWH FDI Micro Database – Methodological Note – Survey 2008 in East Germany
Andrea Gauselmann, Gabriele Hardt, Björn Jindra, Philipp Marek
Einzelveröffentlichungen,
No. 2,
2008
Abstract
The paper is a methodological report on the IWH-FDI-Micro Database of the year 2008. It contains a motivation of the research questions and describes the availability of existing data sources on multinational affiliates in transition economies. In its core it describes the population, survey sampling and implementation, in depth information on the survey representativeness, and questionnaire design. The 2008 survey covers multinationals affiliates in manufacturing and selected services of East Germany.
Read article
Extreme Risks in Financial Markets and Monetary Policies of the Euro-candidates
Hubert Gabrisch, Lucjan T. Orlowski
Comparative Economic Studies,
No. 4,
2011
Abstract
This study investigates extreme tail risks in financial markets of the euro-candidate countries and their implications for monetary policies. Our empirical tests show the prevalence of extreme risks in the conditional volatility series of selected financial variables, that is, interbank rates, equity market indexes and exchange rates. We argue that excessive instability of key target and instrument variables should be mitigated by monetary policies. Central banks in these countries will be well-advised to use both standard and unorthodox (discretionary) tools of monetary policy while steering their economies out of the financial crisis and through the euro-convergence process.
Read article
Endogenous Selection of Comparison Groups, Human Capital Formation, and Tax Policy
Oded Stark, Walter Hyll, Y. Wang
Economica,
No. 313,
2012
Abstract
We consider a setting in which the acquisition of human capital entails a change of location in social space that causes individuals to revise their comparison groups. Skill levels are viewed as occupational groups. Moving up the skill ladder by acquiring additional human capital, in itself rewarding, leads to a shift in the individual’s inclination to compare himself with a different, and on average better-paid, comparison group, in itself penalizing. We shed new light on the dynamics of human capital formation, and suggest novel policy interventions to encourage human capital formation in the aggregate and reduce inter-group income inequality.
Read article
Gauging the Potential for Social Unrest
Walter Hyll, Oded Stark, Doris A. Behrens
Public Choice,
2010
Abstract
It stands to reason that social unrest does not erupt out of the blue. Although there are a great many reasons why social dismay might descend into social disorder, only few yardsticks or indices can plausibly be used to gauge the potential for social unrest (PSU). If policy makers want to undertake public action to prevent social dismay escalating into social disruption, they obviously need to draw on practical sensors. This paper assesses critically the adequacy of two such measures, the polarization (P) index, and the total relative deprivation (TRD) index. The paper proposes a tentative guide to selecting between these two measures. A review of three stylized scenarios suggests that, where income redistributions reduce the number of distinct income groups, and when each group is characterized by a strong sense of within-group identity, the P index surpasses the TRD index as a basis for predicting PSU. When the within-group identification is weak, however, it is better to use the TRD index to predict PSU.
Read article
Veblen, Myrdal, and the Convergence Hypothesis: Toward an Institutionalist Critique
John B. Hall, Udo Ludwig
Journal of Economic Issues,
2010
Abstract
An Institutionalist critique that draws from selected contributions of Veblen and Myrdal initiates a convergence debate. Challenged is a Neoclassical interpretation of economic processes expected to lead toward a catching up with respect to per capita output of Germany's poorer eastern region with the richer western region. Economic method is considered, and the Institutionalist School of Thought rooted in contributions of Veblen as well as Myrdal is touted for offering higher levels of explanatory power than the Neoclassical School. We challenge the usefulness of laws in Economic Science, and especially their applicability to the empirical economy. Instead of automatic forces driving a meliorative trend, we seek to establish that human agency and policy play determining roles in affecting economic and societal outcomes in Germany's eastern region.
Read article
Selectivity, Social Ties and Spatial Mobility – An Analysis of Preferences for Return Migration
Lutz Schneider, Alexander Kubis, D. Wiest
Abstract
Die Abwanderung überwiegend junger, gebildeter Menschen aus Ostdeutschland wird häufig als nachteilig für die Entwicklungsfähigkeit und den Aufholprozess der Neuen Länder betrachtet. Das Phänomen der Zuwanderung – und dabei nicht zuletzt der Rückwanderung vormals Abgewanderter – findet in diesem Zusammenhang besonderes Interesse. Die vorliegende Arbeit analysiert die Rückwanderungsneigung auf Basis eines im Rahmen des DFG-Forschungsprojektes „Brain drain aus Ostdeutschland“ am Lehrstuhl für Sozialgeographie der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg erhobenen Datensatzes zu den Einstellungen und Motivlagen aus Sachsen-Anhalt abgewanderter junger Menschen. Dabei wird auf folgende Aspekte besonderer Wert gelegt: die Wirkung des Arbeitsmarkterfolges nach der Abwanderung; der Einfluss sozialer Bindungen in der Herkunfts- und der Zielregion; schließlich die Selektivität der Rückwanderungsneigung. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich erstens, dass der individuelle Arbeitsmarkterfolg in der Zielregion die Rückkehrneigung verringert. Zweitens konnte die rückwanderungsfördernde Wirkung bestehender sozialer Bindungen zum Herkunftsgebiet nachgewiesen werden. Hinsichtlich der Selektivität der Rückwanderungsintentionen sind die Ergebnisse ambivalent.
Read article
FDI and the National Innovation System - Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe
Jutta Günther, Björn Jindra, Johannes Stephan
D. Dyker (ed.), Network Dynamics in Emerging Regions of Europe, Imperial College Press,
2010
Abstract
The paper investigates strategic motives, technological activities and determinants of foreign investment enterprises’ embeddedness in post-transition economies (Eastern Germany and selected Central East European countries). The empirical study makes use of the IWH FDI micro database. Results of the descriptive analysis of investment motives show that market access dominates over efficiency seeking and other motives. The majority of investors are technologically active in the region as a whole, but countries differ in terms of performance. The probit model estimations show that firm specific characteristics, among them innovativeness and autonomy from parent company, are important determinants of foreign investment enterprises’ embeddedness.
Read article