The Laffer curve revisited
Mathias Trabandt, Harald Uhlig
Journal of Monetary Economics,
No. 4,
2011
Abstract
Laffer curves for the US, the EU-14 and individual European countries are compared, using a neoclassical growth model featuring “constant Frisch elasticity” (CFE) preferences. New tax rate data is provided. The US can maximally increase tax revenues by 30% with labor taxes and 6% with capital taxes. We obtain 8% and 1% for the EU-14. There, 54% of a labor tax cut and 79% of a capital tax cut are self-financing. The consumption tax Laffer curve does not peak. Endogenous growth and human capital accumulation affect the results quantitatively. Household heterogeneity may not be important, while transition matters greatly.
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MNE’s Regional Location Choice - A Comparative Perspective on East Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland
Andrea Gauselmann, Philipp Marek, J. P. Angenendt
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 8,
2011
published in: Empirica
Abstract
The focus of this article is the empirical identification of factors influencing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in transition economies on a regional level (NUTS 2). The analysis is designed as benchmark between three neighboring post-communist regions, i.e. East Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland. Their different transition paths have not only resulted in economic differences. We can also observe today that the importance of pull factors for FDI varies significantly across the regions. This analysis shows that in comparison with Poland and the Czech Republic, East Germany’s major benefit is its purchasing power, its geographical proximity to West European markets, and its modern infrastructure. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that intra-industry linkages such as specialization and agglomeration economies are relevant factors for the location decision of foreign investors. This result can help to explain the regional divergence of FDI streams in transition economies.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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IWH FDI Micro Database – Methodological Note – Survey 2007 in East Germany
Andrea Gauselmann, Gabriele Hardt, Björn Jindra, Philipp Marek
Einzelveröffentlichungen,
No. 3,
2007
Abstract
The paper is a methodological report on the IWH-FDI-Micro Database of the year 2007. 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 2007 survey covers multinationals affiliates in manufacturing of Croatia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia East Germany.
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Kann Korea vom deutschen Einigungsprozess lernen?
Ulrich Blum
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 4,
2011
Abstract
Auch wenn die Ausgangsbedingungen der Deutschen Einheit und einer möglichen koreanischen Vereinigung zunächst äußerst unterschiedlich erscheinen, ergeben sich aus ökonomischer Sicht einige gemeinsame Muster, die es zu analysieren lohnt. Hierzu zählen die Interdependenzen zwischen weltwirtschaftlichen Integrationsprozessen, binnenwirtschaftlichen Anpassungen und den Aufgaben des Staates, den Einigungsprozess zu finanzieren und die Wirtschaft – seinerzeit des Ostens, künftig des Nordens – zu transformieren. Das Vernachlässigen dieser
Interdependenzen im deutschen Einigungsprozess führte zu erhöhten Kosten. Der Beitrag stellt zunächst die Ausgangsbedingungen entlang wesentlicher ökonomischer Zahlen dar. Im Anschluss erfolgt eine theoretische Einordnung
des Integrationsprozesses, der sich im Wesentlichen in den Veränderungen der Preisstrukturen ausdrückt, und des Transformationsprozesses, der als Verschiebung der Produktionsmöglichkeitenkurve der Wirtschaft gesehen wird. Im Zentrum steht dabei die Mengen-Preis-Interaktion zwischen lokalen und international handelbaren Gütern. Anschließend wird gezeigt, welchen Beschränkungen die Transformation unterliegt, da die Investitionsmöglichkeiten durch die Ersparnisbildung und die Fähigkeit, auswärtiges Kapital zu mobilisieren,
begrenzt sind. Schließlich wird verdeutlicht, dass öffentliche Transfers zur Unterstützung des Aufbauprozesses das Problem, dauerhafte Leistungsbilanzdefizite abzubauen, nur begrenzt zu lösen vermögen.
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Can Korea Learn from German Unification?
Ulrich Blum
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 3,
2011
Abstract
We first analyze pre-unification similarities and differences between the two Germanys and the two Koreas in terms of demographic, social, political and economic status. An important issue is the degree of international openness. “Stone-age” type communism of North Korea and the seclusion of the population prevented inner-Korean contacts and contacts with rest of the world. This may create enormous adjustment costs if institutions, especially informal institutions, change. We go on by showing how transition and integration interact in a potential unification process based on the World Bank Revised Minimum Standard Model (RMSM) and on the Salter-Swan-Meade model. In doing so, we relate the macro and external impacts on an open economy to its macro-sectoral structural dynamics. The findings suggest that it is of utmost importance to relate microeconomic policies to the macroeconomic ties and side conditions for both parts of the country. Evidence from Germany suggests that the biggest general error in unification was neglecting these limits, especially limitations to policy instruments. Econometric analysis supports these findings. In the empirical part, we consider unification as an “investment” and track down the (by-and-large immediate to medium-term) costs and the (by-and-large long-term) benefits of retooling a retarded communist economy. We conclude that, from a South-Korean
perspective, the Korean unification will become relatively much more expensive than the German unification and, thus, not only economic, but to a much larger degree political considerations must include the tying of neighboring countries into the convergence process. We finally provide, 62 years after Germany’s division and 20 years after unification, an outlook on the strength of economic inertia in order to show that it may take much more than a generation to compensate the damage inflicted by the communist system.
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Regional Entrepreneurial Opportunities in the Biotech Industry: Exploring the Transition from Award-winning Nascent Entrepreneurs to Real Start-ups
H. Wolf, Claus Michelsen, Michael Schwartz
Abstract
Knowledge of factors that determine the transition from nascent entrepreneurship into real entrepreneurship is of major importance for policies aiming to effectively stimulate start-ups. Whereas scholars concentrated on person-specific factors to explain transition probabilities, environmental characteristics have been fairly neglected. Given that entrepreneurship is a strongly localized phenomenon, this paper argues that regional entrepreneurial opportunities are a driving force behind the transition from nascent entrepreneurship to new venture creation. Based on unique data on 103 nascent entrepreneurs in the German biotechnology industry, we empirically assess the importance of regional entrepreneurial opportunities on transition probabilities. Further, we introduce a new
approach to measure nascent entrepreneurship by capturing individuals that actively participate in start-up competitions and have won at least one competition. Controlling for technology and individual characteristics, we find strong support for our hypotheses relating to the significant impact of general regional opportunities, specific regional opportunities and the entrepreneurial environment for the probability of transition from award-winning nascent entrepreneurs to real start-ups.
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State Aid in the Enlarged European Union. An Overview
Jens Hölscher, Nicole Nulsch, Johannes Stephan
Abstract
In the early phase of transition that started with the 1990s, Central and Eastern European Countries pursued economic restructuring of the enterprise sector that involved massive injections of state support. Also foreign investment from the West and facilitation of the development of a market economy involved massive injections of state support. With their accession to the European Union (EU), levels and forms of state aid came under critical review by the European Commission. This inquiry investigates whether the integration of the new member states operates on a level playing field with respect to state aid. Quantitative and qualitative analysis is relied upon to answer this key, as well as other, related questions. Findings suggest that in recent years a level playing field across the EU has indeed emerged. State aid in the new EU member countries is rather handled more strictly than laxer compared to the ‘old’ EU countries.
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