New Energies in Peripheral Areas - Creation and Development of Photovoltaic Industry in Freiberg, Saxony
Matthias Brachert, Christoph Hornych
D. Keppler, B. Nölting, C. Schröder (Hrsg.), Neue Energie im Osten - Gestaltung des Umbruchs, Perspektiven für eine zukunftsfähige sozial-ökologische Energiewende,
2011
Abstract
Der Beitrag beschreibt die Transformation der Freiberger Wirtschaft ausgehend vom dem auf die DDR-Halbleiterindustrie orientierten „VEB Spurenmetalle Freiberg“ hin zur heutigen Photovoltaik-Industrie und analysiert, welche Rolle lokale und regionale Rahmenbedingungen bei der Entwicklung der Photovoltaik-Industrie am Standort gespielt haben. Er zeigt ferner, wie die Photovoltaik-Industrie mit lokalen Akteuren zusammenarbeitet, und beschreibt die Effekte aus der Interaktion der Photovoltaik-Industrie mit der Region.
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Regional Determinants of MNE´s Location Choice in Transition Economies
Andrea Gauselmann, Philipp Marek
WIFO Working Papers,
No. 412,
2011
published in: Empirica
Abstract
The article at hand analyses the impact of agglomeration effects, labour market conditions and other determinants on the location choice of MNEs in transition economies. We compare data from 33 regions in East Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland using a conditional logit model on a sample of 4,343 subsidiaries for the time period between 2000 to 2010. The results show that agglomeration advantages, such as sectoral specialization, a certain economic diversity as well as a region’s economic and technological performance prove to be some of the most important pull factors for FDI in transition regions. In addition, the labour market factors prove to play an important role in the location of FDI.
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Political Institutionalisation and Governance of the German Metropolitan Regions: A Comparative Study
Peter Franz
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 11,
2011
Abstract
Mit der Bildung von Metropolregionen versuchen Städte und Kreise auf Anforderungen des globalen Standortwettbewerbes zu reagieren. Damit zeichnen sich neue Formen großflächiger interkommunaler Kooperation ab. In Deutschland sind in raumentwicklungspolitischer Absicht elf solcher Metropolregionen definiert und Anstöße zu ihrer Konstituierung gegeben worden. Um ihre politische Institutionalisierung bemühen sich die regionalen Akteure mit unterschiedlichem Erfolg, schlagen dabei aber zum Teil ähnliche Wege ein. In der vorliegenden
Studie werden die deutschen Metropolregionen mit Hilfe eines Stufenmodells der politischen Institutionalisierung diesbezüglich miteinander verglichen. Dabei wird auch der Einfluss intervenierender Faktoren wie der poly- bzw. monozentrischen Siedlungsstruktur sowie der Existenz von Ländergrenzen in diesen Regionen untersucht. Die Untersuchung kommt zum Ergebnis, dass bisher nur wenige Metropolregionen das Stadium fortgeschrittener Institutionalisierung und damit auch Kooperation erreicht haben. Eine Best-Practice-Empfehlung lässt sich
den eingeschlagenen Institutionalisierungspfaden bisher nicht entnehmen. Der Konstituierungsprozess zeichnet sich derzeit noch durch hohe Dynamik aus, sodass eine Wiederholung der Studie in den nächsten Jahren angezeigt erscheint.
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Local Economic Structure and Sectoral Employment Growth in German Cities
Annette Illy, Michael Schwartz, Christoph Hornych, Martin T. W. Rosenfeld
Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie,
No. 5,
2011
Abstract
This study systematically examines the impact of fundamental elements of urban economic structure on sectoral employment growth in German cities (“urban growth”). We test four elements simultaneously – sectoral specialisation, diversification of economic activities, urban size and the impact of local competition. To account for the effect of varying spatial delimitations in the analysis of urban growth, we further differentiate between cities and planning regions as geographical units. Our regression results show a U-shaped relationship between localisation economies and urban growth and positive effects of local competition on urban growth. With respect to diversification, we find positive effects on urban growth on the city level, but insignificant results on the level of the planning regions. The impact of urban size also differs between free cities and planning regions; in the former, a U-shaped relationship is found, whereas the effect is inversely U-shaped for the latter.
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How does Institutional Setting Affect the Impact of EU Structural Funds on Economic Cohesion? New Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe
Marina Grusevaja, Toralf Pusch
Abstract
Structural Funds are the main instrument of the EU cohesion policy. Their effective use is subject to an ongoing debate in political and scientific circles. European fiscal assistance under this heading should promote economic and social cohesion in the member states of the European Union. Recently, the domestic institutional capacity to absorb, to distribute and to invest Structural Funds effectively has become a crucial determinant of the cohesion process and has attracted attention of the scientific community. The aim of this study is to shed light on the effectiveness of Structural Funds in the countries of the first Central and Eastern European enlargement round in 2004. Using regional data for these countries, we have a look on the impact of several institutional governance variables on the effectiveness of Structural Funds. In the interpretation of results, reference is
made to regional economics. Results of the empirical analysis indicate an influence of certain institutional variables on the effectiveness of Structural Funds in the new member states.
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Optimum Currency Areas in Emerging Market Regions: Evidence Based on the Symmetry of Economic Shocks
Stefan Eichler, Alexander Karmann
Open Economies Review,
No. 5,
2011
Abstract
This paper examines which emerging market regions form optimum currency areas (OCAs) by assessing the symmetry of macroeconomic shocks. We extend the output-prices-VAR framework by adding net exports and the real effective exchange rate as endogenous variables. Based on theoretical considerations, we derive which shocks affect these variables in the long run: shocks to labor productivity, foreign trade, labor supply, and money supply. The considered economies of Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, East and Southeast Asia, and South Asia, exhibit large enough shock symmetry to form a currency union; the economies of Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East do not.
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A Systemic View on Knowledge-based Development Metrics
Mirko Titze, Michael Schwartz, Matthias Brachert
International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development,
No. 1,
2012
Abstract
Drawing on the systems perspective of innovation processes, this article proposes a conceptual approach for a comprehensive analysis of regional knowledge generation and transfer. Instead of focusing on one single indicator, the approach emphasizes the importance to take multiple channels of knowledge transfer into account. This provides valuable insights into the spatial structure of innovation processes on different levels. We disentangle the innovation process and consider four different layers: i.) publications in peer-reviewed journals, ii.) patent applications, iii.) formal R&D collaboration projects, the iv.) localized input-output relations. Further, we demonstrate the relevance of the „multi-layer approach‟ by applying it empirically to a specific regional innovation system: The Free State of Saxony – a federal state in Germany. We argue that the approach could be a valuable tool to inform policy-makers about knowledge-based regional development strategies.
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Labor Demand During the Crisis: What Happened in Germany?
Claudia M. Buch
IZA. Discussion Paper No. 6074,
2011
Abstract
In Germany, the employment response to the post-2007 crisis has been muted compared to other industrialized countries. Despite a large drop in output, employment has hardly changed. In this paper, we analyze the determinants of German firms’ labor demand during the crisis using a firm-level panel dataset. Our analysis proceeds in two steps. First, we estimate a dynamic labor demand function for the years 2000-2009 accounting for the degree of working time flexibility and the presence of works councils. Second, on the basis of these
estimates, we use the difference between predicted and actual employment as a measure of labor hoarding as the dependent variable in a cross-sectional regression for 2009. Apart from total labor hoarding, we also look at the determinants of subsidized labor hoarding through short-time work. The structural characteristics of firms using these channels of adjustment differ. Product market competition has a negative impact on total labor hoarding but a positive effect on the use of short-time work. Firm covered by collective agreements hoard less labor overall; firms without financial frictions use short-time work less intensively.
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Industrial Associations as a Channel of Business-Government Interactions in an Imperfect Institutional Environment: The Russian Case
A. Yakovlev, A. Govorun
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 16,
2011
Abstract
International lessons from emerging economies suggest that business associations may provide an effective channel of communication between the government and the private sector. This function of business associations may become still more important in transition economies, where old mechanisms for coordinating enterprise activities have been destroyed, while the new ones have not been established yet. In this context, Russian experience is a matter of interest, because for a long time, Russia was regarded as a striking example of state failures and market failures. Consequently, the key point of our study was a description of the role and place of business associations in the presentday
Russian economy and their interaction with member companies and bodies of state
administration. Relying on the survey data of 957 manufacturing firms conducted in
2009, we found that business associations are more frequently joined by larger companies, firms located in regional capital cities, and firms active in investment and innovation. By contrast, business associations tend to be less frequently joined by business groups’ subsidiaries and firms that were non-responsive about their respective ownership structures. Our regression analysis has also confirmed that business associations are a component of what Frye (2002) calls an “elite exchange”– although only on regional and local levels. These “exchanges” imply that members of business associations, on the one hand, more actively assist regional and local authorities in social development of their regions, and on the other hand more often receive support from authorities. However, this effect is insignificant in terms of support from the federal government. In general, our results allow us to believe that at present, business associations (especially the
industry-wide and “leading” ones) consolidate the most active, advanced companies and act as collective representatives of their interests. For this reason, business associations can be regarded as interface units between the authorities and businesses and as a possible instrument for promotion of economic development.
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Related Variety, Unrelated Variety and Regional Functions: Identifying Sources of Regional Employment Growth in Germany from 2003 to 2008
Matthias Brachert, Alexander Kubis, Mirko Titze
Abstract
This article analyses how regional employment growth in Germany is affected by related variety, unrelated variety and the functions a region performs in the production process. Following the related variety literature, we argue that regions benefit from the existence of related activities that facilitate economic development. However, we argue that the sole reliance of related variety on standard industrial classifications remains debatable. Hence, we offer estimations for establishing that conceptual progress can indeed be made when a focus for analysis goes beyond solely considering industries. We develop an industry-function based approach of related and unrelated variety. Our findings suggest that related variety only in combination with a high functional specialization of the region facilitates regional growth in Germany. Additionally, also unrelated variety per se fails to wield influences affecting development of regions. It is rather unrelated, but functionally proximate variety in the groups “White Collar” and “Blue Collar Workers” positively affects regional employment growth.
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