Volatile Multinationals? Evidence from the Labor Demand of German Firms
Claudia M. Buch, A. Lipponer
Labour Economics,
No. 2,
2010
Abstract
Does more FDI make the world a riskier place for workers? We analyze whether an increase in multinational firms' activities is associated with an increase in firm-level employment volatility. We use a firm-level dataset for Germany which allows us to distinguish between purely domestic firms, exporters, domestic multinationals and foreign multinationals. Employment in multinationals could be more volatile than employment in domestic firms if multinationals were facing more volatile demand or if they react more to aggregate developments. We therefore decompose the labor demand of firms into their reaction and their exposure to aggregate developments. We find no above-average wage and output elasticities for multinational firms.
Read article
Low Skill but High Volatility?
Claudia M. Buch
CESifo Working Paper No. 2665,
2009
Abstract
Globalization may impose a double-burden on low-skilled workers. On the one hand, the relative supply of low-skilled labor increases. This suppresses wages of low-skilled workers and/or increases their unemployment rates. On the other hand, low-skilled workers typically face more limited access to financial markets than high-skilled workers. This limits their ability to smooth shocks to income intertemporally and to share risks across borders. Using cross-country, industry-level data for the years 1970 - 2004, we document how the volatility of hours worked and of wages of workers at different skill levels has changed over time. We develop a stylized theoretical model that is consistent with the empirical evidence, and we test the predictions of the model. Our results show that greater financial globalization and development increases the volatility of employment, and this effect is strongest for low-skilled workers. A higher share of low-skilled employment has a dampening impact.
Read article
The contribution of wage developments to labour market performance. DG ECFIN, European Economy, Special Report 1/2005
Herbert Buscher, Christian Dreger, Manuel Artís, Miquel Clar, Raúl Ramos
,
2005
Abstract
Read article
A Game Theoretic Analysis of the Conditions of Knowledge Transfer by New Employees in Companies
Sidonia vonLedebur
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 3,
2006
Abstract
The availability of knowledge is an essential factor for an economy in global competition. Companies realise innovations by creating and implementing new knowledge. Sources of innovative ideas are partners in the production network but also new employees coming from another company or academia. Based on a model by HECKATHORN (1996) the conditions of efficient knowledge transfer in a team are analysed. Offering knowledge to a colleague can not be controlled directly by the company due to information asymmetries. Thus the management has to provide incentives which motivate the employees to act in favour of the company by providing their knowledge to the rest of the team and likewise to learn from colleagues. The game theoretic analysis aims at investigating how to arrange these incentives efficiently. Several factors are relevant, especially the individual costs of participating in the transfer. These consist mainly of the existing absorptive capacity and the working atmosphere. The model is a 2x2 game but is at least partly generalised on more players. The relevance of the adequate team size is shown: more developers may increase the total profit of an innovation
(before paying the involved people) but when additional wages are paid to each person a greater team decreases the remaining company profit. A further result is
that depending on the cost structure perfect knowledge transfer is not always best for the profit of the company. These formal results are consistent with empirical studies to the absorptive capacity and the working atmosphere.
Read article
Determinants of employment - the macroeconomic view
Christian Dreger, Heinz P. Galler, Ulrich (eds) Walwai
Schriften des IWH,
No. 22,
2005
Abstract
The weak performance of the German labour market over the past years has led to a significant unemployment problem. Currently, on average 4.5 mio. people are without a job contract, and a large part of them are long-term unemployed. A longer period of unemployment reduces their employability and aggravates the problem of social exclusion.
The factors driving the evolution of employment have been recently discussed on the workshop Determinanten der Beschäftigung – die makroökonomische Sicht organized jointly by the IAB, Nuremberg, and the IWH, Halle. The present volume contains the papers and proceedings to the policy oriented workshop held in November 2004, 15-16th. The main focus of the contributions is twofold. First, macroeconomic conditions to stimulate output and employment are considered. Second, the impacts of the increasing tax wedge between labour costs and the take home pay are emphasized. In particular, the role of the contributions to the social security system is investigated.
In his introductory address, Ulrich Walwei (IAB) links the unemployment experience to the modest path of economic growth in Germany. In addition, the low employment intensity of GDP growth and the temporary standstill of the convergence process of the East German economy have contributed to the weak labour market performance. In his analysis, Gebhard Flaig (ifo Institute, München) stresses the importance of relative factor price developments. A higher rate of wage growth leads to a decrease of the employment intensity of production, and correspondingly to an increase of the threshold of employment. Christian Dreger (IWH) discusses the relevance of labour market institutions like employment protection legislation and the structure of the wage bargaining process on the labour market outcome. Compared to the current setting, policies should try to introduce more flexibility in labour markets to improve the employment record. The impact of interest rate shocks on production is examined by the paper of Boris Hofmann (Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt). According to the empirical evidence, monetary policy cannot explain the modest economic performance in Germany. György Barabas and Roland Döhrn (RWI Essen) have simulated the effects of a world trade shock on output and employment. The relationships have been fairly stable over the past years, even in light of the increasing globalization. Income and employment effects of the German tax reform in 2000 are discussed by Peter Haan and Viktor Steiner (DIW Berlin). On the base of a microsimulation model, household gains are determined. Also, a positive relationship between wages and labour supply can be established. Michael Feil und Gerd Zika (IAB) have examined the employment effects of a reduction of the contribution rates to the social security system. To obtain robust results, the analysis is done under alternative financing scenarios and with different macroeconometric models. The impacts of allowances of social security contributions on the incentives to work are discussed by Wolfgang Meister and Wolfgang Ochel (ifo München). According to their study, willingness to work is expected to increase especially at the lower end of the income distribution. The implied loss of contributions could be financed by higher taxes.
Read article
The Impact of Institutions on the Employment Performance in European Labour Markets
Herbert S. Buscher, Christian Dreger, Raúl Ramos, Jordi Surinach
Discussion Paper No. 1732,
2005
Abstract
Der Beitrag untersucht die Bedeutung von institutionellen Regelungen auf den Arbeitsmärkten in den Staaten der EU. Da die Beschäftigungsquoten relativ unverändert blieben in der Vergangenheit, stellt sich Arbeitslosigkeit im wesentlichen als ein Problem der Arbeitsnachfrage dar. Die Arbeitsnachfrage enthält neben den üblichen Variablen weitere Variablen, die die institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen erfassen wie Gewerkschaftsdichte, Verhandlungsmacht, Steuer- und Abgabensystem, Maße der aktiven Arbeitsmarktpolitik etc.
Da zwischen den Modellvariablen Kointegrationsbeziehungen bestehen, werden die Gleichungen in Niveaus geschätzt. Die sich hieraus ergebenden Elastizitäten werden in einem zweiten Schritt dann durch institutionelle Variablen erklärt, was in einem Fixed-effects-Modell geschieht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass mit steigender Flexibilität des Arbeitsmarktes und mit wachsenden Anreizen für die Haushalte Arbeit aufzunehmen, die Beschäftigungsquoten zunehmen.
Read article
Excessive wage increases dampen capital spending
Klaus Weyerstraß
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 16,
2003
Abstract
Vor dem Hintergrund der Debatte um die gegensätzliche Wirkung von Lohnerhöhungen auf die Kaufkraft der Arbeitnehmer und die Arbeitskosten in den Unternehmen wird für Deutschland in den Jahren 1971 bis 2003 der Zusammenhang zwischen Lohnentwicklung und Investitionstätigkeit ökonometrisch untersucht. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich eine Verringerung des Investitionszuwachses bei Reallohnsteigerungen, die über dem Produktivitätsanstieg liegen.
Read article
Gibt es eine Lohnkurve in den neuen Bundesländern?
Herbert Buscher
Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (MittAB) Nr. 4,
2003
Abstract
Read article
Wage Increases are no “Productivity Whip“: An Analysis of the East German Manufacturing Sector
Harald Lehmann
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 1,
2003
Abstract
In diesem Artikel werden die Ergebnisse einer Untersuchung präsentiert, die eine einseitige Abhängigkeit der Produktivitätsentwicklung von zeitlich vorangehenden Lohnänderungen zum Gegenstand hat. Die Untersuchung beruht auf einer spezifischen These, wonach Lohnsteigerungen für sich als produktivitätstreibender Impuls wirken. Die Gültigkeit dieser These wird für das Verarbeitenden Gewerbe in Ostdeutschland anhand betrieblicher Einzeldaten analysiert. Der Zeitraum umfasst die Jahre 1998 bis 2000. Es zeigt sich, dass für die Mehrheit der Betriebe ein entsprechender Zusammenhang nicht existiert. Für Betriebe mit in der Vergangenheit erhöhten Lohnstückosten ergibt sich sogar ein negativer Zusammenhang - je höher die Lohnänderung, umso geringer die Produktivitätsänderung im Nachfolgejahr. Die Befunde sprechen mit Blick auf Reaktionen bei der Beschäftigung und den Investitionen vielmehr gegen ´vorauseilende´ Lohnsteigerungen.
Read article
East Germany iron and steel industry: Reduction of workforce continues
Hans-Ulrich Brautzsch
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 11,
1999
Abstract
Der Beitrag untersucht die Entwicklung von Produktion, Beschäftigung, Tarif- und Effektivlöhnen in der ostdeutschen eisenschaffenden Industrie, wobei die westdeutsche Branche als Vergleichsmaßstab herangezogen wird. Die Neustrukturierung dieser Branche in Ostdeutschland vollzog sich in einem Zeitraum, in dem auch die westdeutsche Branche vor gravierenden Problemen stand. Eine weitgehend stagnierende Nachfrage, Überkapazitäten und der verstärkte Angebotsdruck aus Drittländern induzierten einen verschärften Preiswettbewerb, der den Zwang zur Kostensenkung und Produktivitätssteigerung verstärkte. Die ungünstige Kostenpo-sition in der ostdeutschen eisenschaffenden Industrie zwang die Unternehmen, ihren Per-sonalbestand rasch zu reduzieren bzw. unrentable Kapazitäten stillzulegen.
Read article
