East German Exports: Remarkable Catch-up, but Still Lagging Behind
Götz Zeddies
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
20 Jahre Deutsche Einheit - Teil 1 -
2009
Abstract
German reunification entailed severe adjustment processes in East German export industries. With political and economic transition in Eastern Europe, at that time the main export market for East German producers, export demand initially collapsed in the early 1990s. Additionally, the introduction of the Deutschmark in Eastern Germany amounted to a massive revaluation, and international competitiveness of East German producers deteriorated. However, manufacturers in the New Federal States opened up new markets, especially in Western Europe and the Americas. As a consequence, after the downturn of construction activity and investment in the mid-1990s, international trade became the driving force of GDP-growth in Eastern Germany. Although since then, goods exports of the New Federal States grew twice as much as those of Western Germany, export ratio (goods exports as a percentage of GDP) only amounts to 22 per cent in Eastern Germany, compared to 42 per cent in the western part of the country. Even in comparison to Eastern European countries in transition, openness to trade of the New Federal States is still comparatively low. As an empirical analysis shows, this must be largely traced back to smaller firm sizes in the New Federal States as well as to the lower importance of manufacturing industries, which are traditionally more export-oriented. Moreover, East German manufacturers largely specialized on intermediate inputs, which are supplied to final assembly lines in Western Germany, but are not recorded as exports. Thereby, East German export performance is considerably underestimated.
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Competition and Antitrust Policy in the Enlarged European Union: A Level Playing Field?
Jens Hölscher, Johannes Stephan
Journal of Common Market Studies,
2009
Abstract
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Organization and Financing of Innovation, and the Choice between Corporate and Independent Venture Capital
Paolo Fulghieri, Merih Sevilir
Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis,
No. 6,
2009
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of competition on the optimal organization and financing structures in innovation-intensive industries. We show that as an optimal response to competition, firms may choose external organization structures established in collaboration with specialized start-ups where they provide start-up financing from their own resources. As the intensity of the competition to innovate increases, firms move from internal to external organization of projects to increase the speed of product innovation and to obtain a competitive advantage with respect to rival firms in their industry. We also show that as the level of competition increases, firms provide a higher level of financing for externally organized projects in the form of corporate venture capital (CVC). Our results help explain the emergence of organization and financing arrangements such as CVC and strategic alliances, where large established firms organize their projects in collaboration with external specialized firms and provide financing for externally organized projects from their own internal resources.
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Finanzierung kommunaler Aufgaben: Ökonomische Prinzipien, moderne Herausforderungen und institutionelle Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten
Martin T. W. Rosenfeld
Position Liberal, Bd. 88,
2009
Abstract
The publication is based on the economic principles for an efficient local public revenue system. The main part of the publication is examining the question how different categories of revenues (taxes, user fees, grants-in-aid) and different arrangements of these revenues are able to meet with these principles. In addition, it is asked for the implications of recent developments (demographic change; increasing importance of the competitiveness of cities) for the choice between different categories of revenues. Finally, it is discussed how it could be possible in countries like Germany – where the existing local public revenue system is quite far away from what is regarded as efficient – to come to an institutional change in the direction of a better way of financing the local level.
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Die Identifikation horizontaler und vertikaler industrieller Clusterstrukturen in Deutschland – Ein neues Verfahren und erste empirische Ergebnisse
Mirko Titze, Matthias Brachert, Alexander Kubis
Raumforschung und Raumordnung,
/6
2009
Abstract
. If regional development agencies assume the cluster concept to be an adequate framework to promote regional growth and competitiveness, it is necessary to identify industrial clusters in a comprehensive manner. Previous studies used a diversity of methods starting with specific regional case studies, input-output methods and different concentration measures. This article presents a new instrument in empirical cluster research – the Qualitative Input-Output Analysis –, which offers the possibility to identify industrial cluster in conjunction with concentration measures. Especially, this method allows the combination of an identified critical mass of regional firms with the necessity of interaction of these firms within an input-output framework. Applying this method to Germany’s “Arbeitsmarktregionen” we find that 103 “Arbeitsmarkregionen“ show first signs of horizontal industrial clusters, while only 28 regions are able to attract vertical industrial clusters. 139 “Arbeitsmarktregionen” did not show signs of industrial clusters according to the research design.
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European Commission, Leibniz Association and IWH Discuss Innovation Related Policy in Transitions Regions
Björn Jindra, Katja Wilde
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 7,
2009
Abstract
On February 17, 2009, the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) and the Leibniz Association (WGL) held the final conference of the EU-project “Understanding the Relationship between Knowledge and Competitiveness in the Enlarging European Union” (U-know) in Brussels. The research dealt with systemic aspects of innovation and knowledge transfer as well as the development of R&D (research and development) and innovation related policy. Thereby, a particular emphasis was put on the challenges facing the new EU member states and East Germany. The research project proved to be very productive with 54 research papers in refereed journals as well as 33 articles in edited volumes.
The aim of the conference was to present and discuss the main results of the U-know project with experts from the industry as well as the political and scientific community. Within four parallel sessions (Enterprises and markets, Public science and industry links, Systems and governance, Role of institutions), research output was presented. Representatives of the EU Commission commented directly on the presentations with a view on policy implications. In a final panel, all participants underlined the increasing importance of education, R&D, and innovation related policy to support the competitiveness of the EU-15 countries as well as the catching-up process of the new EU member states. The conference has raised significant interest both within the scientific community and the EU Commission.
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Lending Technology, Bank Organization and Competition
Hans Degryse, Steven Ongena, Günseli Tümer-Alkan
Journal of Financial Transformation,
2009
Abstract
This paper reviews recent theoretical and empirical studies investigating how both bank technology and organization shape bank-borrower interactions. We refer to two related concepts for bank technology. First, the technologies banks employ in loan granting decisions and second, the advances in information technology linked to the bank's lending technology. We also summarize and interpret the theoretical and empirical work on bank organization and its influence on lending technologies. We show that the choice of lending technology and bank organization depend heavily on the availability of information, the technological progress in the collection of information, as well as the banking market structure and the legal environment. We draw important policy conclusions from the literature. Competition authorities and supervisors have to remain alert to the consequences of the introduction of any new technology because: (1) advances in technology do not necessarily lead to more intense banking competition, and (2) the impact of technological and financial innovation on financial efficiency and stability depends on the incentives of the entire „loan production chain.‟
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Investment (FDI) Policy for Azerbaijan, Final report
Jutta Günther, Björn Jindra
One-off Publications,
No. 4,
2009
Abstract
The report has been prepared on behalf of the Association for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) as integral part of the “Private Sector Development Program” run by the GTZ in Azerbaijan. A comprehensive investment policy is outlined with particular focus on the possibilities to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in Azerbaijan’s manufacturing industry (non-oil sector). The report makes particular reference to the experiences with investment policy development in Central and East European transition economies. It touches legal and institutional framework conditions in Azerbaijan as well as possible investment incentives schemes including investment promotion. Major recommendations refer to trade integration within the region, introduction of tax incentives as well as further improvements in business climate. Furthermore, the importance of complementary policies, such as competition and education policy, is stressed.
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The Impact of Organizational Structure and Lending Technology on Banking Competition
Hans Degryse, Luc Laeven, Steven Ongena
Review of Finance,
No. 2,
2009
Abstract
We investigate how bank organization shapes banking competition. We show that a bank's geographical lending reach and loan pricing strategy is determined by its own and its rivals’ organizational structure. We estimate the impact of organization on the geographical reach and loan pricing of a large bank. We find that the reach of the bank is smaller when rival banks are large and hierarchically organized, have superior communication technology, have a narrower span of organization, and are closer to a decision unit with lending authority. Rival banks’ size and the number of layers to a decision unit soften spatial pricing.
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Why Do Payday Lenders Enter Local Markets? Evidence from Oregon
H. Evren Damar
Review of Industrial Organization,
No. 2,
2009
Abstract
This study analyzes payday lenders’ entry strategies in the state of Oregon in order to look for changes in the nature of the industry and its relationship to traditional financial institutions. The results of fixed-effects logit regressions suggest that payday lenders have started to enter areas already being served by banks. Furthermore, the presence of “incumbent advantage” in entry decisions may also have implications concerning the level of competition in the industry. Finally, since payday lenders also enter areas with large Hispanic populations, it is still possible that payday loans represent the sole source of credit for certain segments of the population.
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