Germany’s “Bazaar-economy” After the Financial and Economic Crisis
Hans-Ulrich Brautzsch, Udo Ludwig
Klaus Voy (Ed.): Außenhandel und Globalisierung in gesamtwirtschaftlicher Sicht. Marburg: Metropolis,
2018
Abstract
Because of its huge dependence on the world markets, Germany’s economy was strongly hit by the financal and economic crisis in 2008/2009. Applying the input-output model, the paper deals with the net-impact of the export shock on value added and employment in Germany.
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Benchmark Value-added Chains and Regional Clusters in R&D-intensive Industries
Reinhold Kosfeld, Mirko Titze
International Regional Science Review,
No. 5,
2017
Abstract
Although the phase of euphoria seems to be over, policy makers and regional agencies have maintained their interest in cluster policy. Modern cluster theory provides reasons for positive external effects that may accrue from interaction in a group of proximate enterprises operating in common and related fields. Although there has been some progress in locating clusters, in most cases only limited knowledge on the geographical extent of regional clusters has been established. In the present article, we present a hybrid approach to cluster identification. Dominant buyer–supplier relationships are derived by qualitative input–output analysis from national input–output tables, and potential regional clusters are identified by spatial scanning. This procedure is employed to identify clusters of German research and development-intensive industries. A sensitivity analysis reveals good robustness properties of the hybrid approach with respect to variations in the quantitative cluster composition.
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05.01.2017 • 3/2017
Secretariat for research network CompNet gets new home at IWH
The Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) – Member of the Leibniz Association is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the Secretariat for the Competitiveness Research Network (CompNet), an international network of scholars and practitioners, who share interest for top-notch research and policy analysis on competitiveness and productivity.
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Mapping Potentials for Input-Output Based Innovation Flows in Industrial Clusters – An Application to Germany
Matthias Brachert, Hans-Ulrich Brautzsch, Mirko Titze
Economic Systems Research,
No. 4,
2016
Abstract
Our paper pursues two aims: first, it presents an approach based on input–output innovation flow matrices to study intersectoral innovation flows within industrial clusters. Second, we apply this approach to the identification of structural weaknesses in East Germany relative to the western part of the country. The case of East Germany forms an interesting subject because while its convergence process after unification began promisingly in the first half of the 1990s, convergence has since slowed down. The existing gap can now be traced mainly to structural weaknesses in the East German economy, such as the absence of strong industrial cluster structures. With this in mind, we investigate whether East Germany does in fact reveal the abovementioned structural weaknesses. Does East Germany possess fewer industrial clusters? Are they less connected? Does East Germany lack specific clusters that are also important for the non-clustered part of the economy?
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Direct and Indirect Effects of Economic Sanctions between the EU and Russia on Output and Employment in the German Economy
Jutta Günther, Maria Kristalova, Udo Ludwig
Russland-Analysen,
No. 325,
2016
Abstract
Followed by the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2014, the European Union and Russia introduced bilateral economic sanctions which accelerated an already existing decline of the German exports to Russia. The article focuses on the effects of the losses in exports to Russia on production and employment in Germany. The analysis makes use of an input-output approach capturing direct as well as indirect effects throughout the supply chain. The results calculated on the base of the actual Input-Output Table for Germany exhibit a cumulated loss in GDP of 0.15% due to sanctions in the years 2014 to 2016. Especially export-oriented German sectors with strong backward linkages, such as motor vehicles and machinery, are affected.
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Effects of Sanctions between the EU and Russia on the German Economy
Jutta Günther, Maria Kristalova, Udo Ludwig
Wirtschaftsdienst,
No. 7,
2016
Abstract
The mutual imposition of economic sanctions strengthened the slow down of German exports to Russia and exposed output as well as jobs inside the value chains to danger. The amount of potential losses is estimated by the the use of input-output-analysis.
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Stress Testing and Bank Efficiency: Evidence from Europe
Iftekhar Hasan, Fotios Pasiouras
International Journal of Corporate Finance and Accounting,
No. 2,
2015
Abstract
This study examines whether and how the stress testing of European banks in 2010, 2011, and 2014 is related to their technical, allocative, and cost efficiency. Using a sample of large commercial banks operating in 20 European countries, and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), the authors perform comparisons between banks that were included in one of the three European stress tests and untested banks operating in the same countries. They estimate various specifications as for the inputs and outputs, cross-section and pooled estimations, and they also examine alternative samples as for the ownership of banks. In general, the authors conclude that banks included in the stress-test exercises are more efficient that their counterparties. The differences tend to be statistically significant in the case of allocative efficiency and cost efficiency, but not in the case of technical efficiency. With regards to the latter form of efficiency, the results depend upon the specification and the stress test in question.
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Do Manufacturing Firms Benefit from Services FDI? – Evidence from Six New EU Member States
J. Damijan, Crt Kostevc, Philipp Marek, Matija Rojec
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 5,
2015
Abstract
This paper focuses on the effect of foreign presence in the services sector on the productivity growth of downstream customers in the manufacturing sector in six EU new member countries in the course of their accession to the European Union. For this purpose, the analysis combines firm-level information, data on economic structures and annual national input-output tables. The findings suggest that services FDI may enhance productivity of manufacturing firms in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries through vertical forward spillovers, and thereby contribute to their competitiveness. The consideration of firm characteristics shows that the magnitude of spillover effects depends on size, ownership structure, and initial productivity level of downstream firms as well as on the diverging technological intensity across sector on the supply and demand side. The results suggest that services FDI foster productivity of domestic rather than foreign controlled firms in the host economy. For the period between 2003 and 2008, the findings suggest that the increasing share of services provided by foreign affiliates enhanced the productivity growth of domestic firms in manufacturing by 0.16%. Furthermore, the firms’ absorptive capability and the size reduce the spillover effect of services FDI on the productivity of manufacturing firms. A sectoral distinction shows that firms at the end of the value chain experience a larger productivity growth through services FDI, whereas the aggregate positive effect seems to be driven by FDI in energy supply. This does not hold for science-based industries, which are spurred by foreign presence in knowledge-intensive business services.
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Exportkrise und Frauenerwerbstätigkeit – Eine Input-Output-Analyse
Udo Ludwig, Cornelia Lang
Neuere Anwendungsfelder der Input-Output-Analyse – Tagungsband – Beiträge zum Input-Output-Workshop 2014 in Osnabrück. gws Research Report 2014/2,
2014
Abstract
In Deutschland sind die unmittelbar mit dem Exportgeschäft verbundenen Produktionsbereiche männerdominiert. Der Exporteinbruch in der vergangenen Wirtschaftskrise wurde deshalb in der Öffentlichkeit mit der Erwartung verknüpft, dass er vor allem die Beschäftigung von Männern und weniger von Frauen treffen würde. Wir überprüfen diese These anhand des um eine Beschäftigungsmatrix nach dem Geschlecht der Erwerbstätigen und Arbeitszeitgruppen erweiterten mehrsektoralen offenen statischen Input-Output-Modells.
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Can R&D Subsidies Counteract the Economic Crisis? – Macroeconomic Effects in Germany
Hans-Ulrich Brautzsch, Jutta Günther, Brigitte Loose, Udo Ludwig, Nicole Nulsch
Research Policy,
No. 3,
2015
Abstract
During the economic crisis of 2008 and 2009, governments in Europe stabilized their economies by means of fiscal policy. After decades of absence, deficit spending was used to counteract the heavy decline in demand. In Germany, public spending went partially into R&D subsidies in favor of small and medium sized enterprises. Applying the standard open input–output model, the paper analyzes the macroeconomic effects of R&D subsidies on employment and production in the business cycle. Findings in the form of backward multipliers suggest that R&D subsidies have stimulated a substantial leverage effect. Almost two thirds of the costs of R&D projects are covered by the enterprises themselves. Overall, a subsidized R&D program results in a production, value added and employment effect that amounts to at least twice the initial financing. Overall, the R&D program counteracts the decline of GDP by 0.5% in the year 2009. In the year 2010 the effects are already procyclical since the German economy recovered quickly. Compared to the strongly discussed alternative uses of subsidies for private consumption, R&D spending is more effective.
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