East German construction industry in October 2001: Downtrend has not accelerated so far

21. November 2001

Authors Brigitte Loose

Also in this issue

Current Trends - East German Municipalities: The small(est) ones still dominate

Jens Müller

in: Wirtschaft im Wandel, No. 15, 2001

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Municipal "Help for Work": Which role do organisational aspects play?

Cornelia Lang Martin T. W. Rosenfeld

in: Wirtschaft im Wandel, No. 15, 2001

Abstract

Steigende Sozialhilfeausgaben haben die Kommunen in den letzten Jahren bewogen, die kommunale Arbeitsmarktpolitik zu intensivieren. Dieses Bestreben hat dazu geführt, dass die Kommunen unter dem programmatischen Motto „Arbeit statt Sozialhilfe“ eigenständige Konzepte und Organisationsformen entwickelt haben, um möglichst viele arbeitsfähige Sozialhilfeempfänger wieder in den Arbeitsmarkt zu integrieren. Der Erfolg dieser kommunalen Aktivitäten ist von der Ausgestaltung verschiedener Typen beschäftigungspolitischer Maßnahmen abhängig, aber auch vom organisatorischen Rahmen dieser Maßnahmen. Das betrifft sowohl die Aufgabenverteilung im Sozialamt, die Zahl und die Qualifikation des dort eingesetzten Personals als auch die Form der Zusammenarbeit mit Trägern von beschäftigungspolitischen Maßnahmen. In diesem Bereich gibt es erfolgreiche Ansätze, aber auch noch verschiedene Defizite. Erfolgversprechend erscheinen Ansätze wie das case management, welches die Kompetenzen der Sozialamtsmitarbeiter erweitert und ihnen die Möglichkeit bietet, Hilfeempfänger individueller zu betreuen und damit auch deren Chancen auf eine erfolgreiche Maßnahmenteilnahme und nicht zuletzt eine gelungene Rückkehr in den Arbeitsmarkt zu erhöhen. Andererseits sind die Anreize der Akteure im Bereich „Hilfe zur Arbeit“, die Zahl der Hilfeempfänger zu reduzieren, nicht überall optimal gestaltet und stehen im besonderen Maße einer Effektivitätssteigerung in diesem Bereich entgegen.

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Public Research Institutions in East Germany: a Promising Base for Economic Upturn?

Gerhard Heimpold Martin T. W. Rosenfeld

in: Wirtschaft im Wandel, No. 15, 2001

Abstract

In the 1990s a lot was done to strengthen public research efforts in East Germany. The main indicators relating to public research reflect an ambivalent picture. Investment by universities and public research institutions outside the universities reached a higher level than in West Germany. However, there remains an East-West gap with respect to the capital stock. The per capita stock of R&D staff in the university sector reached almost the level in the old Länder. With respect to the university R&D in engineering sciences, among those fields of university research which are particularly business-related, per capita stock of staff as well as per capita investment in the Eastern German Länder are above the West German level. In university natural science the East-West pattern of the R&D input factors mentioned is reversed. The receipts of the universities acquired from research contracts, which may be used as an indicator to assess the quality of public research, reveal shortcomings. These shortcomings, though these have been partly caused by the transitional situation in East Germany`s universities, where new institutions were built up only gradually. The R&D institutions outside the universities are obviously better equipped than such institutions in West Germany. The visible advantages offered by public sector research institutions in East Germany might be used much more intensively to foster the economic reconstruction in East Germany. In parallel with this, the remaining shortcomings of public R&D in East Germany should be eliminated. If reductions in universities´ capacities (due, for instance, to a declining number of persons who have a university entrance qualification) seem to be inevitable, the consequences of such restrictions should be carefully reconsidered.

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On the Future EU Cohesion Policies in Association States: the

Johannes Stephan

in: Wirtschaft im Wandel, No. 15, 2001

Abstract

Not only are levels of economic development in the association states in Central East Europe lower than the average EU-15. They furthermore exhibit significantly different sectoral structures. Does this suggest that a large fraction of the develop- ment gap can be explained by those sectoral differences? In its latest report on cohesion policy, the EU Commission accordingly placed particular emphasis on sectoral structures when contemplating future intervention policy in newly acceeding members. Our analysis shows, however, that the patterns of sectoral structures play only a minor role as determinants of the lower level of development, measured here as productivity gap. The explanatory power of sectoral differennces is significant only in Slovakia. The suggestions made in the EU-report is not supported by our analysis. The existing programmes appear to be well equipped to account for the particuliarities in transition economies.

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