Arbeitskosteneffekte des Vorleistungsbezugs der Industrie an Dienstleistungen in Deutschland im Vergleich mit Frankreich und den Niederlanden – Eine Untersuchung mit der Input-Output-Methode. Gutachten im Auftrag des Instituts für Makroökonomie und Konjunkturforschung (IMK)
Udo Ludwig, Hans-Ulrich Brautzsch
IMK Studies Nr. 4/2010,
2010
Abstract
As part of the outsourcing, industrial enterprises receive services in the production of their products which they used to provide on their own. As a result of the wage differentials between industry and service sector there is a shift in the burden labour costs have on industrial products. The study addresses the question of how significant this effect is. For this purpose the open static input-output model is used to analyse the degree of integration of the industry with its suppliers, the employment intensity of production and the labour cost differentials between the areas of production in Germany and in comparison with France and the Netherlands. The result of the labour cost analysis of industrial production shows - from a macroeconomic point of view - that the industry products have a smaller burden due to labour costs in Germany, France and the Netherlands, than the sectoral levels in the industry indicate. The difference in Germany is quantitative particularly strong pronounced. This saving in wage costs has increased somewhat after 2000. Crucial is that this discharge effect is achieved on the immediate wholesale inputs, that means in the first integration stage of industrial production.
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Corporate Governance in the Multinational Enterprise: A Financial Contracting Perspective
Diemo Dietrich, Björn Jindra
International Business Review,
2010
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to bring economics-based finance research more into the focus of international business theory. On the basis of an analytical model that introduces financial constraints into incomplete contracting in an international vertical trade relationship, we propose an integrated framework that facilitates the study of the interdependencies between internalisation decisions, firm-internal allocations of control rights, and the debt capacity of firms. We argue that the financial constraint of an MNE and/or its supplier should be considered as an important determinant of internal governance structures, complementary to, and interacting with, institutional factors and proprietary knowledge.
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FDI and the National Innovation System - Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe
Jutta Günther, Björn Jindra, Johannes Stephan
D. Dyker (ed.), Network Dynamics in Emerging Regions of Europe, Imperial College Press,
2010
Abstract
The paper investigates strategic motives, technological activities and determinants of foreign investment enterprises’ embeddedness in post-transition economies (Eastern Germany and selected Central East European countries). The empirical study makes use of the IWH FDI micro database. Results of the descriptive analysis of investment motives show that market access dominates over efficiency seeking and other motives. The majority of investors are technologically active in the region as a whole, but countries differ in terms of performance. The probit model estimations show that firm specific characteristics, among them innovativeness and autonomy from parent company, are important determinants of foreign investment enterprises’ embeddedness.
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Russia: Overcoming the Effects of Economic Crisis Takes Time
Martina Kämpfe
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 6,
2010
Abstract
The last year's decline of Gross Domestic Product in Russia was harder than in most big economies of the world. The financial crisis has revealed specific circumstances of growth in Russia: The situation deteriorated not only by the downfall of crude oil prices, but especially by the Russian banking sector not being able to satisfy financing demand of the private sector enterprises. So foreign liabilities of enterprises had increased and the dependence of the enterprises on the international financial markets had strengthened. In that way impacts of the global financial crisis affected Russia harder. Although external conditions for the Russian economy improved in the last months due to the rise of world oil prices and global demand for commodities, domestic demand still suffers from small revenues and bad financing conditions for enterprises. Because of its structural weakness it will take Russia longer than other transformation countries to overcome the crisis. Economic growth in the near future will expand much smaller than on last years’ average.
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The Attractiveness of East Germany as Investment Location for Multinational Enterprises (MNEs)
Andrea Gauselmann, Björn Jindra
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 6,
2010
Abstract
The article analyses the general motives of MNEs for investment in East Germany as well as the quality of selected locational factors in East Germany from multinational affiliates’ point of view. In contrast to existing studies for East Germany the article dedicates particular attention to the role of MNEs’ heterogeneity. The research draws from the third survey of the IWH FDI-Micro database in 2009, which offers a representative sample of multinational affiliates of the East German economy. The results show a fundamental shift in the relative importance of investment motives during the transition process of East Germany. Since the mid 1990s East Germany attracts increasingly investors that target economies of scope of local technological advantage rather than low-cost advantages of local production factors as the case in the early transition period. It can be demonstrated that the investment motives depends on the country of origin, the type and timing of market entry as well as the sector of the multinational affiliate. Amongst the given locational factors affiliates value the quality of the socio-cultural context highest. This group of soft factors is followed by locational aspects related the potential for technological cooperation, the availability of labour, and finally the extent of fiscal and financial incentives. There exist significant differences in the judgment about quality of different locational aspects depending on the country of origin and the underlying investment motive. Finally the article identifies possible policy measures in the area of skilled labour, technology and investment policy in order to sustain the attractiveness of East Germany as investment location in the future.
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What are the Long-Term Benefits of the Economic Stimulus Package II for German Local Governments? – The Case of Saxony
Peter Haug
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 4,
2010
Abstract
This article deals with the question whether the investments subsidized by the economic stimulus package II („Konjunkturpaket II“) do not only have short-term effects on demand but also long-term effects e.g. on local economic growth. As far as the short-term effects are concerned, the case of the German state of Saxony shows – with some delay – a rise in local government´s investments. Hence, the time-lag problem inherent in all governmental spending programmes seems to keep within reasonable limits. Up to now there have been no signs of inflationary price tendencies in the construction sector.
According to - for example - the „new“ economic growth theory, one ought to be sceptical about the long-term effects of the projects supported by the programme: Even for genuine public intermediate goods the withdrawal effects of financing have to be weighed against the positive effects on private enterprise sector productivity. Furthermore, the effects on factor prices caused by the investment grants might encourage the excess use of physical capital in public production.
This sceptical attitude of the theory is confirmed for Saxony by the fact that primarily public consumption goods (sports and leisure facilities) or educational facilities (kindergartens, primary schools), which are of no direct relevance to the local enterprises, are supported by the programme. Investments in vocational training, research and development play only a minor role at the local government level or are explicitly excluded from the programme.
Especially because of the incentives to misallocate public resources it is recommended to rely on unconditional grants in future support programmes. Then the local governments could use the grants for either „investments” in human capital (new [fixed-term contract] hires, qualification) or in physical capital, according to their needs.
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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.
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Exports Versus FDI Revisited: Does Finance Matter?
Claudia M. Buch
Bundesbank Discussion Paper 03/2010,
2010
Abstract
This paper explores the impact of financial constraints on the internationalization
strategies of firms. It contributes to the literature by focusing on three aspects: First, the paper studies the impact of financial constraints on exporting relative to FDI. Consistent with theory, the empirical results confirm that the impact of financial constraints is stronger for FDI than for exporting. Second, the paper analyzes the extensive and the intensive margins and finds that financial frictions matter for both. Third, the paper explores the impact on manufacturing as compared to service industries and shows that firms in service industries are affected more than firms in manufacturing. The paper also identifies a threshold effect: Financial constraints do not matter for small firms whose productivity seems to be too low to consider international expansions.
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Stochastic Income Statement Planning and Emissions Trading
Henry Dannenberg, Wilfried Ehrenfeld
Abstract
Since the introduction of the European CO2 emissions trading system (EU ETS), the
development of CO2 allowance prices is a new risk factor for enterprises taking part in this system. In this paper, we analyze how risk emerging from emissions trading can be considered in the stochastic profit and loss planning of corporations. Therefore we explore which planned figures are affected by emissions trading. Moreover, we show a way to model these positions in a planned profit and loss account accounting for uncertainties and dependencies. Consequently, this model provides a basis for risk assessment and investment decisions in the uncertain environment of CO2 emissions trading.
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