Do Digital Information Technologies Help Unemployed Job Seekers Find a Job? Evidence from the Broadband Internet Expansion in Germany
Nicole Gürtzgen, André Diegmann (né Nolte), Laura Pohlan, Gerard J. van den Berg
European Economic Review,
February
2021
Abstract
This paper studies effects of the introduction of a new digital mass medium on reemployment of unemployed job seekers. We combine data on high-speed (broadband) internet availability at the local level with German individual register data. We address endogeneity by exploiting technological peculiarities that affected the roll-out of high-speed internet. The results show that high-speed internet improves reemployment rates after the first months in unemployment. This is confirmed by complementary analyses with individual survey data suggesting that internet access increases online job search and the number of job interviews after a few months in unemployment.
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The Internet Effects on Sex Crime Offenses – Evidence from the Broadband Internet Expansion in Germany
André Diegmann
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization,
September
2019
Abstract
This paper studies the effects of the introduction of a new mass medium on sex crime in Germany. I use unique data on criminal offenses and broadband internet measured at the municipal level to shed light on this issue. In order to address endogeneity in broadband internet availability, I exploit technical peculiarities at the regional level that determine the roll-out of high-speed internet. Results provide evidence of a substitution effect of internet exposure on sex crime. The substitution effect is neither driven by differences in reporting behavior, nor by matching processes at the victim and offender side. This suggests that the consumption of extreme media plays an important role in explaining the documented high-speed internet effect.
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Do Digital Information Technologies Help Unemployed Job Seekers Find a Job? Evidence from the Broadband Internet Expansion in Germany
Nicole Gürtzgen, André Diegmann (né Nolte), Laura Pohlan, Gerard J. van den Berg
Abstract
This paper studies effects of the introduction of a new digital mass medium on reemployment of unemployed job seekers. We combine data on high-speed (broadband) internet availability at the local level with German individual register data. We address endogeneity by exploiting technological peculiarities that affected the roll-out of high-speed internet. The results show that high-speed internet improves reemployment rates after the first months in unemployment. This is confirmed by complementary analyses with individual survey data suggesting that internet access increases online job search and the number of job interviews after a few months in unemployment.
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Does Social Capital Matter in Corporate Decisions? Evidence from Corporate Tax Avoidance
Iftekhar Hasan, Chun-Keung (Stan) Hoi, Qiang Wu, Hao Zhang
Journal of Accounting Research,
No. 3,
2017
Abstract
We investigate whether the levels of social capital in U.S. counties, as captured by strength of civic norms and density of social networks in the counties, are systematically related to tax avoidance activities of corporations with headquarters located in the counties. We find strong negative associations between social capital and corporate tax avoidance, as captured by effective tax rates and book-tax differences. These results are incremental to the effects of local religiosity and firm culture toward socially irresponsible activities. They are robust to using organ donation as an alternative social capital proxy and fixed effect regressions. They extend to aggressive tax avoidance practices. Additionally, we provide corroborating evidence using firms with headquarters relocation that changes the exposure to social capital. We conclude that social capital surrounding corporate headquarters provides environmental influences constraining corporate tax avoidance.
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(De-)Centralization and Voter Turnout: Theory and Evidence from German Municipalities
Claus Michelsen, Peter Bönisch
Public Choice,
No. 3,
2014
Abstract
A vast academic literature illustrates that voter turnout is affected by the institutional design of elections (e.g., compulsory voting, electoral system, postal or Sunday voting). In this article, we exploit a simple Downsian theoretical framework to argue that the institutional framework of public good provision – and, in particular, the distribution of political and administrative competences across government levels – likewise affects voters’ turnout decisions by influencing the expected net benefit of voting. Empirically, we exploit the institutional variation across German municipalities to test this proposition, and find supportive evidence.
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Eigenkapitalausstattung in den Neuen Ländern teilweise höher als in Westdeutschland
H. Schulz, Mirko Titze, Michaela Weinhold
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 5,
2011
Abstract
Um der ostdeutschen Wirtschaft nach den Anfang der 1990er Jahre erlittenen Transformationsschocks wieder auf die Beine zu helfen, wurde der Unternehmenssektor in den Neuen Ländern durch vielfältige Förderinstrumente
unterstützt. Begründet wurden diese Eingriffe unter anderem damit, dass die ostdeutschen Unternehmen – insbesondere im Mittelstand – nicht in der Lage waren, die Wiederherstellung ihres Kapitals und ihrer Wettbewerbsfähigkeit aus eigener Kraft zu stemmen – da sie wohl auch nur über sehr wenig Eigenkapital verfügten. Empirische Analysen finden heute keine Belege mehr für eine allgemeine Eigenkapitalschwäche bei den ostdeutschen Unternehmen im Mittelstand. Ganz im Gegenteil, die Eigenkapitalausstattung der kapitalintensiv produzierenden mittelständischen Industrieunternehmen ist dort sogar höher als in Westdeutschland. Dieser grundlegende Befund wird bestätigt durch die Analyse auf der Ebene der Länder, die in diesem Beitrag – unter Anwendung eines exklusiven Datensatzes des Deutschen Sparkassen- und Giroverbandes – erstmalig präsentiert wird. Hier zeigt sich, dass insbesondere die Unternehmen des Verarbeitenden Gewerbes in Thüringen und Sachsen sehr hohe Eigenkapitalquoten aufweisen. Vorsichtige Hinweise auf Lücken in der Eigenkapitalausstattung lassen sich allenfalls in ausgewählten Branchen des Verarbeitenden Gewerbes und nur in bestimmten Regionen finden, beispielsweise im Maschinenbau des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt.
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Sharing Competences: The Impact of Local Institutional Settings on Voter Turnout
Claus Michelsen, Peter Bönisch, Martin T. W. Rosenfeld
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 21,
2010
Abstract
Institutions are common predictors of voter turnout. Most research in this field focuses on cross-country comparisons of voting systems, like the impact of compulsory voting or registration systems. Fewer efforts have been devoted to understand the role of local institutions and their impact on political participation. Especially the impact of divided competences in relation to public good provision and its impact on voter turnout has been widely ignored. In the present paper, we analyze the effects of different institutional settings for inter-municipal cooperation on voter turnout. We use data from local elections in Germany, held in 2003 and 2004. Overall, we analyze aggregate voter turnout of 1661 municipalities and find strong evidence for our hypothesis that local institutional settings are influential in this context. Further, our results indicate that the better competences correspond to the spatial dimension of local public goods, the higher should be the voter turnout.
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