The Relationship between Knowledge Intensity and Market Concentration in European Industries: An inverted U-Shape
Niels Krap, Johannes Stephan
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 3,
2008
Abstract
This paper is motivated by the European Union strategy to secure competitiveness for Europe in the globalising world by focussing on technological supremacy (the Lisbon - agenda). Parallel to that, the EU Commission is trying to take a more economic approach to competition policy in general and anti-trust policy in particular. Our analysis tries to establish the relationship between increasing knowledge intensity and the resulting market concentration: if the European Union economy is gradually shifting to a pattern of sectoral specialisation that features a bias on knowledge intensive sectors, then this may well have some influence on market concentration and competition policy would have to adjust not to counterfeit the Lisbon-agenda. Following a review of the available theoretical and empirical literature on the relationship between knowledge intensity and market structure, we use a larger Eurostat database to test the shape of this relationship. Assuming a causality that runs from knowledge to concentration, we show that the relationship between knowledge intensity and market structures is in fact different for knowledge intensive industries and we establish a non-linear, inverted U-curve shape.
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The Transition to Post-industrial BMI Values Among US Children
John Komlos, Ariane Breitfelder, Marco Sunder
NBER Working Paper No. 13898,
No. 13898,
2008
Abstract
In our opinion, the trend in the BMI values of US children has not been estimated accurately. We use five models to estimate the BMI trends of non-Hispanic US-born black and white children and adolescents ages 2-19 born 1941-2006 on the basis of all NHES and NHANES data sets. We also use some historical BMI values for comparison. The increase in BMIZ values during the period considered was on average 1.3σ (95% CI: 1.16σ; 1.44σ) among black girls, 0.8σ for black boys, 0.7σ for white boys, and 0.6σ for white girls. This translates into an increase in BMI values of some 5.6, 3.3, 2.4, and 1.5 units respectively. While the increase in BMI values started among the birth cohorts of the 1940s among black females, the rate of increase tended to accelerate among all four groups born in the mid-1950s to early-1960s with the contemporaneous spread of TV viewing. The rate of increase levelled off somewhat thereafter. There is some indication that among black boys and white girls born after c. 1990 adiposity has remained unchanged or perhaps even declined. The affects of the IT revolution of the last two decades of the century is less evident. Some regional evidence leads to the speculation that the spread of automobiles and radios affected the BMI values of boys already in the interwar period. We infer that the incremental weight increases are associated with the labor-saving technological developments of the 20th century which brought about many faceted cultural and nutritional revolutions.
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The Stability of Bank Efficiency Rankings when Risk Preferences and Objectives are Different
Michael Koetter
European Journal of Finance,
No. 2,
2008
Abstract
We analyze the stability of efficiency rankings of German universal banks between 1993 and 2004. First, we estimate traditional efficiency scores with stochastic cost and alternative profit frontier analysis. Then, we explicitly allow for different risk preferences and measure efficiency with a structural model based on utility maximization. Using the almost ideal demand system, we estimate input- and profit-demand functions to obtain proxies for expected return and risk. Efficiency is then measured in this risk-return space. Mean risk-return efficiency is somewhat higher than cost and considerably higher than profit efficiency (PE). More importantly, rank–order correlation between these measures are low or even negative. This suggests that best-practice institutes should not be identified on the basis of traditional efficiency measures alone. Apparently, low cost and/or PE may merely result from alternative yet efficiently chosen risk-return trade-offs.
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IWH-Industrieumfrage im Januar 2008: Verhaltener Start ins neue Geschäftsjahr
Cornelia Lang
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 2,
2008
Abstract
Das Geschäftsklima im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe Ostdeutschlands schwächte sich zu Jahresbeginn 2008 leicht ab. Das geht aus den Ergebnissen der IWH-Industrieumfrage vom Januar unter rund 300 Unternehmen hervor. Im Vergleich zur Umfrage vom November 2007 sind im Aktiencrashmonat sowohl die Einschätzungen zur Geschäftslage als auch zu den Geschäftsaussichten verhaltener. Der Saldo der positiven und negativen Meldungen zur aktuellen Lage ging um vier Punkte zurück, der Saldo der Aussichten für die nächsten sechs Monate um drei Punkte.
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IWH-Bauumfrage in Ostdeutschland zum Jahresauftakt 2008: Nach kräftigem Beginn 2007 Abschwung der Bauaktivitäten
Brigitte Loose
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 2,
2008
Abstract
Zu Beginn des Jahres 2007 waren die Bauaktivitä- ten zwar noch sehr rege, im späteren Verlauf haben sie sich jedoch deutlich abgeschwächt. Im Jahres- durchschnitt ergibt sich gegenüber 2006 aber im- mer noch ein Plus. Maßgeblich dafür waren der gewerbliche und öffentliche Bau, die von der kräfti- gen gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung profitierten. Dagegen hat der Wohnungsbau nach Auslaufen der Sondereffekte zur Mitnahme der Eigenheim- zulage und zur Umgehung der Mehrwertsteuer- erhöhung das Vorjahresergebnis verfehlt. Trotz einer alles in allem erhöhten Baunach- frage geriet die Bauproduktion im Jahresverlauf zunehmend unter Kostendruck: Die Energie- und Lohnkosten stiegen, und die im Verlauf abneh- mende Nachfrage verringerte die Preiserhöhungs- spielräume erheblich. Eine ungünstigere Ertrags- situation der Unternehmen war die Folge. Mit Blick auf das Jahr 2008 überwiegen die skeptischen Stimmen unter den vom IWH befragten Unternehmen. Die Mehrzahl geht von Rückgängen beim Umsatz wie bei der Beschäftigung aus. Das ist das Ergebnis der Bauumfrage zum Jahresende 2007.
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IWH-Bauumfrage im Dezember 2007: Geschäftsklima deutlich verschlechtert
Brigitte Loose
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 1,
2008
Abstract
Das Geschäftsklima im ostdeutschen Baugewerbe hat sich im Dezember deutlich verschlechtert. Sowohl die Geschäftslage als auch die Geschäftaussichten wurden von den knapp 300 befragten Bauunternehmen erheblich zurückhaltender beurteilt als noch vor einem Jahr. Für etwa ein Drittel der Unternehmen liefen die Baugeschäfte im Dezember „schlecht“ oder „eher schlecht“. Derartige Urteile gab im Vorjahreszeitraum nur etwa ein Fünftel der Unternehmen ab. Hinsichtlich der Geschäftsaussichten bis zum Frühsommer sind sogar drei von fünf Unternehmen skeptisch. Im Vorjahr betraf dies nur etwa die Hälfte. Die Eintrübung des Geschäftsklimas zieht sich durch alle Bausparten.
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Business cycle forecast 2008: German upswing takes a break
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 1,
2008
Abstract
Economic growth in the industrial countries will be much more muted in 2008 than in the past year. One cause is the prolonged oil price hike during 2007. The second and more important cause is the intensification of tensions on world financial markets. Due to problems in the financial sector, credit expansion will slow next year in the euro area as well as in the US. This will dampen demand in the real economy. A significant downswing in the industrial countries, however, is not the most likely scenario: in the US, expansive economic policy and a weak dollar that gives production in the US a competitive edge will prevent the economy from sliding into recession. In the euro area, high profitability of firms and structural improvements in the working of labour markets will help the economy cope with the stronger euro and with higher costs of external financing due to the turmoil in the financial sector. In Germany, the upswing has still not reached the demand of private households. The main reason is that real wages were stagnating in 2007 and will not rise by much in 2008, since inflation has accelerated considerably at the end of last year. In addition, weaker dynamics of external demand will dampen export growth. This and the end of tax incentives for investment at the end of 2007 will dampen investment activity. All in all, the economy will slow down in the first half of 2008. However, chances are good that the upswing will only have taken a break: when the dampening external shocks have ceased, the driving powers of the upswing will prevail; dynamic employment growth is a reflection of the strong confidence of firms. A major risk for employment and for the German economy in general is, however, the possibility that the policy concerning the labour markets changes course; bad omens are the recent the introduction of minimum wages for postal services and the announced extension of unemployment benefits for persons older than 50.
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Globalisierung und Beschäftigung – eine Untersuchung mit der Input-Output-Methode.
Udo Ludwig, Hans-Ulrich Brautzsch
IMK Studies Nr. 1/2008,
No. 1,
2008
Abstract
In the course of globalization imports play a more and more important role as inputs for national production. In the wake of this development, domestic products are substituted by imported goods and jobs are moved abroad. However, this enables domestic companies to become more competitive and to improve their position in national and international markets. Applying input-output techniques this paper shows that, although imports have risen considerably, the increase in domestic production induced by exports had an overall positive impact on the German economy. This holds not only for the trade balance of production sectors that are oriented to export activities, but for the trade balance as a whole. Overall, high export surpluses were accompanied by increases in value added. Furthermore, especially in the second half of the last decade employment benefited much; while the rising import of intermediate and finished goods has caused many job cuts, on balance the increase in employment in the wake of the strong export expansion has outdone the losses.
Even though many industrialized economies in Europe have made similar experiences, the impacts on job markets differed considerably. For example, while the strength of the increase in employment in the Netherlands was similarly to that in Germany, labour market improvements in France were much weaker, not least due to noticeably lower export surpluses.
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Inventory and analysis of national public policies that stimulate research in biotechnology, its exploitation and commercialisation by industry in Europe in the period 2002–2005.
C. Enzing, A. van der Guissen, Sander van der Molen
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities,
2007
Abstract
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Inventory and analysis of national public policies that stimulate biotechnology research, its exploitation and commercialisation by industry in Europe in the period 2002–2005: Final Report
Inventory and analysis of national public policies that stimulate research in biotechnology, its exploitation and commercialisation by industry in Europe in the period 2002–2005,
2007
Abstract
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