Soll die Höhe von Investitionszuschüssen an die Einführung von Umweltmanagementsystemen gekoppelt werden?
Mirko Titze
List Forum für Wirtschafts- und Finanzpolitik,
No. 1,
2009
Abstract
Economic policy has to reconcile a very complex set of objectives. Often, there is a trade-off between these policy targets. This paper focuses on objectives related to the improvement of the regional economic structure and the environmental protection. In Germany, regional policy is pursued among other things using investment grants within the Joint Task framework. At the federal state level, the Länder select and support sustainable investment projects. Some federal states have changed their investment support framework and aim for additional political targets such as environmental protection. Politicians in the Free State of Saxony discuss the option to offer an addition to the basic investment grant. This applies to plants that operate a certified environmental management system. Related to this current political debate this paper describes the effects of such regulatory measures. The article shows that under a particular set of circumstances the envisaged regulation actually could lower the overall level of supported investment and therefore would not stimulate the introduction of environmental management systems. Hence both political objectives would not be fully reconciled. The alternative way could be a direct support of environmental management systems as already introduced in selected other Länder.
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Beseitigung struktureller Defizite mit der Gemeinschaftsaufgabe „Verbesserung der regionalen Wirtschaftsstruktur“ – Ein Vergleich der Strategien in den neuen Bundesländern
Mirko Titze
Raumforschung und Raumordnung,
2008
Abstract
The Joint Task “For the Improvement of the Regional Economic Structure” is one of the most important instruments for the “Reconstruction East”. Herein the federal states have an extensive flexibility to define their own kind of industrial policy. Due to their structural deficits this paper is focused on the federal states in East-Germany. A decrease in the budget constrains the governments to improve efficiency of subsidies. However, there is one way to solve this problem: change unselective government aid to regional as well as sectoral government aid. This paper shows that there is no federal state, which has applied this kind of policy forcefully.
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On the Economics of Ex-Post Transfers in a Federal State: A Mechanism Design Approach
Martin Altemeyer-Bartscher, T. Kuhn
WWDP, 95,
No. 95,
2008
Abstract
As a common feature in many federal states grants-in aid are payed to jurisdictions ex post, i.e. after local policy measures have chosen. We show that the central government cannot offer grants ex ante in a federal states with informational asymmetries as well as inter-temporal commitment problems. Local governments’ incentives to provide public goods are distorted if they rely on federal grants-in-aid offered ex post. Furthermore it becomes obvious that local governments are apt to substitute tax revenue for higher grants-in-aid if relevant local data are unobservable for the central government. To which extend ex post transfers mitigate local governments’ incentives crucially depends on the information structure predominant in the federation.
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Strategien der neuen Bundesländer im Rahmen der Gemeinschaftsaufgabe „Verbesserung der regionalen Wirtschaftsstruktur“ – Ein Vergleich –
Mirko Titze
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 14,
2007
Abstract
The Common Task “Improvement of Regional Economic Structure” is one of the most important instruments for the “Reconstruction East”. Herein the federal states have an extensive flexibility to define their own kind of industrial policy. Due to their structural deficits this paper is focused on the federal states in East-Germany. A decrease in the budget constrains the governments to improve efficiency of subsidies. However, there is one way to solve this problem: change unselective government aid to regional as well as sectoral government aid. This paper shows that there is only one federal state, which has applied this kind of policy: the federal state of Brandenburg.
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Structural Policy in East Germany – A Discussion about the Common Task “Improvement of Regional Economic Structure“
Mirko Titze
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 10,
2007
Abstract
After the reunification – more than ten years ago – the convergence process in the eastern German regions has started. Unfortunately, the convergence process has decelerated since 1995. For this reason, economists and politicians are discussing the kind of government aid, which has been applied since the early nineties. The paper deals with the Common Task “Improvement of Regional Economic Structure“ (Gemeinschaftsaufgabe “Verbesserung der regionalen Wirtschaftsstruktur“). It is one of the most important instruments for the “Reconstruction East“. Empirical studies have shown that this instrument has led to an additional growth impulse. However, for the last ten years the budget of the Common Task has decreased. Under the restriction of scarce financial resources the governments of the federal states have to adjust their regional programmes. Economists and politicians dispute to change unselective into selective (regional and sectoral) government aid. The article shows that in particular the Federal State of Brandenburg as well as the Free State of Saxony are focusing the Common Task on specific industrial sectors and certain regions.
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Analysis of statements made in favour of and against the adoption of competition law in developing and transition economies
Franz Kronthaler, Johannes Stephan, Frank Emmert
IWH-Sonderhefte,
No. 1,
2005
Abstract
The paper is concerned with documenting and assessing statements made by policy-makers, opinion formers, and other stakeholders in favour and against the adoption of competition laws with particular reference to transition and developing countries which have not yet enacted these kind of laws. For example, claims that competition enforcement might reduce the inflow of foreign direct investment, or that other policies are successfully used as substitutes for competition law, are assessed. In a first step, the method of generalized analysis structures the list of statements around core issues of common features to make them accessible to further interpretation and assessment. The paper shows that some claims are in fact country or region specific, and specific to the development level of the respective countries. In a second step, the core issues are assessed according to economic and legal criteria. Since the analysis focuses on transition and developing countries, the criteria for economic assessment are predominantly economic growth and development issues, but also include the economic coherency of a set of claims submitted by stakeholders in a given country. The criteria for legal assessment include whether claims are problematic in light of WTO-principles, or are even born out of a political objective which is incompatible with the spirit, if not the letter of WTO-rules.
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Sachsen-Anhalt als Wirtschaftsstandort: Wie erfolgreich sind das Land und seine Regionen?
Martin T. W. Rosenfeld
Geographische Rundschau,
2005
Abstract
The article examines the economic performance and the conditions for future economic development in the German Land of Saxony-Anhalt. After the integration of Saxony-Anhalt into the market economy since 1989, strong structural changes have taken place. Nevertheless, agriculture, coal mining and the chemical industry as some of the traditional sectors of the Land’s economy have remained their importance. The weak points of the economy are the low number of entrepreneurs and a low tendency for innovations in the private sector. The Magdeburg region and the Halle region have better conditions for (inter-) national competitiveness than the Altmark region and the Dessau region. But the potentials of the urban centers Magdeburg and Halle are - as compared to other East German cities - not very strong. For improving the eonomic conditions, new instruments for stimulating entrepreneurship and for strengthening the position of the two urban centers should be installed. In addition, innovation activities of private firms could be improved by new linkages between the private sector and Saxony-Anhalt’s public research units.
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Analysis of statements made in favour of and against the adoption of competition law in developing and transition economies
Johannes Stephan, Franz Kronthaler, Frank Emmert
One-off Publications,
No. 9,
2005
Abstract
The paper is concerned with documenting and assessing statements made by policymakers, opinion formers, and other stakeholders in favour and against the adoption of competition laws with particular reference to transition and developing countries which have not yet enacted these kind of laws. For example, claims that competition enforcement might reduce the inflow of foreign direct investment, or that other policies are successfully used as substitutes for competition law, are assessed. In a first step, the method of generalized analysis structures the list of statements around core issues of common features to make them accessible to further interpretation and assessment. The paper shows that some claims are in fact country or region specific, and specific to the development level of the respective countries. In a second step, the core issues are assessed according to economic and legal criteria. Since the analysis focuses on transition and developing countries, the criteria for economic assessment are predominantly economic growth and development issues, but also include the economic coherency of a set of claims submitted by stakeholders in a given country. The criteria for legal assessment include whether claims are problematic in light of WTO-principles, or are even born out of a political objective which is incompatible with the spirit, if not the letter of WTO-rules.
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East German tourist industry - a branch with growth potential
Siegfried Beer
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 12,
2004
Abstract
Since 1990 capital stock in East German accommodation industry has been remarkably extended and modernized. With about half a million beds in 2003, the number of available guest beds has doubled since 1992. Although tourism intensity (overnight stays per 1000 inhabitants) has also grown considerably in the same period – namely onto a 2.5 times higher level than in 1992 – the percentage of taken beds is, except in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, not yet satisfying. An important task is therefore to improve the basically good opportunities even more in order to animate the economic growth and to create new jobs. Suitable economic settings need to be formed for this.
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Effects of the Joint Task Improvement of Regional Economic Structures on Investment Activities - An Individual Analysis of Companies in the East German Manufacturing Sector
Andreas Stierwald, Jürgen Wiemers
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 185,
2003
Abstract
Die Investitionstätigkeit in Ostdeutschland ist durch massive staatliche Förderung gekennzeichnet. Die mit Abstand wichtigsten Instrumente, hinsichtlich des Fördervolumens sowie der Inanspruchnahme durch die Betriebe, sind die Investitionszulage und die Gemeinschaftsaufgabe zur „Verbesserung der regionalen Wirtschaftsstruktur“ (GA). In diesem Beitrag wird der Einfluss untersucht, die die Teilnahme an der Gemeinschaftsaufgabe auf die Investitionshöhe ausübt. Das dabei auftretende Problem der Selbstselektion wird mit Hilfe eines Selektionsmodells gelöst. Auf der ersten Stufe wird mit einem Probitmodell die Teilnahmewahrscheinlichkeit an der GA-Förderung geschätzt.
Daran anschließend wird die Investitionshöhe der Betriebe erklärt, u.a. durch
die Teilnahme bzw. Nichtteilnahme an der GA-Förderung. Dabei stellt sich heraus, dass die Fördervariable im betrachteten Zeitraum einen signifikant positiven Effekt sowohl auf die Investitionen je Beschäftigten als auch auf die Investitionen je Umsatzeinheit ausübt, die GA-Förderung also investitionssteigernd wirkte.
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