Vertical and horizontal patterns of intra-industry trade between EU and candidate countries
Hubert Gabrisch
IWH-Sonderhefte,
No. 2,
2003
Abstract
Trade between the European Union (EU) and the Transition Economies (TE) is increasingly characterised by intra-industry trade. The decomposition of intra-industry trade into horizontal and vertical shares reveals predominantly vertical structures with decisively more quality advantages for the EU and less quality advantages for TE countries whenever trade has been liberalised. Empirical research on factors determining this structure in a EU-TE framework lags behind theoretical and empirical research on horizontal and vertical trade in other regions of the world. The main objective of this paper is therefore to contribute to the ongoing debate on EU-TE trade structures by offering an explanation of vertical trade. We utilise a cross-country approach in which relative wage differences, country size and income distribution play a leading role. We find first that relative differences in wages (per capita income) and country size explain intra-industry trade when trade is vertical and completely liberalised, and second that cross-country differences in income distribution play no explanatory role. We conclude that EU firms have been able to increase their product quality and to shift low-quality segments to TE countries. This may suggest a product-quality cycle prevalent in EU-TE trade.
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Innovation co-operations in East and West Germany: Surprising differences
Jutta Günther
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 4,
2003
Abstract
This paper investigates the cooperation behavior of East German enterprises in the field of joint innovation projects. The question to be answered is whether and in how far cooperating enterprises are characterized by a stronger innovation activity and higher productivity compared to non-cooperating firms. The empirical study is based on a representative innovation survey, the Mannheim Innovation Panel (MIP). It shows - against all expectations - that East German firms are more often involved in innovation cooperation than West Germany firms. Differences with respect to the cooperation partners reflect the given structural differences between East and West Germany. Both in East and West Germany cooperating enterprises are more innovative than non-cooperating enterprises, but a productivity advantage of cooperating firms appears only in West Germany. In East Germany, non-cooperating enterprises show a slightly higher productivity than cooperating firms. Reasons for these surprising results are to be discussed in this paper.
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Evaluation von Maßnahmen der aktiven Arbeitsmarktpolitik mit Hilfe eines iterativen Matching-Algorithmus - Eine Fallstudie über langzeitarbeitslose Maßnahmeteilnehmer in Sachsen
Eva Reinowski, Birgit Schultz, Jürgen Wiemers
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 173,
2003
Abstract
The paper evaluates the effects of two labor market programs in Germany, namely the Job Creation- /Structural Adjustment Scheme and Vocational Training, on the unemployment duration of long term unemployed persons. The study uses data from the Mikrozensus Sachsen. A two step Nearest-Neighbor-Matching is employed to solve the sample selection problem. The first step is the estimation of the participation tendency to obtain potential pairs and to compute their Mahalanobis distances. For the assignment of pairs in the second step two different procedures are used: a standard technique and a new one - the iterative improvement of an initial assignment. This process is superior to the standard matching algorithms in the sense that it allows for a closer match between participants and non-participants. Including additional information about a person’s employment history enables us to eliminate the bias due to unobservables. The impact of participation in a labor market program is evaluated by comparing the unemployment duration between both groups using the Cox Proportional Hazard Model. Overall we find empirical evidence that both participation in Job Creation- /Structural Adjustment Scheme and Vocational Training result in even longer unemployment.
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The home market - precondition for export business of East German industrial enterprises
Brigitte Loose, Udo Ludwig
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 2,
2003
Abstract
This article deals with the presence of East German manufacturers in foreign product markets. The following questions are discussed: Which factories sell their products abroad? What influences the export activities? Hypotheses are built on the basis of different trade theories, such as the relative position of the enterprises in their home market, the cumulation of learning effects in production and sales, the saturation of the domestic market and others. Individual data sets from industrial surveys for 1995 and 2000 are used to reveal the relationship between the company’s technical as well as institutional characteristics and their participation in export activities. Bivariate and multivariate approaches are applied. Additionally, a sample of enterprises has been asked to assess their export activities.
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Significant Progress in East German Machine Construction Industry
Siegfried Beer
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 2,
2003
Abstract
The restructuring of the mechanical engineering industry of the new Länder has displayed clearly positive effects. Between 1997 and 2001, productivity and turnover have increased by about 25 %. Since mid 1999 the number of employees has also gone up again. Business surveys indicate an improvement in profitability. This positive development is due to an increase in competitiveness which is based on new product lines together with more effective innovation activities. Growth has also been enhanced by the enlargement and modernisation of the capital stock and a moderate movement of wages. Despite this progress the east German engineering industry as a whole does by far not reach the productivity figures of its west German counterpart. Differences explaining this gap are found in the product structure with dominating customer specific products and in the firm size with a smaller number of employees in the East.
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Innovation cooperation in East Germany - only a half-way success?
Jutta Günther
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 170,
2003
Abstract
The paper focuses on the question whether enterprises that engage in innovation cooperation with external partners are more innovative and thus more productive than non-cooperating firms. A comparison between East and West Germany is being made. It shows that cooperating enterprises in East and West Germany are indeed more innovative than non-cooperating firms, but there remains a clear productivity gap between East and West German cooperating firms. Furthermore, in East Germany - different from West Germany - non-cooperating firms are even more productive than cooperating firms.
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Der Exportsektor im ostdeutschen Verarbeitenden Gewerbe und seine Bedeutung für das betriebliche Wachstum - eine Auswertung von Mikrodaten der amtlichen Statistik und einer IWH-Industrieumfrage -
Brigitte Loose, Udo Ludwig
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 169,
2003
Abstract
This paper deals with the presence of East German manufacturers in foreign product markets. The following questions are discussed: Which factories sell their products abroad? What influences the export activities? Hypotheses are built on the basis of different trade theories, such as the relative position of the enterprises in their home market, the cumulation of learning effects in production and sales, the saturation of the domestic market and others. Individual data sets from industrial surveys for 1995 and 2000 are used to reveal the relationship between the company’s technical as well as institutional characteristics and their participation in export activities. Bivariate and multivariate approaches are applied. Additionally, a sample of enterprises has been asked to assess their export activities.
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Comparable types of regions in East and West Germany show disparities – East German urban agglomerations have difficulties!
Gerhard Heimpold, Martin T. W. Rosenfeld
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 15,
2002
Abstract
A discussion about the reform of regional policy in Germany and in the EU is ongoing. Against this background the article investigates the regional disparities between similar types of regions in East and West Germany after reunification. The findings do not only show a general East-West gap of economic welfare and of their determinants but also a visible spatial differentiation. It shows that the East German agglomerations have disadvantages in the field of interregional competition. They are worse endowed with crucial growth determinants compared with their West German counterparts, whereas the East-West differences for urbanized regions (where the population density is medium-sized) and rural regions are smaller. The disadvantages stated suggest a stronger concentration of regional policy in favour of these agglomerated spaces targeted on improving the locational attractiveness and strengthening their function as driving forces of the economic catch-up process in East Germany.
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The flood disaster and GDP in Germany
Udo Ludwig, Hans-Ulrich Brautzsch
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 12,
2002
Abstract
The flood at Elbe, Danube and their tributary streams destroyed billion Euros worth of Capital Stock. GDP, though, does not include Capital Stock, but production. On the basis of plausible assumptions the production interruptions caused by the flood are estimated for Germany and the most severely affected areas of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Considering the “set-aside” funds for restoration and with the help of the Input-Output-Model the direct effects on production and employment within the different economic sectors are being calculated. The results are compared with the foregone consumption due to the delayed next step of the tax reform. On balance clear effects can be observed in construction.
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Subjective assessments of life situation in East and West Germany still differ
Cornelia Lang
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 11,
2002
Abstract
One of the expected outcomes of the German unification was a rapidly rising living standard in East Germany. With the realization that the convergence oft the living conditions between East and West Germany will take much longer than most people anticipated, widespread disillusionment set in. Our analysis of a survey reveals that there are still significant differences in the assessment of their personal economic conditions and their views about the general business situation between East- and West-Germans.
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