The Tradeoff Between Redistribution and Effort: Evidence from the Field and from the Lab
Claudia M. Buch, C. Engel
Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods Working Paper, 2012-10,
No. 10,
2012
Abstract
We use survey and experimental data to explore how effort choices and preferences for redistribution are linked. Under standard preferences, redistribution would reduce effort. This is different with social preferences. Using data from the World Value Survey, we find that respondents with stronger preferences for redistribution tend to have weaker incentives to engage in effort, but that the reverse does not hold true. Using a lab experiment, we show that redistribution choices even increase in imposed effort. Those with higher ability are willing to help the needy if earning income becomes more difficult for everybody.
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Regional Determinants of MNE´s Location Choice in Transition Economies
Andrea Gauselmann, Philipp Marek
WIFO Working Papers 412/2011,
No. 412,
2011
published in: Empirica
Abstract
The article at hand analyses the impact of agglomeration effects, labour market conditions and other determinants on the location choice of MNEs in transition economies. We compare data from 33 regions in East Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland using a conditional logit model on a sample of 4,343 subsidiaries for the time period between 2000 to 2010. The results show that agglomeration advantages, such as sectoral specialization, a certain economic diversity as well as a region’s economic and technological performance prove to be some of the most important pull factors for FDI in transition regions. In addition, the labour market factors prove to play an important role in the location of FDI.
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MNE’s Regional Location Choice - A Comparative Perspective on East Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland
Andrea Gauselmann, Philipp Marek, J. P. Angenendt
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 8,
2011
published in: Empirica
Abstract
The focus of this article is the empirical identification of factors influencing Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI) in transition economies on a regional level (NUTS 2). The
analysis is designed as benchmark between three neighboring post-communist regions, i.e. East Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland. Their different transition paths have not only resulted in economic differences. We can also observe today that the importance of pull factors for FDI varies significantly across the regions. This analysis shows that in comparison with Poland and the Czech Republic, East Germany’s major benefit is its purchasing power, its geographical proximity to West European markets, and its modern infrastructure. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that intra-industry linkages such as specialization and agglomeration economies are relevant factors for the location decision of foreign investors. This result can help to explain the regional divergence of FDI streams in transition economies.
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Monopsonistic Labour Markets and the Gender Pay Gap: Theory and Empirical Evidence
Boris Hirsch
Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems,
No. 639,
2010
Abstract
This book investigates models of spatial and dynamic monopsony and their application to the persistent empirical regularity of the gender pay gap. Theoretically, the main conclusion is that employers possess more monopsony power over their female employees if women are less driven by pecuniary considerations in their choice of employers than men. Employers may exploit this to increase their profits at the detriment of women’s wages. Empirically, it is indeed found that women’s labour supply to the firm is less wage-elastic than men’s and that at least a third of the gender pay gap in the data investigated may result from employers engaging in monopsonistic discrimination. Therefore, a monopsonistic approach to gender discrimination in the labour market clearly contributes to the economic understanding of the gender pay gap. It not only provides an intuitively appealing explanation of the gap from standard economic reasoning, but it is also corroborated by empirical observation.
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Effects of Heterogeneity on Bank Efficiency Scores
J. W. B. Bos, Michael Koetter, James W. Kolari, Clemens J. M. Kool
European Journal of Operational Research,
No. 1,
2009
Abstract
Bank efficiency estimates often serve as a proxy of managerial skill since they quantify sub-optimal production choices. But such deviations can also be due to omitted systematic differences among banks. In this study, we examine the effects of heterogeneity on bank efficiency scores. We compare different specifications of a stochastic cost and alternative profit frontier model with a baseline specification. After conducting a specification test, we discuss heterogeneity effects on efficiency levels, ranks and the tails of the efficiency distribution. We find that heterogeneity controls influence both banks’ optimal costs and profits and their ability to be efficient. Differences in efficiency scores are important for more than only methodological reasons. First, different ways of accounting for heterogeneity result in estimates of foregone profits and additional costs that are significantly different from what we infer from our general specification. Second, banks are significantly re-ranked when their efficiency is estimated with a specification other than the preferred, general specification. Third, the general specification gives the most reliable estimates of the probability of distress, although differences to the other specifications are low.
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Bank Regulation and Supervision in Bank-dominated Financial Systems: A Comparison between Japan and Germany
Diemo Dietrich, Ralf Bebenroth, Uwe Vollmer
European Journal of Law and Economics,
2009
Abstract
This paper compares bank regulation and supervision in Japan and Germany. We consider these countries because they both have bank-dominated financial systems and their banking systems are often lumped together as one model, yet, bank stability differs significantly. We show that Japan and Germany have chosen different approaches to bank regulation and supervision and ask why they made their choices. We argue that bank regulation and supervision were less efficient in Japan than in Germany and that these differences were decisive for bank behavior.
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Are there Gender-specific Preferences for Location Factors? A Grouped Conditional Logit-model of Interregional Migration Flows in Germany
Lutz Schneider, Alexander Kubis
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 5,
2009
Abstract
The article analyses the question whether women and men differ in their tastes for location factors. The question is answered by quantifying the impact of location characteristics on interregional migration flows across Germany. The analysis is based on a grouped conditional logit approach. We augment the framework by controlling for violation of the independence of irrelevant alternatives assumption and for overdispersion. As a result, we find no differences in terms of direction of impact. However, the regressions confirm gender differences in terms of intensity, particularly regarding regional wage levels and the availability of educational institutions.
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Analysis of location of large-area shopping centres - A probalistic gravity model for the Halle-Leipzig area
Alexander Kubis, Maria Hartmann
Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft,
No. 1,
2007
Abstract
A profund analysis of large-area shopping centres from the perspective of retail, but also of communes is of importance for the choice of site selection. In central Germany, the Halle–Leipzig area represents an example of strong competitiveness between the different participants in retail. The analysis described in this article is based on the MCI Model of Nakanishi and Cooper, which is used to investigate the regional influences of nine large shopping centres in the area of interest. The analysis demonstrates, that the studied shopping centres intensely affect the structure of retail in the region and exert a strong influence on the structural weakness of the surrounding cities due to their relative success in comparison to other retail locations city centres. An important volume of the turnover of the administrative districts flows to the analysed shopping centres. On the other hand, the article describes the influence of a systematic location decision on the reachable turnover potential of the modelized large-area shopping centres among each other. The shopping centres Saale Park (today Nova Eventis) near Leipzig and the Paunsdorf Center in Leipzig show the biggest influence on the competing centres.
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Monetary Policy Shocks and Heterogeneous Finance Decisions: A Model of Hidden Effort Choice and Financial Intermediation
Diemo Dietrich
German Economic Review,
2003
Abstract
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Local Taxes and Capital Structure Choice
Reint E. Gropp
International Tax and Public Finance,
No. 1,
2002
Abstract
This paper investigates the question of taxation and capital structure choice in Germany. Germany represents an excellent case study for investigating the question of whether and to what extent taxes influence the debt-equity decision of firms, because the relative tax burdens on debt and equity vary greatly across communities. German communities levy local taxes on profits and long-term debt payments in addition to personal and corporate taxes on the federal level. A stylized model is presented incorporating these taxes. The model shows that local taxes create substantial incentives for firms to use debt financing. Furthermore, the paper empirically investigates the effect of local business taxes on the share of debt used to finance incremental investments by German firms. I find that local taxes significantly influence the capital structure choice of firms, controlling for a large number of other factors. In an extensive sensitivity analysis the tax effect are found to be robust across several different specifications.
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