Innovative East German industrial companies do well in comparison with others - An empirical analysis based on the IAB company panel
Bärbel Laschke
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 9,
2003
Abstract
In the period of 1999/2000 the proportion of product renewals in the East German manufacturing was above the West German level. The proportion of industries with innovation activities follows the industrial structure. Most product innovations take place in the proportionately largest branches of industry, such as the consumer goods and food industries. However, the high proportion of innovative enterprises in research-intensive industries (chemistry, electrical engineering, car manufacture) is a sign of a structural change. On the basis of the data it is also shown that innovative enterprises positively stand out from non-innovative ones in their performance parameters and, with their investment and employment trends they also rank among the expanding enterprises.
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Ausländische Direktinvestitionen in der nachholenden wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung Mittelosteuropas
Jutta Günther
Gegen den Strich. Ökonomische Theorie und politische Regulierung.,
2003
Abstract
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New fields of application for the input-output analysis in Germany - Contributions to the Input-Output Workshop 2002 in Halle
IWH-Sonderhefte,
No. 4,
2003
Abstract
Centrepiece of the discussion is the employment-orientated evaluation of large scale Investments. The analysis is based on the static open Input-Output-Model. For both, industrial as well as construction projects, the direct and indirect employment effects at the construction as well as the utilization stage are being estimated and combined with the multiplier effect caused by the created income. Finally, the discussion concludes by evaluating the employment effects of the necessary reconstruction efforts after the flood in summer 2002.
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Explaining Investment Trends in European Union Countries
Klaus Weyerstraß
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 174,
2003
Abstract
In the 1980s and, in particular, in the 1990s the countries of the European Union experienced divergent developments of gross fixed capital formation. Estimating an investment function for a panel of ten countries and analyzing the paths of the determinants of investment in the countries under consideration reveals that the different development of final demand is the main factor responsible for the divergences in investment. Other factors are disparities in the decline of real interest rates and of relative prices for capital goods.
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The Olympic Games raise hopes for regional development policy: Economic effects of the infrastructure investments planned for the Olympic Games in 2012 in Leipzig
Peter Franz, Franz Kronthaler
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 7,
2003
Abstract
Together with the cities of Chemnitz, Dresden, Halle and Riesa the East German city of Leipzig has applied as venue for the Olympic Games 2012. With its application Leipzig competed with four economically by far stronger West German cities (Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Hamburg). On April 12, 2003 the National Olympic Committee had to elect the national candidate for 2012 out of this bundle of five applying cities and nominated Leipzig. With the organization of this big event the city of Leipzig and its partner cities expect a strong impulse for regional development. This study tries to estimate the potential economic effects of the planned investment with regard to infrastructure. Important results: Regarding directly the job effects connected with the investment and development of the infrastructure about 3,500 additional jobs are to be expected for a period of ten years. The infrastructure investment planned so far for the Olympiad will contribute only partially to eliminate important infrastructural bottlenecks in the region. Nevertheless the planned infrastructure facilities would have the effect that the new ‘olympia region Leipzig’ would remain attractive also after 2012 as venue for large sport events.
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On the presence of important growth factors in German regions along the border with Poland
Gerhard Heimpold
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 7,
2003
Abstract
The German regions bordering on Poland are regarded as economically weak. Prior to the EU enlargement there was great uncertainty about the economic prospects of these regions. Against this background this contribution tries to shed some light on this debate about the future of the border regions. The empirical research shows two different findings: Firstly, the border space is not a homogeneous one. Rather, certain sub-regions show strengths – for instance the university towns in terms of the availability of human capital and of service industries. Other districts are remarkable for their great share of employees in the manufacturing sector as well as for their exceptionally high industrial investment. Secondly, the border regions show an endowment with essential growth determinants which is often below East Germany as a whole. But this is the case in many other East German regions too. The East-West disparities turn out to be much more serious than the intra-East German disparities.
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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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Regional economic effects of hosting the Olympic Games 2012 in Leipzig and its partner towns - An analysis of infrastructure investments
Peter Franz, Franz Kronthaler
IWH-Sonderhefte,
No. 1,
2003
Abstract
Together with the cities of Chemnitz, Dresden, Halle and Riesa the East German city of Leipzig has applied as venue for the Olympic Games 2012. With its application Leipzig competed with four economically by far stronger West German cities (Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Hamburg). On April 12, 2003 the National Olympic Committee had to elect the national candidate for 2012 out of this bundle of five applying cities and nominated Leipzig. With the organization of this big event the city of Leipzig and its partner cities expect a strong impulse for regional development. This study tries to estimate the potential economic effects of the planned investment with regard to infrastructure. Important results: Regarding directly the job effects connected with the investment and development of the infrastructure about 3,500 additional jobs are to be expected for a period of ten years. The infrastructure investment planned so far for the Olympiad will contribute only partially to eliminate important infrastructural bottlenecks in the region. Nevertheless the planned infrastructure facilities would have the effect that the new ‘olympia region Leipzig’ would remain attractive also after 2012 as venue for large sport events.
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Direct investments in Central and Eastern European acceding countries: Repercussions for the German labor market?
Constanze Dey
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 4,
2003
Abstract
In the light of the high unemployment in the Germany we ask whether German FDI to the CEEC is motivated mainly by cost differentials and takes the form of vertical investment which leads to an increased pressure on blue collar jobs in Germany. The analysis shows that German direct investment abroad is motivated both by reasons of market access and by cost differentials. About 60 % of all German FDI is directed toward the service sector. Here, no negative impact on the German labour market is to be expected. About 40 % of total German FDI may partly be motivated by cost advantages and lead to outsourcing. In the three most important CEEC recipient countries (Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary) about half of all FDI is directed toward the manufacturing industries (chemical industry and automobile industry in particular). This supports the hypothesis that vertical investment to these CEECs has been directed towards sectors that display cost advantages (i.e. low labour costs) which results in a decrease of the number of blue collar jobs and their respectives wages.
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Regional Differentiation in East Germany: The Economic Situation of East German Districts at the Border to Lower Saxony
Rupert Kawka, Martin T. W. Rosenfeld
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 1,
2003
Abstract
The article deals with the question whether the counties in Sachsen-Anhalt being located along the border to Niedersachsen benefit from the vicinity to an economically stronger state so that regional development is better there than in other parts of Sachsen-Anhalt. It is shown that despite certain weaknesses concerning input factors, the output indicators show better results than the state´s average. Furthermore, the article focusses on the strong East-West commuter flows and on the preference of companies from Niedersachsen to invest in this region.
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