Bank Relationships and Firm Profitability
Hans Degryse, Steven Ongena
Financial Management,
No. 1,
2001
Abstract
This paper examines how bank relationships affect firm performance. An empirical implication of recent theoretical models is that firms maintaining multiple bank relationships are less profitable than their single-bank peers. We investigate this empirical implication using a data set containing virtually all Norwegian publicly listed firms for the period 1979-1995. We find that profitability is substantially higher if firms maintain only a single bank relationship. We also find that firms replacing a single bank relationship are on average smaller and younger than firms not replacing a single bank relationship.
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Effects of the new vote weighting system at EU Council of Ministers on structural fond resources for new members
Martina Kämpfe, Johannes Stephan
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 2,
2001
Abstract
At the recent Nice summit, the EU council of ministers decided on institutional adjustments for the European Union. Such reforms are of particular importance for an enlarged European Union in which up to 27 new members could participate. Amongst the reforms, two decisive changes concern the distribution of votes in an enlarged council and additional conditions which will be attached to majority decisions.
This redistribution of power within the council will effect in particular economic issues, as e.g. the size and distribution of structural funds budgets to be expected upon admittance as EU-member states. Such effects can be estimated by use of models of probability of coalition-building. The model used here predicts that the budget for structural funds for the ten accession countries will be lower than would have been under the old voting power regime. This highlights that the accession group in Central East Europe lost relative voting power via coalitions in comparison to the voting regime prior to Nice. Solely Poland enjoyed an increase in voting power which also suggests an increase in budgets Poland can now expect to receive in the framework of EU structural funds policy.
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Considerable demand for research on evaluation of labor market policy measures: The example of pick up effects with respect to structural adjustment measures for East German enterprises
Hilmar Schneider, Birgit Schultz
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 1,
2001
Abstract
Obwohl beträchtliche Mittel in die aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik fließen, fehlt es bislang an einer systematischen Evaluierung der arbeitsmarktpolitischen Instrumente. Dies liegt primär an der Unzugänglichkeit geeigneter Daten. Am Beispiel der Mitnahmeeffekte bei Strukturanpassungsmaßnahmen für ostdeutsche Wirtschaftsunternehmen werden exemplarisch die Probleme aufgezeigt, die aus der prekären Datenlage entstehen.
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Moderate production and employment effects through rising crude oil prices – A simulation with the macroeconomic IWH model –
Christian Dreger
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 15,
2000
Abstract
In the article the impacts of a rise in oil prices on production and employment are examined. The impacts are carried out by simulation on the grounds of a macroeconometric model. Given various price developments, the effects on production and employment are less pronounced than those in previous crisis. In the worst case scenario, output losses are 0.4 percentage points of the overall growth rate of the economy.
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Wage and income subsidies in East Germany: Doubtful prospects of success
Wolfram Kempe, Jürgen Kolb, Hilmar Schneider
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 13,
2000
Abstract
Es werden verschiedene Kombilohnstrategien auf ihre Effekte bezüglich Erwerbsbereitschaft und fiskalischen Kosten potenzieller Niedriglohnbezieher in Ostdeutschland hin untersucht. Eine methodische Besonderheit des mikroökonometrischen Arbeitsangebotsmodells bildet die Berücksichtigung nichtkonvexer Budgetmengen, wie sie durch die Transferentzugsraten des Steuer- und Transfersystems hervorgerufen werden. Darüber hinaus wird ein nichtlinearer Einfluss des Lohnes auf das Arbeitsangebot unterstellt. Es zeigt sich, dass im Rahmen von insgesamt bescheidenen Arbeitsmarkteffekten eine Konzentration der Subventionen auf begrenzte Zielgruppen (z.B. Langzeitarbeitslose) erfolgversprechender bezüglich der eingesetzten Mittel erscheint als eine breite Streuung.
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Incentive effects of unemployment benefits on job searches
Hilmar Schneider, Olaf Fuchs
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 11,
2000
Abstract
Economic theory predicts that an anticipated cut of the replacement ratio in the future affects the search intensity at all dates previous to the cut. This effect is illustrated by simulating the dynamics of the reservation wage for different time profiles of the replacement ratio with a simple calibrated search model.
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Environmental policy under product differentiation and asymmetric costs - Does leapfrogging occur and is it worth it?
Jacqueline Rothfels
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 124,
2000
Abstract
This paper studies the influence of environmental policies on environmental quality, domestic firms, and welfare. Point of departure is Porter’s hypothesis that unilateral environmental regulation may enhance the competitiveness of domestic firms. This hypothesis has recently received considerable support in theoretical analyses, especially if imperfectly competitive markets with strategic behavior on behalf of the agents are taken into account. Our work contributes to this literature by explicitely investigating the implications of asymmetric cost structures between a domestic and a foreign firm sector. We use a partial-equilibrium model of vertical product differentiation, where the consumption of a product causes environmental harm. Allowing for differentiated products, the domestic industry can either assume the market leader position or lag behind in terms of the environmental quality of the produced product. Assuming as a benchmark case that the domestic industry lags behind, we investigate the possibility of the government to induce leapfrogging of the domestic firm, i.e. a higher quality produced by the domestic firm after regulation than that of the competitor prior to regulation. It is shown that in the case of a cost advantage for the domestic firm in the production process the imposition of a binding minimum quality standard can serve as a tool to induce leapfrogging. In case of a cost disadvantage the same result can be achieved through an adequate subsidization of quality dependend production costs. Thus, careful regulation enables the domestic firm in both scenarios to better its competitive position against foreign competitors and to earn larger profits. Additionally, environmental quality and welfare can be enhanced.
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Multiple active labor market policy participation in East Germany. An assessment of outcomes
Annette Bergemann, Bernd Fitzenberger, Birgit Schultz, Stefan Speckesser
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 123,
2000
Abstract
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Efficiency of qualification and job creating measures in East Germany
Annette Bergemann, Birgit Schultz
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 9,
2000
Abstract
This paper evaluates job creation schemes and further training in East Germany for the period 1990-1998. We identify the causal effect of the treatment-on-the-treated by a two-step procedure: First, we apply the matching technique based on estimated propensity scores. Secondly, we use the Difference-in-Differences estimator. Hereby, we take especially consideration on Ashenfelter s Dip, which characterize a significant decrease in the participants employment shortly before the start of a program. This can be assumed to be related to the anticipation of the participation.
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Modeling the state sector in macroeconomic models
Jürgen Wiemers
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 119,
2000
Abstract
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