Flexible utilization of labor strengthens industrial enterprises´ ability to adapt to fluctuations in business - an empirical east-west comparison based on the IAB company panel
Brigitte Loose, Udo Ludwig
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 12,
2004
Abstract
Based on an individual data set, this article investigates the question of which conventional methods and new instruments companies use to adapt to fluctuations in business and what distinguishes these companies from other ones which have not implemented such instruments. In particular, the role of the technical equipment as well as the personnel policy and tariff policy are analyzed. An empirical comparison between the East and West German manufacturing industries demonstrates whether East German firms have competitive advantages. While the technological conditions for firms´ flexibility are somewhat less pronounced in East German, the proportion of “standardized“ and flexible employment is nearly the same in the East-West comparison. Differences exist among small, middle-sized and large firms as well as among types of yield. The weak orientation with respect to agreed wages and hours worked as well as the mainly gratuitous reduction of unpaid overtime which can be implemented over the whole year, prove to be an advantage. The investigation is based on a data set from the IAB company panel of manufacturing industries in 2003.
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Panel Seasonal Unit Root Test With An Application for Unemployment Data
Christian Dreger, Hans-Eggert Reimers
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 191,
2004
Abstract
In this paper the seasonal unit root test of Hylleberg et al. (1990) is generalized to cover a heterogenous panel. The procedure follows the work of Im, Pesaran and Shin (2002). Test statistics are proposed and critical values are obtained by simulations. Moreover, the properties of the tests are analyzed for di®erent deterministic and dynamic specications. Evidence is presented that for a small time dimension the power is slow even for increasing cross section dimension. Therefore, it seems necessary to have a higher time dimension than cross section dimension. The new test is applied for unemployment behaviour in
industrialized countries. In some cases seasonal unit roots are detected. However, the null hypotheses of panel seasonal unit roots are rejected. The null hypothesis of a unit root at the zero frequency is not rejected, thereby supporting the presence of hysteresis effects.
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Information or Regulation: What Drives the International Activities of Commercial Banks?
Claudia M. Buch
Journal of Money Credit,
No. 6,
2003
Abstract
Information costs and regulatory barriers distinguish international financial markets from national ones. Using panel data on bilateral assets and liabilities of commercial banks, I empirically determine the impact of information, costs and regulations, and I isolate intra-EU financial linkages. I confirm that information costs and regulations are important factors influencing international asset choices of banks, but their relative importance differs among countries.
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Firm-Specific Determinants of Productivity Gaps between East and West German Industrial Branches
Johannes Stephan, Karin Szalai
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 183,
2003
Abstract
Industrial productivity levels of formerly socialist economies in Central East Europe (including East Germany) are considerably lower than in the more mature Western economies. This research aims at assessing the reasons for lower productivities at the firm level: what are the firm-specific determinants of productivity gaps. To assess this, we have conducted an extensive field study and focussed on a selection of two important manufacturing industries, namely machinery manufacturers and furniture manufacturers, and on the construction industry. Using the data generated in field work, we test a set of determinant-candidates which were derived from theory and prior research in that topic. Our analysis uses the simplest version of the matched-pair approach, in which first hypothesis about relevant productivity level-determinants are tested. In a second step, positively tested hypothesis are further assessed in terms of whether they also constitute firm-specific determinants of the apparent gaps between the firms in our Eastern and such in our Western panels. Our results suggest that the quality of human capital plays an important role in all three industrial branches assessed. Amongst manufacturing firms, networking activities and the use of modern technologies for communication are important reasons for the lower levels of labour productivity in the East. The intensity of long-term strategic planning on behalf of the management turned out to be relevant only for machinery manufacturers. Product and process innovations unexpectedly exhibit an ambiguous picture, as did the extent of specialisation on a small number of products in the firms’ portfolio and the intensity of competition.
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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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Sind Haushalte mit Wohneigentum sparsamer als Mieterhaushalte?
Ruth Grunert
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 171,
2003
Abstract
In this paper examines the data of the income and consumption survey of 1998 with regard to savings and wealth. Households owning their property (owner households) and households renting the property (tenant households) are analysed seperatly and then compared. For further insight these two groups are also devided into East and West German households. In 1998, almost half of the West German and almost a quarter of the East German private households owned property they occupied themselves. The average owner household saves a monthly amount three times as large as the tenant household. The decisive economizing motive for the owner households is servicing its mortgages and loans. However, at the same time, there is the necessity to form reserves for the property maintainance as well as the renovation. In comparison to tenant households, owner households which no longer have to service mortgages or loans, have a higher average rate of saving. The estimate of the saving by means of regression analysis confirms the significant positive influence of the “owner” status on savings. However, in every estimate the houshold’s income proves to be the main influence on savings activity.
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Supraregional sales markets: Development chances for companies in the East German manufacturing sector
Brigitte Loose, Udo Ludwig
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 16,
2001
Abstract
In this paper the export activities of the East German manufacturing industry are studied where exports are defined in a broad sense including both sales abroad and in West Germany. Survey data for 1998 and 1999 are used to reveal the relationship between technical as well as institutional characteristics of the companies and their exports. The following questions are discussed: Which companies participate in the export activities? What are the main regions of their business? Which in-house factors influence the export activities? What are the financial outcomes for the companies engaged in exports? Hypotheses are built on the basis of the market transaction costs theory. Bivariate and multivariate approaches are applied. The data are taken from the “Establishment Panel” of the Institute for Employment Research at the Federal Employment Services (IAB) in Nuremberg (Germany).
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The Export Orientation of East German Manufacturing Industry in the Process of Economic Transformation: Evidence from Company Panel Data
Udo Ludwig, Brigitte Loose
Economics of Transformation – Theory, Experiences and EU-Enlargemnet. INFER Annual Conference 2001,
2001
Abstract
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The Effect of Expected Effective Corporate Tax Rates on Incremental Financing Decisions
Reint E. Gropp
IMF Staff Papers,
No. 4,
1997
Abstract
This paper uses U.S. panel data to estimate the effect of expected effective corporate tax rates on the amount of debt issued by firms. The paper directly estimates expected corporate tax rates using rational expectations. The estimated measures of expected effective tax rates of firms are related to a continuous measure of incremental debt financing. The paper finds that expected effective tax rates are significantly and positively related to a higher level of debt financing. Simulations suggest that debt issues would double if firms were unable to shield profits and actually faced the statutory tax rate.
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Causes of the growing wage-income gap in the USA: Current aspects in research and the political discussion
Peter Franz
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 65,
1997
Abstract
Data sets from OECD countries and especially the US indicate growing inequalities in income and thus stimulate research with respect to this topic. In this paper the basic arguments and results of several studies with an economic and a sociological background are compared and discussed. It concentrates a) on the theory of Kuznets and its modifications, b) on the “technology vs. trade” controversy, and c) on panel studies which allow an analysis of income mobility. Finally the research questions are dealt with if Germany will show similar degrees of income inequality as in the US in the years to come and if the two countries differ in their political tolerance towards income inequality.
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