Has Labor Income Become More Volatile? Evidence from International Industry-Level Data
Claudia M. Buch
German Economic Review,
No. 4,
2013
Abstract
Changes in labor market institutions and the increasing integration of the world economy may affect the volatility of capital and labor incomes. This article documents and analyzes changes in income volatility using data for 11 industrialized countries, 22 industries and 35 years (1970–2004). The article has four main findings. First, the unconditional volatility of labor income has declined in parallel to the decline in macroeconomic volatility. Second, the industry-specific, idiosyncratic component of labor income volatility has hardly changed. Third, cross-sectional heterogeneity is substantial. If anything, the labor incomes of high- and low-skilled workers have become more volatile relative to the volatility of capital incomes. Fourth, the volatility of labor income relative to the volatility of capital income declines in the labor share. Trade openness has no clear-cut impact.
Read article
Granularity in Banking and Growth: Does Financial Openness Matter?
Franziska Bremus, Claudia M. Buch
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 14,
2013
Abstract
We explore the impact of large banks and of financial openness for aggregate growth. Large banks matter because of granular effects: if markets are very concentrated in terms of the size distribution of banks, idiosyncratic shocks at the bank-level do not cancel out in the aggregate but can affect macroeconomic outcomes. Financial openness may affect GDP growth in and of itself, and it may also influence concentration in banking and thus the impact of bank-specific shocks for the aggregate economy. To test these relationships, we use different measures of de jure and de facto financial openness in a linked micro-macro panel dataset. Our research has three main findings: First, bank-level shocks significantly impact on GDP. Second, financial openness lowers GDP growth. Third, granular effects tend to be stronger in financially closed economies.
Read article
Towards Deeper Financial Integration in Europe: What the Banking Union Can Contribute
Claudia M. Buch, T. Körner, Benjamin Weigert
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 13,
2013
Abstract
The agreement to establish a Single Supervisory Mechanism in Europe is a major step towards a Banking Union, consisting of centralized powers for the supervision of banks, the restructuring and resolution of distressed banks, and a common deposit insurance system. In this paper, we argue that the Banking Union is a necessary complement to the common currency and the Internal Market for capital. However, due care needs to be taken that steps towards a Banking Union are taken in the right sequence and that liability and control remain at the same level throughout. The following elements are important. First, establishing a Single Supervisory Mechanism under the roof of the ECB and within the framework of the current EU treaties does not ensure a sufficient degree of independence of supervision and monetary policy. Second, a European institution for the restructuring and resolution of banks should be established and equipped with sufficient powers. Third, a fiscal backstop for bank restructuring is needed. The ESM can play a role but additional fiscal burden sharing agreements are needed. Direct recapitalization of banks through the ESM should not be possible until legacy assets on banks’ balance sheets have been cleaned up. Fourth, introducing European-wide deposit insurance in the current situation would entail the mutualisation of legacy assets, thus contributing to moral hazard.
Read article
Cost of Transaction and the Search for Skilled Workers: A Theoretical Explanation Based on the Theory of Institutions
Herbert S. Buscher, R. Ohliger, Andreas Siegert
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 11,
2013
Abstract
In den kommenden Jahren werden in Deutschland einige Branchen und Regionen einen steigenden Bedarf an Fachkräften haben. Hierbei handelt es sich nicht nur um Hochqualifizierte der so genannten MINT-Berufe (Mathematik, Ingenieurwesen, Natur-wissen¬schaften, Technik), sondern verstärkt auch um qualifizierte Arbeitnehmer des Gesundheitswesens und Handwerks. Aus der „Stillen Arbeitsmarktreserve“ ist der Bedarf nicht zu decken, was u. a. auch eine Folge des demographischen Wandels ist. Gesellschaftliche Verantwortung erfordert deshalb die Anwerbung qualifizierter und hochqualifizierter Arbeitnehmer. Damit eine ausreichend hohe Bereitschaft zur Einwande-rung ausländischer Fachkräfte nach Deutschland erzielt werden kann, bedarf es neben den harten Faktoren wie Beschäftigung und Einkommen weiterer Voraussetzungen, so genannter weicher Faktoren, die eine Entscheidung für Deutschland als Migrationsziel herbeiführen. Hierunter ist eine Politik zu verstehen, die den Einwanderern vermittelt, dass sie und ihre Familie willkommen sind und eine langfristige Bleibeperspektive haben. Dieses als „Willkommenskultur“ bezeichnete Konzept signalisiert einen Paradigmenwechsel in der deutschen Politik. Eine derart umrissene Willkommenskultur besteht derzeit in Deutschland noch nicht oder zumindest nicht auf einem Niveau, das von potenziellen Einwanderern als ausreichend wahrgenommen wird. Auf Grundlage der Institutionenökonomik werden Ansätze zu einem neuen politischen Ansatz und seiner Umsetzung skizziert, aus dem sich umfassende staatliche, gesellschaftliche und unter-nehmerische Implikationen ableiten. Dabei konzentriert sich der Beitrag auf die Anwerbung von Fachkräften aus Drittstaaten.
Read article
Is There a Gap in the Gap? Regional Differences in the Gender Pay Gap
Boris Hirsch, Marion König, Joachim Möller
Scottish Journal of Political Economy,
No. 4,
2013
Abstract
In this paper, we investigate regional differences in the gender pay gap both theoretically and empirically. Within a spatial model of monopsonistic competition, we show that more densely populated labour markets are more competitive and constrain employers’ ability to discriminate against women. Utilizing a large administrative data set for western Germany and a flexible semi-parametric propensity score matching approach, we find that the unexplained gender pay gap for young workers is substantially lower in large metropolitan than in rural areas. This regional gap in the gap of roughly 10 percentage points remained surprisingly constant over the entire observation period of 30 years.
Read article
Granularity in Banking and Growth: Does Financial Openness Matter?
Franziska Bremus, Claudia M. Buch
CESifo Working Paper No. 4356, August,
2013
Abstract
We explore the impact of large banks and of financial openness for aggregate growth. Large banks matter because of granular effects: if markets are very concentrated in terms of the size distribution of banks, idiosyncratic shocks at the bank-level do not cancel out in the aggregate but can affect macroeconomic outcomes. Financial openness may affect GDP growth in and of itself, and it may also influence concentration in banking and thus the impact of bank-specific shocks for the aggregate economy. To test these relationships, we use different measures of de jure and de facto financial openness in a linked micro-macro panel dataset. Our research has three main findings: First, bank-level shocks significantly impact on GDP. Second, financial openness lowers GDP growth. Third, granular effects tend to be stronger in financially closed economies.
Read article
Banks and Sovereign Risk: A Granular View
Claudia M. Buch, Michael Koetter, Jana Ohls
Abstract
In this paper, we use detailed data on the sovereign debt holdings of all German banks to analyse the determinants of sovereign debt exposures and the implications of sovereign exposures for bank risk. Our main findings are as follows. First, sovereign bond holdings are heterogeneous across banks. Larger, weakly capitalised banks and banks with a small depositor base hold more sovereign bonds. Around 31% of all German banks hold no sovereign bonds at all. Second, the sensitivity of banks to macroeconomic factors increased significantly in the post-Lehman period. Banks hold more bonds from euro area countries, from low-inflation countries, and from countries with high sovereign bond yields. Third, there has been no marked impact of sovereign bond holdings on bank risk. This result could indicate the widespread absence of marking-to-market for sovereign bond holdings at the onset of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.
Read article
Do Banks Benefit from Internationalization? Revisiting the Market Power–Risk Nexus
Claudia M. Buch, C. T. Koch, Michael Koetter
Review of Finance,
No. 4,
2013
Abstract
We analyze the impact of bank internationalization on domestic market power (Lerner index) and risk for German banks. Risk is measured by the official declaration of regulatory authorities that a bank is distressed. We distinguish the volume of foreign assets, the number of foreign countries, and different modes of foreign entry. Our analysis has three main results. First, higher market power is associated with lower risk. Second, holding assets in many countries reduce market power at home, but banks with a higher share of foreign assets exhibit higher market power. Third, bank internationalization is only weakly related to bank risk.
Read article
Im Fokus: Mindestlohn von 8,50 Euro: Wie viele verdienen weniger, und in welchen Branchen arbeiten sie?
Hans-Ulrich Brautzsch, Birgit Schultz
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 3,
2013
Abstract
In der Öffentlichkeit wird zurzeit die Einführung eines flächendeckenden Mindestlohnes in Höhe von 8,50 Euro je Stunde diskutiert. Der Bundesrat hat hierzu eine entsprechende Gesetzesinitiative gestartet. Dabei stellt sich die Frage, wie viele Menschen von einem Mindestlohn dieser Höhe betroffen wären. Die vorliegende Analyse ergibt, dass im Jahr 2011 in Ostdeutschland etwa 25% und in Westdeutschland knapp 12% der Beschäftigten für einen vereinbarten Bruttostundenlohn von weniger als 8,50 Euro arbeiteten. Die Relation des anvisierten Mindestlohnes zum Medianlohn beträgt in Ostdeutschland 71% und in Westdeutschland knapp 54%. In einzelnen Branchen wäre diese Relation jedoch wesentlich höher. Im ostdeutschen Gastgewerbe und in der ostdeutschen Land- und Forstwirtschaft/Fischerei würde der Schwellenwert von 8,50 Euro sogar über den im Jahr 2011 in diesen Branchen gezahlten Medianlöhnen liegen. Betrachtet man statt des vereinbarten den effektiven Bruttostundenlohn, der u. a. unbezahlte Überstunden einbezieht, so steigt die Zahl der im Jahr 2011 für weniger als 8,50 Euro pro Stunde beschäftigten Arbeitnehmer auf 32% (Ostdeutschland) bzw. 17% (Westdeutschland).
Read article
Disentangling Barriers to Internationalization
C. Arndt, Claudia M. Buch, A. Mattes
Canadian Journal of Economics,
No. 1,
2012
Abstract
Recent literature on multinational firms has focused on low productivity as a barrier to the internationalization of firms. But labour market frictions or financial constraints may also hamper internationalization. In order to assess the importance of these barriers, we present new empirical evidence on the extensive and intensive margin of exports and foreign direct investment (FDI) based on micro-level data of German firms. First, we find a positive impact of firm size and productivity on firms’ international activities. Second, labour market frictions can constitute barriers to foreign activities. Third, self-reported financial constraints have no impact on firms’ internationalization decisions.
Read article
