Political Institutionalisation and Economic Specialisation in Polycentric Metropolitan Regions – The Case of the East German ‚Saxony Triangle‘
Peter Franz, Christoph Hornych
Urban Studies,
2010
Abstract
The rising focus of politicians as well as scientists in the EU on the large urban agglomerations as centres of economic growth is accompanied by political efforts to identify and to demarcate such agglomerations under the label ‘metropolitan regions’. This study develops a theoretical framework broaching the issue of cooperation between municipalities from the perspective of regional economics as well as political science. The framework is applied to the empirical case of the polycentric metropolitan region of the ‘Saxony triangle’ in east Germany. The results show that various intervening factors prevent intense co-operation between the actors in the region. Policy implications and conclusions for future research are discussed.
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Worker Remittances and Capital Flows to Developing Countries
Claudia M. Buch, A. Kuckulenz
International Migration,
No. 5,
2010
Abstract
Worker remittances constitute an increasingly important channel for the
transfer of resources to developing countries. Behind foreign direct investment,
remittances are the second-largest source of external funding for developing countries. Yet, literature on worker remittances has traditionally focused on the impact of remittances on income distribution within countries, on the determinants of remittances at a micro-level, or on the effects of migration and remittances for specific countries or regions. Macroeconomic determinants and effects of remittances have received more attention only recently. Hence, the focus of this paper is on the macroeconomic determinants of remittances and on differences in these determinants between remittances and other capital flows. We find that
remittances respond more to demographic variables while private capital
flows respond more to macroeconomic conditions.
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Incubation Time, Incubator Age, and Firm Survival after Graduation
Michael Schwartz
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management,
2012
Abstract
On the basis of a sample of 149 graduate firms from five German business incubators, this article contributes to incubator/incubation literature by investigating the effects of the age of the incubators and the firms´ incubation time in securing long-term survival of the firms after leaving the incubator facilities. The empirical findings from Cox proportional hazards regression and parametric accelerated failure time models reveal a statistically significant negative impact for both variables incubator age and incubation time on post-graduation firm survival. One important implication that follows from the empirical results for policy makers and managers of those initiatives is that, when incubator managers become increasingly involved in various regional development activities, this may reduce the effectiveness of incubator support. Also, our finding speaks in favour of a strict limitation of incubation times and reinforces arguments of the supporters of maximum tenancy.
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Human Capital Investment, New Firm Creation and Venture Capital
Merih Sevilir
Journal of Financial Intermediation,
No. 4,
2010
Abstract
This paper studies the relation between firm investment in general human capital, new firm creation and financial development for new firm financing, such as the existence of a venture capital industry. On one hand, firm investment in general human capital leads employees to generate new innovative ideas for starting their own firm. Since employees need a venture capitalist to start their new firm, firm investment in general human capital encourages the creation of venture capitalists by increasing the need for their services, such as providing advice and monitoring. On the other hand, as new firm financing becomes available, firms' willingness to invest in general human capital increases, and as a by-product, the creation of employee-founded and venture capital-backed new firms increases in the economy. Hence, our model provides a rational explanation for the emergence of new firms created by employees of established firms, which represents one of the most common type of new firms in many industries.
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Do Banks Benefit from Internationalization? Revisiting the Market Power-Risk Nexus
Claudia M. Buch, C. T. Koch, Michael Koetter
Abstract
Recent developments on international financial markets have called the benefits of
bank globalization into question. Large, internationally active banks have
acquired substantial market power, and international activities have not
necessarily made banks less risky. Yet, surprisingly little is known about the
actual link between bank internationalization, bank risk, and market power.
Analyzing this link is the purpose of this paper. We jointly estimate the
determinants of risk and market power of banks, and we analyze the effects of
changes in terms of the number of foreign countries (the extensive margin) and
the volume of foreign assets (the intensive margin). Our paper has four main
findings. First, there is a strong negative feedback effect between risk and market
power. Second, banks with higher shares of foreign assets, in particular those held
through foreign branches, have higher market power at home. Third, holding
assets in a large number of foreign countries tends to increase bank risk. Fourth,
the impact of internationalization differs across banks from different banking
groups and of different size.
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Has the Euro Increased International Price Elasticities?
Oliver Holtemöller, Götz Zeddies
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 18,
2010
published in: Empirica
Abstract
This paper analyzes the role of common data problems when identifying structural breaks in small samples. Most notably, we survey small sample properties of the most commonly applied endogenous break tests developed by Brown, Durbin, and Evans (1975) and Zeileis (2004), Nyblom (1989) and Hansen (1992), and Andrews, Lee, and Ploberger (1996). Power and size properties are derived using Monte Carlo simulations. Results emphasize that mostly the CUSUM type tests are affected by the presence of heteroscedasticity, whereas the individual parameter Nyblom test and AvgLM test are proved to be highly robust. However, each test is significantly affected by leptokurtosis. Contrarily to other tests, where skewness is far more problematic than kurtosis, it has no additional effect for any of the endogenous break tests we analyze. Concerning overall robustness the Nyblom test performs best, while being almost on par to more recently developed tests in terms of power.
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Testing for Structural Breaks at Unknown Time: A Steeplechase
Makram El-Shagi, Sebastian Giesen
Abstract
This paper analyzes the role of common data problems when identifying structural breaks in small samples. Most notably, we survey small sample properties of the most commonly applied endogenous break tests developed by Brown, Durbin, and Evans (1975) and Zeileis (2004), Nyblom (1989) and Hansen (1992), and Andrews, Lee, and Ploberger (1996). Power and size properties are derived using Monte Carlo simulations. Results emphasize that mostly the CUSUM type tests are affected by the presence of heteroscedasticity, whereas the individual parameter Nyblom test and AvgLM test are proved to be highly robust. However, each test is significantly affected by leptokurtosis. Contrarily to other tests, where skewness is far more problematic than kurtosis, it has no additional effect for any of the endogenous break tests we analyze. Concerning overall robustness the Nyblom test performs best, while being almost on par to more recently developed tests in terms of power.
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Sparpläne zur Städtebauförderung auch als Chance für mehr Effizienz beim Einsatz öffentlicher Mittel nutzen! – ein Kommentar
Martin T. W. Rosenfeld, Dominik Weiß
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 8,
2010
Abstract
Der Bund plant, im Jahr 2010 für Maßnahmen der Städtebauförderung insgesamt 535 Mio. Euro in rund 3 400 Stadtquartieren einzusetzen. Dies erfolgt im Rahmen des „klassischen“ Programms der „Stadtsanierung und -entwicklung“, zunehmend aber auch in Spezialprogrammen wie „Stadtumbau“, „Soziale Stadt“, „Aktive Stadt- und Ortsteilzentren“, „Städtebaulicher Denkmalschutz“ oder „Daseinsvorsorge im ländlichen Raum“. Im Rahmen des Sparpakets der Bundesregierung sollen die Städtebaumittel deutlich gekürzt werden. Diese Pläne haben in den vergangenen Monaten bereits zu einem Proteststurm der Städte sowie der Wohnungswirtschaft geführt, der sich in nächster Zeit – im Vorfeld der anstehenden Etatberatungen des Bundes – noch weiter verstärken dürfte. Einerseits ist dieser Protest verständlich. Jede Kürzung finanzieller Mittel wird bei den bisherigen Empfängern auf Ablehnung stoßen. Andererseits bieten die Sparabsichten auch die Chance, Schwerpunkte neu zu setzen und die Effizienz des Mitteleinsatzes zu erhöhen. Denn die Städte und ebenso der Bund müssen sich stets fragen lassen, ob die ihnen anvertrauten öffentlichen Mittel optimal verwendet werden. In manchen Fällen gibt es hieran berechtigte Zweifel.
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How Does Industry Specialization Affect the Efficiency of Regional Innovation Systems?
Michael Fritsch, Viktor Slavtchev
Annals of Regional Science,
No. 1,
2010
Abstract
This study analyzes the relationship between the specialization of a region in certain industries and the efficiency of the region in generating new knowledge. The efficiency measure is constructed by relating regional R&D input and output. An inversely u-shaped relationship is found between regional specialization and R&D efficiency, indicating the presence of externalities of both Marshall and Jacobs’ type. Further factors influencing efficiency are externalities resulting from high R&D intensity of the local private sector as well as knowledge from local public research institutions. The impact of both the specialization and the additional factors is, however, different for regions at different efficiency levels.
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Evaluierung des Programms des Sächsischen Staatsministeriums für Wissenschaft und Kunst (SMWK) zur Förderung von Projekten im Forschungsbereich
Jutta Günther, Iciar Dominguez Lacasa, Michael Fritsch, Nicole Nulsch, Viktor Slavtchev, Michael Schwartz, Mirko Titze, Katja Wilde
IWH-Sonderhefte,
No. 1,
2010
Abstract
Die vorliegende Studie des Instituts für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH) im Auftrag des Sächsischen Staatsministeriums für Wissenschaft und Kunst (SMWK) evaluiert das Programm „Förderung von Projekten im Forschungsbereich“ des Ministeriums. Das Programm richtet sich an Wissenschaftseinrichtungen in Sachsen. Es zielt auf die Stärkung der Spitzenforschung, der Profilbildung, der Drittmittelfähigkeit, der Internationalisierung sowie der Vernetzung der Wissenschaftseinrichtungen untereinander und mit der Wirtschaft. Gefördert werden grundlagenorientierte Projekte, Geräteausstattungen, Aufenthalte von Gastwissenschaftlern sowie wissenschaftliche Tagungen. Die Finanzierung des Programms erfolgt ausschließlich aus Landesmitteln.
Im Zeitraum 2002 bis 2008 wurden insgesamt 745 Vorhaben mit einem Gesamtvolumen von 20,51 Mio. Euro in 41 Wissenschaftseinrichtungen gefördert. Über 90% der Mittel entfielen auf die Fördergegenstände Projektförderung sowie Geräteausstattung. Befragt wurden 311 für die Fördervorhaben zuständige Wissenschaftler, von denen sich 69% an der Befragung beteiligten. Hinsichtlich der erreichten Effekte nannten die meisten Fördermittelempfänger die „Stärkung der Profilbildung“ (82%, über alle Förderlinien). Bei der Projektförderung sowie der Förderung der Geräteausstattung hoben die Befragten die hohe Wirkung auf die „Stärkung der Drittmittelfähigkeit“ hervor (über 90%). Damit wurden in der Einschätzung der Fördermittelempfänger wesentliche Zielvorgaben des Programms erreicht. Die Erhöhung der Verbundfähigkeit mit der Wirtschaft spielte aus Sicht der Befragten eine untergeordnete Rolle (54% Zustimmung). Der Grund für diesen relativ niedrigen Wert dürfte darin liegen, dass das Förderprogramm vor allem auf grundlagenorientierte Forschung abzielt. Die wissenschaftlichen Tagungen haben einen starken Effekt auf die Vernetzung der Wissenschaftseinrichtungen untereinander, insbesondere mit solchen im Ausland. Damit ist ein weiteres wesentliches Ziel des Programms erreicht worden.
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