Entry into Self-employment and Individuals’ Risk-taking Propensities
Matthias Brachert, Walter Hyll, Abdolkarim Sadrieh
Small Business Economics,
Nr. 4,
2020
Abstract
Most of the existing empirical literature on self-employment decisions assumes that individuals’ risk-taking propensities are stable over time. We allow for endogeneity on both sides when examining the relationship between individual risk-taking propensities and entry into self-employment. We confirm that a greater risk-taking propensity is associated with a higher probability of entering self-employment. However, we also find evidence that entering self-employment is associated with a significant and substantial increase in an individual’s propensity to take risks. Our findings add to the growing evidence that risk-taking propensities are not only inborn, but also determined by environmental factors.
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14.12.2020 • 25/2020
Deutsche Lebensversicherer investieren nicht ausreichend in Start-ups
Die deutschen Lebensversicherer legen ihr Kapital bislang zu wenig in Aktien an und hemmen so die wirtschaftliche Dynamik. Eine Studie des Leibniz-Instituts für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH) legt nahe, dass der Gründerszene Risikokapital fehlt, um erfolgreiche Start-ups zu finanzieren. Grund dafür ist das Anlageverhalten potenzieller Investoren. IWH-Präsident Reint Gropp fordert Reformen, die die Finanzierung innovativer Ideen fördern.
Reint E. Gropp
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Why Life Insurers are Key to Economic Dynamism in Germany
Reint E. Gropp, William McShane
IWH Online,
Nr. 6,
2020
Abstract
Young entrepreneurial firms are of critical importance for innovation. But to bring their new ideas to the market, these startups depend on investors who understand and are willing to accept the risk associated with a new firm. Perhaps the key reason as to why the US has succeeded in producing nearly all the most successful new firms of the 21st century is the economy’s ability to supply vast sums of capital to promising startups. The volume of venture capital (VC) invested in the US is more than 60 times that of Germany. In this policy note, we argue that differences in the regulatory and structural context of institutional investors, in particular life insurance companies, is a central driver of the relative lack of VC - and thereby successful startups - in Germany.
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Sovereign Default Risk, Macroeconomic Fluctuations and Monetary-Fiscal Stabilisation
Markus Kirchner, Malte Rieth
IWH Discussion Papers,
Nr. 22,
2020
Abstract
This paper examines the role of sovereign default beliefs for macroeconomic fluctuations and stabilisation policy in a small open economy where fiscal solvency is a critical problem. We set up and estimate a DSGE model on Turkish data and show that accounting for sovereign risk significantly improves the fit of the model through an endogenous amplication between default beliefs, exchange rate and inflation movements. We then use the estimated model to study the implications of sovereign risk for stability, fiscal and monetary policy, and their interaction. We find that a relatively strong fiscal feedback from deficits to taxes, some exchange rate targeting, or a monetary response to default premia are more effective and efficient stabilisation tools than hawkish inflation targeting.
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Executive Compensation, Macroeconomic Conditions, and Cash Flow Cyclicality
Stefano Colonnello
Finance Research Letters,
November
2020
Abstract
I model the joint effects of debt, macroeconomic conditions, and cash flow cyclicality on risk-shifting behavior and managerial wealth-for-performance sensitivity. The model shows that risk-shifting incentives rise during recessions and that the shareholders can eliminate such adverse incentives by reducing the equity-based compensation in managerial contracts. Moreover, this reduction should be larger in highly procyclical firms. These novel, testable predictions provide insights into optimal shareholder responses to agency costs of debt throughout the business cycle.
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Competition, Cost Structure, and Labour Leverage: Evidence from the U.S. Airline Industry
Konstantin Wagner
IWH Discussion Papers,
Nr. 21,
2020
Abstract
I study the effect of increasing competition on financial performance through labour leverage. To capture competition, I exploit variation in product market contestability in the U.S. airline industry. First, I find that increasing competitive pressure leads to increasing labour leverage, proxied by labour share. This explains the decrease in operating profitability through labour rigidities. Second, by exploiting variation in human capital specificity, I show that contestability of product markets induces labour market contestability. Whereas affected firms might experience more stress through higher wages or loss of skilled human capital, more mobile employee groups benefit from competitions through higher labour shares.
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14.10.2020 • 22/2020
Konjunktureinbruch in Ostdeutschland nicht so stark wie in Deutschland insgesamt – Implikationen der Gemeinschaftsdiagnose Herbst 2020 und amtlicher Länderdaten für Ostdeutschland
Die deutsche Wirtschaft hat sich nach dem pandemiebedingten drastischen Einbruch im Frühjahr 2020 zunächst rasch wiederbelebt. Im zweiten Halbjahr verliert die Erholung aber stark an Fahrt. Die Projektgruppe Gemeinschaftsdiagnose geht davon aus, dass das Produktionsniveau von vor der Krise erst wieder in der zweiten Hälfte des Jahres 2021 erreicht werden wird. Die ostdeutsche Konjunktur folgt im Prinzip diesem Muster; allerdings dürfte der Konjunktureinbruch hier etwas milder ausfallen.
Oliver Holtemöller
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14.10.2020 • 21/2020
Gemeinschaftsdiagnose Herbst 2020: Erholung verliert an Fahrt – Wirtschaft und Politik weiter im Zeichen der Pandemie
Die Corona-Krise hinterlässt deutliche Spuren in der deutschen Wirtschaft und trifft diese härter als noch im Frühjahr angenommen. In ihrem Herbstgutachten revidieren die führenden Wirtschaftsforschungsinstitute ihre Prognose für dieses und nächstes Jahr um jeweils gut einen Prozentpunkt nach unten. Sie erwarten nun für 2020 einen Rückgang des Bruttoinlandsproduktes um 5,4% (bislang -4,2%) und für 2021 einen Zuwachs um 4,7% (5,8%). 2022 dürfte die Wirtschaftsleistung dann um 2,7% zulegen.
Oliver Holtemöller
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16.09.2020 • 18/2020
Konjunktur aktuell: Wirtschaft erholt sich vom Corona-Schock – aber keine schnelle Rückkehr zur alten Normalität
Die deutsche Wirtschaft hat im Sommer einen erheblichen Teil des Produktionseinbruchs vom Frühjahr wieder wettgemacht. Dennoch dürfte das Bruttoinlandsprodukt (BIP) im Jahr 2020 um 5,7% niedriger liegen als 2019. Für das Jahr 2021 ist laut der Herbstprognose des Leibniz-Instituts für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH) mit einem BIP-Zuwachs von 3,2% zu rechnen. Für Ostdeutschland zeichnet sich ab, dass der Produktionsrückgang mit 3,0% im Jahr 2020 schwächer ausfällt als in Deutschland insgesamt.
Oliver Holtemöller
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The Economic Record of the Government and Sovereign Bond and Stock Returns Around National Elections
Stefan Eichler, Timo Plaga
Journal of Banking and Finance,
September
2020
Abstract
This paper investigates the role of the fiscal and economic record of the incumbent government in shaping the price response of sovereign bonds and stocks to the election outcome in emerging markets and developed countries. For sovereign bonds in emerging markets, we find robust evidence for higher cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) if a government associated with a relatively low primary fiscal balance is voted out of office compared to elections where the fiscal balance was relatively high. This effect of the incumbent government's fiscal record is significantly more pronounced in the presence of high sovereign default risk and strong political veto players, whereas the quality of institutions does not explain differences in effects for different events. We do not find robust effects of the government's fiscal record for developed countries and stocks.
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