bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The World of The Walking Dead – Transmediality and Transmedial Intermediality
Authors: Beil Benjamin , Schmidt Hanns Christian
Published: April 2016

As transmedia franchises increasingly populate our cultural environment, many questions arise about the effect of the different media involved in the depiction of storyworlds. Through the analysis of different examples, with special emphasis on the particular case of The Walking Dead, and drawing primarily from Henry Jenkins’s concept of “transmedia storytelling” and Jens Schroter’s concept of intermediality, this paper aims to show how different media aesthetics contribute to the process of storytelling and enrich the experience of the consumer. Usually overlooked in other analyses, we argue that these formal and aesthetical characteristics, such as the interactive nature of video games, call for a broader approach that transcends the accustomed search of common narrative aspects. This will be exemplified by a closer comparative look at the adventure game The Walking Dead: The Ganie (Telltale Games, 2012) and The Walking Dead: Survival Instiiict (Terminal Reality, 2013). The transformations that the different media demand contribute not only to the narrative, but also provide different tools for the construction of storyworlds and different ways to engage with it.
Development and experimental evaluation of an alarm concept for an integrated surgical workstation
Authors: Zeißig Eva-Maria , Janß Armin , Dell’Anna-Pudlik Jasmin , Ziefle Martina , Radermacher Klaus
Published: April 2016

Introduction: Alarm conditions of the technical equipment in operating rooms represent a prevalent cause for interruptions of surgeons and scrub nurses, resulting in an increase of workload and potential reduction of patient safety. In this work, an alarm concept for an integrated operating room system based on open communication standards is developed and tested.

Methods: In a laboratory experiment, the reactions of surgeons were analysed, comparing the displaying of alarms on an integrated workstation and on single devices: disruptive effects of alarm handling on primary task (ratings of perceived distraction, resumption lag, deterioration of speed, accuracy, and prospective memory), efficiency and effectiveness of identification of alarms, as well as perceived workload were included.

Results: The identification of the alarm cause is significantly more efficient and effective with the integrated alarm concept. Moreover, a slightly lower deterioration of performance of the primary task due to the interruption of alarm handling was observed.

Conclusion: Displaying alarms on an integrated workstation supports alarm handling and consequently reduces disruptive effects on the primary task. The findings show that even small changes can reduce workload in a complex work environment like the operating room, resulting in improved patient safety.
Correlations for mixing energy in processes using Rushton turbine mixer‡
Authors: Story Grzegorz , Kordas Marian , Rakoczy Rafał
Published: April 2016

This study reports the research results on a mixing process using a stirred tank mixer under the action of a rotating magnetic field (RMF). Dimensionless correlations are proposed to predict the power consumption and mixing time for the mixing systems analysed. The results suggest that the mixing behaviour of the experimental set-ups tested may be assessed using the dimensionless mixing energy as the product of the power input and mixing time. In addition, an innovative strategy is proposed on the basis of the synergistic eﬀect of the rotational Rushton turbine and the RMF generator. The values of the dimensionless energy thus obtained were used to compare the mixing process performed by the mixing devices tested. It is shown that the mixing process under the RMF action has significantly higher values of energy consumption than the conventional Rushton turbine. The total energy consumption for the mixing process performed by the RMF mixer may be reduced by concomitant use of a rotational agitator.
Methodology considering surface roughness in UV water disinfection reactors
Authors: Sultan Tipu , Cho Jin-Soo
Published: April 2016

Water disinfection making use of an ultraviolet (UV) reactor is an attractive procedure because it does not produce any by-products. In this work, the effects of pipe roughness on the performance of a closed-conduit water disinfection UV reactor were investigated. In order to incorporate the surface roughness effects, a simple, stable, highly accurate model, better than any iterative approximation, was adopted in the numerical simulations. The analysis was carried out on the basis of two performance indicators: reduction equivalent dose (RED) and system dose distribution. The analysis was performed using a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool (ANSYS Fluent). The fluence rate within the UV reactor was calculated using UVCalc3D. The pipe surface roughness resulted in longer pathogen residence times and higher dose distribution among the pathogens. The effect of pipe surface roughness on RED depends on the Reynolds number and relative roughness. Pipe surface roughness plays an important role because UV reactors for water disinfection operate at moderate Reynolds numbers. In addition, the positioning of the UV lamp in the reactor plays an important role in determining the RED of the reactor. Search criteria for lamp-positioning are also proposed in the current work. The proposed CFD methodology can be used to analyse the performance of closed-conduit reactors for water disinfection by UV.
Preparation and Properties of ZrO2/Mo Alloys
Authors: Cui Chaopeng , Gao Yimin , Wei Shizhong , Zhang Guoshang , Zhu Xiangwei , Guo Songliang
Published: April 2016

The nano-sized ZrO2 reinforced Mo alloys were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and subsequent sintering. During preparation, the nano-sized ZrO2 particles were added into the Mo powder via hydrothermal synthesis. This work investigated the differences in mechanical properties and microstructures of the Mo-ZrO2 alloys prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and the other traditional method. As the amount of ZrO2 particles increased, the grain size of the Mo powders reduced obviously. The grains were refined obviously after sintering. The ZrO2 particles added by hydrothermal synthesis can effectively restrain the growth of grains and improve mechanical properties such as strength and hardness.
Effect of L/D Ratio on Phase Holdup and Bubble Dynamics in Slurry Bubble Column using Optical Fiber Probe Measurements
Authors: Gheni Saba A. , Abdulaziz Yasser I. , Al-Dahhan Muthanna H.
Published: April 2016

In this investigation, time average local gas holdup and bubble dynamic data were achieved for three L/D ratios of slurry bubble column. The examined ratios were 3, 4 and 5 in 18″ diameter slurry bubble column. Air-water-glass bead system was used with superficial gas velocity up to 0.24 m/s. The gas holdup was measured using four tips optical fiber probe technique. The results showed that the gas holdup increases almost linearly with the superficial gas velocity in 0.08 m/s and levels off with a further increase of velocity. A comparison of the present data with those reported for other slurry bubble column having diameters greater than 18″ and L/D higher than 5 was made. The results indicated a little effect of diameter on the gas holdup. A local, section-averaged gas holdup increases with increasing superficial gas velocity, while the effect of solid loading are less significant than that of the superficial gas velocity. Chaos analysis was used to analyze the slurry system.
Rising Wage Inequality in Germany
Authors: Gernandt Johannes , Pfeiffer Friedhelm
Published: April 2016

The paper investigates the evolution of wages and wage inequality in Germany based on samples from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) 1984 to 2005. Real gross hourly wages for prime age dependent male workers increased on average by 23 percent between 1984 and 1994 in West Germany and the wage distribution was fairly stable. Between 1994 and 2005 average wages increased by 7 percent in West Germany and 18 percent in East Germany. In this period wage inequality, measured by the ratio of the ninetieth to tenth percentile of the wage distribution, increased from 2.5 to 3.1 in West Germany and from 2.4 to 3.2 in East Germany. In West Germany rising wage inequality occurred mainly in the lower part of the wage distribution, whereas in East Germany wage inequality predominantly increased in the upper part of the wage distribution. In West Germany the group of workers with low tenure experienced higher increases in wage inequality compared to the group of workers with high tenure.
Corporate Responsibility in der forschenden Arzneimittelindustrie / Corporate Responsibility in the Research-Based Pharmaceutical Industry
Authors: Suchanek Andreas , Lin-Hi Nick
Published: April 2016

Corporate Responsibility is a crucial concept in the pharmaceutical industry, especially for research-based pharmaceutical companies. Companies are faced with a tension between fulfilling normative expectations of solidarity and making profits under the pressure of competition. We argue that the seemingly plausible strategy to realize corporate responsibility as corporate philanthropy is systematically misleading and, in the long run, undermining the legitimacy of the core business. Instead, pharmaceutical companies should demonstrate their corporate responsibility by investing in their licence to operate, that is, by preventing possible conflicts between profits and morals. This requires not only investments in governance structures but also the ability to communicate the legitimacy of making profits as well as their corporate integrity.
Einkommenswachstum, steigende Gesundheitsausgaben und Finanzierung / Income Increase, Health Spending Growth and Financing
Authors: Adam Hans
Published: April 2016

In 2005, total health spending in Germany amounted to € 239,4 billion or € 2900 per capita. Given the aging of the population in the next decades and the progress in medical technology there are some doubts about the affordability of health spending growth. One important criterion which has been proposed is that increasing health care spending should not lead to an absolute reduction of real per capita non-health care consumption. Calculations for the period 2005-2075 show that non-health consumption will not fall if per capita health care spending growth exceeds per capita gross domestic product growth by 1 percentage point. Health care spending as a share of the gross domestic product will rise from 10.4 percent in 2005 to 21 percent in 2075. An increase in the ratio of health care spending to the gross domestic product must be expected to change the funding of the German health care system. The public provision of health care will decline while the share of income devoted to private health spending (additional insurance, out-of-pocket-payments) will increase.
Das Sisyphus-Syndrom im Gesundheitswesen: Neue Evidenz / The Sisyphus Syndrome in Health: New Evidence
Authors: Zweifel Peter
Published: April 2016

Health care may be similar to the work Sisyphus, a Greek hero who was condemned by the Gods to push a big rock up a hill only to see it slip out of his hands before making it to the top. To see why there my be a Sisyphus syndrome in health, consider an initial decision to devote more resources to health. The likely consequence is an increased number of survivors, who exert political pressure in favor of even more health care. If they succeed, the cycle goes into its next round and might even prove explosive. Earlier research failed to identify this political feedback in industrial countries. Using improved model formulation, data, and econometric methodology, this contribution does find evidence suggesting the existence of a Sisyphus syndrome. However, the good news is that the cycle seems to be dampened rather than explosive.
Bestimmungsgründe für den medizinischen Fortschritt / Causes for Medical Advances
Authors: Arnold Robert
Published: April 2016

In this article it is analysed which factors determine the medical and technological advances in the field of pharmaceuticals, medical products and medical procedures. We do not have a general theory on the determinants of technological advances. That’s why all arguments, which are in discussion, are analysed for each segment. In conclusion, the pharmaceutical advances are mainly driven by the demand, the progress in medical products is driven by spill-over effects from advances in other areas of the economy and medical procedures are driven by the interest of the researching physicians in raising theirs reputation in the scientific community. These conclusions depend on the existing regulation, which is quite different between the analysed sectors. How the determinants might change when the regulations change, is shown in the outlook chapter of this article.
Die Ausgestaltung von Versorgungsverträgen: Eine vertragstheoretische Analyse / A Contract Theory Approach to Health Care Contracting
Authors: Mühlbacher Axel
Published: April 2016

Transaction costs are an obstacle to the efficient operation of selective contracting. Health care delivery systems (§140 a-d SGB V) and selective contracting between networks of service providers and purchasers are advocated as an effective method to improve the performance of the German health care system. The problems of measurability, motivation associated with specific production of health care services forms a stronger regulatory environment. Contracting mechanisms should be analysed before purchasers can rely on obtaining these services from the selective contracting sector. This paper focuses on the theories from new institutional economics to analyze the policies of competitive contracting in the presence of asymmetric information, uncertainty and the inability to write complete contingent contracts. It is crucial, that both parties agree on the avoidance of endogenous risks and the procedures with unforeseeable contingencies (exogenous risks). Strategic behavior because of moral hazard and hold up situations is referred to endogenous risk. Uncertainty based on contingency, error and change of utilization are identified as exogenous risks. In order to control these risks structured renegotiations and risk-sharing and shared-saving arrangements should be scheduled.
Verteilungseffekte der öffentlichen Finanzierung der Hochschulbildung in Deutschland: Eine Längsschnittbetrachtung auf der Basis des Sozioökonomischen Panels / The Distributional Effects of Public Higher Education Financing in Germany: A Longitudinal Approach based on the Socioeconomic Panel
Authors: Borgloh Sarah , Kupferschmidt Frank , Wigger Berthold U.
Published: April 2016

This paper examines the distributional effects of public higher education financing in a lifetime perspective. The benefits that university graduates obtain in terms of their tertiary education are compared to the graduates’ education-related (tax) burden. To calculate the education-related tax burden, we resort to the proportionality approach and use data from the Socioeconomic Panel (SOEP) as well as from the Sample Survey of Income and Expenditure (EVS). We show that graduates benefit from positive net effects of public higher education subsidies because they do not pay back the costs of their tertiary education by their corresponding tax payments. We observe especially high net effects for health professionals, and especially low net effects for university graduates in law, economics, and social sciences. Compared to earlier studies, the absolute net effects have even increased for graduates. Based on the observed net effects we compute a differentiated system of tuition fees that take into account the varying net effects for the various university types and fields of study.
Zur Evolution des deutschen Konjunkturzyklus 1958-2004 / On the Evolution of German Business Cycles 1958-2004
Authors: Heilemann Ullrich , Schuhr Roland
Published: April 2016

This paper examines changes of the (West) German business cycle from 1958 to 2004. It starts with a multivariate linear discriminant analysis (LDA) based decomposition of the cycle into 4 phases (upswing, upper turning point, downswing, lower turning point). After examining inter-cyclical changes of the cycle, i.e. changes of the weights of the 12 macroeconomic variables employed for classification, the question of intra-cyclical changes is addressed. This is done by using DLDA, a new dynamic variant of LDA which exploits the time series character of the data used to analyse changes of the multivariate structure of the cycle. The DLDA results exemplify that the transition from one to the next phase is much smoother and more continuous than might be expected. Within the sample examined these movements vary as well as the weights attributed to the classifying variables. In a methodological perspective DLDA turns out to be a promising broadening of classification methods.
Fiskalische Effekte der Kommunalverfassungsreformen der 1990er Jahre in Deutschland / Reforming Local Constitutions in Germany during the 1990s – Their Fiscal Effects
Authors: Blume Lorenz , Döring Thomas , Voigt Stefan
Published: April 2016

Most German states changed their local constitutions during the 1990s in order to become more citizen-friendly. To reach that goal, many local constitutions now allow for the direct election of mayors, initiatives and referenda, and vote-aggregation as well as vote-splitting. Simultaneously, the five-percent threshold was abolished lowering entry barriers. This contribution asks whether these reforms had any effects on local fiscal policies. Based on the reforms that took place in Schleswig-Holstein, Bavaria and Hesse and drawing on a structural break test it is shown that the direct election of mayors has led to lower government spending. The introduction of direct democratic elements, on the other hand, has led to higher expenditures. The empirical results concerning direct democracy substantially deviate from the findings regarding both Switzerland and the U.S.. It is argued that the difference might be due to the lack of fiscal referenda in Germany.
Capital Stock Approximation using Firm Level Panel Data
Authors: Mueller Steffen
Published: April 2016

Many recent studies exploring conditional factor demand or factor substitution issues use firm level panel data. A considerable number of establishment panels contains no direct information on the capital input, necessary for production or cost function estimation. Incorrect measurement of capital leads to biased estimates and casts doubt on any inference on output elasticities or input substitution properties. The perpetual inventory approach, commonly used for long panels, is a method that attenuates these problems. In this paper a modified perpetual inventory approach is proposed. This method provides more reliable measures for capital input when short firm panels are used and no direct information on capital input is available. The empirical results based on a replication study of Addison et al. (2006) support the conclusion that modified perpetual inventory is superior to previous attempts in particular when fixed effects estimation techniques are used.

The method thus makes a considerable number of recently established firm panels accessible to more sophisticated production function or factor demand analyses.
Rational Ignorance is not Bliss: When do Lazy Voters Learn from Decentralised Policy Experiments?
Authors: Schnellenbach Jan
Published: April 2016

A popular argument about economic policy under uncertainty states that decentralisation offers the possibility to learn from local or regional policy experiments. Often, an analogy between market competition as a discovery procedure and political competition is used to corroborate this argument. We argue that political learning processes are not trivial and do not occur frictionlessly: Voters have an inherent tendency to retain a given stock of policy-related knowledge which was costly to accumulate, so that yardstick competition is improbable to function well particularly for complex issues, if representatives’ actions are tightly controlled by the electorate.We show that factor mobility does have the potential to endogenously disturb equilibria on regional markets for political theories, and therefore does provide for improved political learning processes compared to unitary systems. But the results we can expect are far from the ideal mechanisms of producing and utilising knowledge often described in the literature. In particular, collective learning may occur in the relatively efficient region, while the status quo may be fortified in the relatively inefficient region.
Skills, Innovation, and Growth: An Agent-Based Policy Analysis
Authors: Dawid Herbert , Gemkow Simon , Harting Philipp , Kabus Kordian , Neugart Michael , Wersching Klaus
Published: April 2016

We develop an agent-based macroeconomic model featuring a distinct geographical dimension and heterogeneous workers with respect to skill types. The model, which will become part of a larger simulation platform for European policymaking (EURACE), allows us to conduct exante evaluations of a wide range of public policy measures and their interaction. In particular, we study the growth and labor market effects of various policy types that promote workers’ general skill levels. Using a calibrated model it is examined in how far effects differ if spending is uniformly spread over all regions in the economy or focused in one particular region.We find that the geographic distribution of policy measures significantly affects the effects of the policy even if total spending is kept constant. Focussing training efforts in one region is the worst policy outcome while spreading funds equally across regions generates a larger output in the long-run but not in the short-run.
The German Sub-national Government Bond Market: Structure, Determinants of Yield Spreads and Berlin’s Forgone Bail-out
Authors: Schulz Alexander , Wolff Guntram B.
Published: April 2016

The paper presents a new and comprehensive data set of all bonds issued by the sixteen German federal states (Länder) since 1992. It thus provides a complete picture of a capital market comparable in size to the combined corporate bond and commercial paper market in Germany. The quantitative analysis reveals that Länder follow different issuing strategies: while some concentrate to a greater extent on large issues or issue joint bonds with other Länder (Jumbos), others rely more on comparatively small but frequent issues. Moreover, some Länder issue a significant volume-share of their bonds in foreign currencies. Suitable bonds are used to compute time series of yields for the respective Länder at a daily frequency as well as a liquidity measure. Based on the unique data set, we document that spreads of Länder yields to the Bund are driven to a great extent by general risk aversion. Public debt only has an economically marginal impact. Moreover, the recent refusal of the Federal Constitutional Court to grant additional federal funds to the city-state of Berlin did not change the risk assessment of German Länder by financial markets. Recent market turbulences have manifestly contributed to widening spreads as well as increased responsiveness of Länder spreads to international measures of risk aversion.
Engines Powered by Renewable Energy, the Network of Filling Stations and Compatibility Decisions
Authors: Conrad Klaus
Published: April 2016

The paper addresses entry barriers for a new technology - hydrogen powered cars or cars with fuel cell engines - if the network of its filling stations is missing. We use Hotelling’s model of product differentiation to characterize a situation where an incumbent firm produces the old technology, compatible with the existing network of filling stations, and an entrant, who cannot use this network. The oil companies myopically support the use of the original technology based on fossil fuel by following Hotelling’s pricing rule. This encourages the entrant to invest in compatibility. The entrant with the new technology is a Stackelberg leader while the old technology firm is the follower. In the first stage, the entrant invests in the network of filling stations and in the second stage both compete in prices, given the network situation. These two-step models are repeated until the network is compatible or the oil is exhausted. The main positive result is that the fossil fuel powered cars see their market share and profitability decline over time, while the hydrogen firm increasingly prospers. These trends are stronger the stronger are the consumers’ environmental concerns. On the normative side, the privately optimal pace of investment is slower than the socially optimal pace of investment, suggesting policies that would foster the introduction of the hydrogen technology.
Welchen Zusammenhang zwischen Preis und Qualität sollte der Wettbewerb auf Konsumgütermärkten herstellen? / Which Price-Quality Relationship Should Competition Induce on Consumer Goods Markets ?
Authors: Imkamp Heiner
Published: April 2016

Not only that consumers take it often for granted that product prices are good indicators of product quality, but also many experts in consumer economics expect a high positive price-quality relationship. However, for more than 50 years numerous studies in more than 10 countries all over the world have shown low price-quality correlation coefficients, mostly close to 0.2. These results have been interpreted twofold: (a) consumers cannot use prices as valid indicators of quality and (b) markets do not function well. In contrast to the second interpretation, this paper argues that, according to the economic theory of price formation, prices are not an indicator of quality, but an indicator of scarcity. This allows the conclusion that workable consumer goods markets, as seen from a welfare point of view, should be characterized by low or even negative correlations between price and objective quality rather than by strong positive coefficients. All the more it is the availability of valid information about product quality which is necessary to enable consumers to avoid inefficient product choices.
Forecasting Behavioural and Distributional Effects of the Bofinger-Walwei Model using Microsimulation
Authors: Wiemers Jürgen , Bruckmeier Kerstin
Published: April 2016

Since Germany’s social assistance reform (“Hartz-IV-Reform”) in 2005 there has been a strong increase in the number of working poor and long-term unemployed. This development is often attributed to the remaining disincentives of the reformed social assistance to take up a low-paid full time job. Therefore, several proposals have been worked out to reduce these disincentives. In this paper we analyse an in-work benefit programme considered by the German government, which follows the proposal of Bofinger et al. (2006). We employ a microsimulation model for estimating labour supply as well as distributional and fiscal effects of this reform proposal.We provide “morning after effects”, i.e. fiscal effects without considering behavioural adjustments, and long run effects, which take into account the labour supply response following the introduction of the reform.We predict the labour supply responses by estimating a discrete choice model for different household types and find a moderate increase in labour supply (103,000 full-time equivalents) as well as overall low negative participation effects. The distributional analysis reveals an overall increase in poverty rates caused by lower earnings disregards as well as substantial deadweight losses, since a large part of the in-work benefit accrues to households who do not belong to the working poor in the status quo.
Demand Side Analysis of Microlending Markets in Germany
Authors: Kritikos Alexander , Kneiding Christoph , Germelmann Claas Christian
Published: April 2016

In developing and transition economies, microlending has become an effective instrument for providing micro businesses with the necessary financial resources to launch operations. In industrialized countries, with their highly developed banking systems, however, there has been ongoing debate on the question of whether an uncovered demand for microlending services exists. The present pilot study explores customer preferences formicrolending products in Germany. Among the interviewed business owners, 15 % reported revolving funding needs and an interest in microloans. We find that potential recipients of microloan products are retail business owners, foreign business owners, and persons who had previously received private loans. Furthermore, financial products should feature rapid access to short-term loans.
2002 German Federal Elections and Associated Energy Policy: How Were Energy Corporations Financially Affected?
Authors: Oberndorfer Ulrich , Ziegler Andreas
Published: April 2016

This paper analyzes the effect of the 2002 German federal elections to the Lower House of Parliament (Bundestag) on the financial performance of German energy corporations.We consider the last minute victory of the government coalition consisting of Social Democrats and the Green party which was generally associated with a major shift in energy policy towards the promotion of renewable energies and a phasing out of nuclear energy. Our event study approach is based on the application of the Fama-French three-factor model to estimate abnormal stock returns. The results of the empirical analysis imply neither for traditional utilities nor for renewable energy corporations any robust positive or negative impact of the elections and therefore of the general energy policy direction of the government in the next legislative period.
Endogenous Skill Formation and the Source Country Effects of Skilled Labor Emigration from Developing Countries
Authors: Egger Hartmut , Felbermayr Gabriel
Published: April 2016

In this paper we set up a simple theoretical framework to study the possible source country effects of skilled labor emigration from developing countries. We show that for given technologies, labor market integration necessarily lowers GDP per capita in a poor source country of emigration, because it distorts the education decision of individuals. As pointed out by our analysis, a negative source country effect also materializes if all agents face identical emigration probabilities, irrespective of their education levels. This is in sharp contrast to the case of exogenous skill supply. Allowing for human capital spillovers, we further show that with social returns to schooling there may be a counteracting positive source country effect if the prospect of emigration stimulates the incentives to acquire education. Since, in general, the source country effects are not clear, we calibrate our model for four major source countries - Mexico, Turkey, Morocco, and the Philippines - and show that an increase in emigration rates beyond those observed in the year 2000 is very likely to lower GDP per capita in poor economies.
Remittances and Conflict: Some Conceptual Considerations
Authors: Lindley Anna
Published: April 2016

The relationship between migration and development processes in migrants’ countries of origin has been subject to extensive scrutiny in the last decade by researchers and policy-makers. Migrants’ remittances have been fore-grounded as a key aspect in this relationship and have increasingly been seen as a potential source of ‘development capital’. Yet the fact that migration and remitting are often entangled in processes of violent conflict and political upheaval is often overlooked. This paper uses the Somali case to raise a set of conceptual issues regarding the dynamics and impact of remittances in conflict-affected settings. The implications of the violent causation of migration, the on-going conditions in the country of origin, and the post-migration situation of refugees are advanced as key ways in which remittance dynamics in conflict situations may differ from those in more peaceful settings.
Hysteresis in Unemployment Rates? A Comparison between Germany and the US
Authors: Hassler Uwe , Wolters Jürgen
Published: April 2016

In this paper we compare the unemployment dynamics of the US and Germany with monthly data up to 2008. With data from 1971 on the evidence is mixed when applying descriptive methods or formal unit root tests. When allowing for fractional integration, however, we find similar results to the literature in that shocks to US data seem to be transitory while having permanent effects on German unemployment. This difference in hysteresis, however, depends on the sample. Using recursive and rolling techniques we observe that shocks in US subsamples until the mid-nineties are clearly more transitory than in more recent subsamples.We conclude that hysteresis has turned into a dominating feature also on US labour market more recently.
Oil and Unemployment in Germany
Authors: Löschel Andreas , Oberndorfer Ulrich
Published: April 2016

In this paper, we analyze oil price impacts on unemployment for Germany. Firstly, we survey theoretical and empirical literature on the oil-unemployment relationship and relate them to the German case. Secondly, we illustrate this issue within the framework of a vector autoregression (VAR) approach for Germany. For this purpose,we use three different specifications in order to adequately address the uncertainty related to the construction of an adequate oil variable. Using monthly data from 1973 to 2008, we show that oil price increases induce a rise in unemployment in the German labor market.Moreover, for a restricted sample period for post-unification Germany, we oppose claims that the oil to macroeconomy relationship has weakened since the 1980s. However, our results suggest that it has become more important to construct adequate measures of oil price variables.
Living Standards in an Aging Germany: The Benefits of Reforms and the Costs of Resistance
Authors: Börsch-Supan Axel , Ludwig Alexander
Published: April 2016

The extent of the demographic change in Europe and especially Germany is dramatic and will deeply affect future labor, financial and goods markets. The expected strain on public budgets and especially social security has received prominent attention, but aging poses many other economic challenges that threaten growth and living standards if they remain unaddressed.

This paper investigates the potential benefits of pension and labor market reform for growth and living standards, taking into account behavioral reactions to specific reforms. Which behavioral reactions will strengthen, which will weaken reform policies? While Germany has a large unfunded pension system and vulnerable labor markets, Germans show remarkable resistance against pension and labor market reform. Can Germany maintain its standard of living even if behavioral reactions offset some of the current reform efforts? The paper uses a novel modeling approach to distinguish between exogenous and endogenous components of labor supply in order to shed light on these questions.
Choosing from the Reform Menu Card – Individual Determinants of Labour Market Policy Preferences
Authors: Heinemann Friedrich , Bischoff Ivo , Hennighausen Tanja
Published: April 2016

This contribution empirically explores the drivers of labour market reform acceptance for the individual level in Germany. For that purpose we make use of the representative German General Social Survey (ALLBUS). This survey offers data to which extent individuals support benefit cuts, longer working years, cutting subsidies to declining industries, phasing out of employment programmes, or a liberalisation of employment protection. Our theoretical considerations suggest that self-interest, information, fairness judgements, economic beliefs and other individual factors such as socialisation under the communist regime in the former German Democratic Republic drive individual reform preferences. Our empirical results support this notion: While we find self-interest to be an important driving force, our results show that a number of factors well beyond the narrow scope of self-interest strongly shape individual reform preferences.
Firm Heterogeneity and Wages under Different Bargaining Regimes: Does a Centralised Union Care for Low-Productivity Firms?
Authors: Guertzgen Nicole
Published: April 2016

This paper studies the relationship between wages and the degree of firm heterogeneity in a given industry under different wage setting structures. To derive testable hypotheses, we set up a theoretical model that analyses the sensitivity of wages to the variability in productivity conditions in a unionised oligopoly framework. The model distinguishes centralised and decentralised wage determination. The theoretical results predict wages to be negatively associated with the degree of firm heterogeneity under centralised wage-setting, as unions internalise negative externalities of a wage increase for low-productivity firms.We test this prediction using a linked employer-employee panel data set from the German mining and manufacturing sector. Consistent with our hypotheses, the empirical results suggest that under industry-level bargaining workers in more heterogeneous sectors receive lower wages than workers in more homogeneous sectors. In contrast, the degree of firm heterogeneity is found to have no negative impact on wages in uncovered firms and under firm-level contracts.
Crime and the Labour Market: Evidence from a Survey of Inmates
Authors: Entorf Horst
Published: April 2016

In this paper data from a survey of 1,771 inmates conducted in 31 German prisons provide microeconometric evidence on the relationship between individual anticipated labour market opportunities and the perceived probability of future recidivism. Results show that inmates with poor labour market prospects expect a significantly higher rate of future recidivism. Having a closer look at subgroups of prisoners reveals that drug and alcohol addiction cause adverse effects. Thus, improving prisoner health care by installing effective anti-drug programmes would be one of the most effective measures against crime.
Spatial Implications of Minimum Wages
Authors: Buettner Thiess , Ebertz Alexander
Published: April 2016

This paper addresses possible consequences of a minimum wage in a spatial context. An empirical analysis utilizing German data shows that a significant spatial wage structure exists and that, as a consequence, the share of workers earning wages below a minimum wage will be particularly high in rural counties even if we control for educational and occupational differences. A theoretical analysis discusses the implications for the spatial structure of the economy and shows that while the wages in the countryside will be affected positively, wages will decline in the city, where employment and population rise.Workers in the city will further suffer from an increase in housing costs. This supports concerns that urban poverty might increase as a result of the introduction of a minimum wage.
Fields of Training, Plant Characteristics and the Gender Wage Gap in Entry Wages Among Skilled Workers – Evidence from German Administrative Data
Authors: Braakmann Nils
Published: April 2016

This paper investigates the gender wage gap among skilled German workers after the end of vocational training using data from social security records. Using information on worker and plant characteristics for the training plant, results from standard decomposition techniques show that up to 92% of an initial 14% earnings disadvantage for women in the first job can be attributed to differences in endowments. Of these, occupational segregation explains up to two thirds of the earnings gap, with plant characteristics accounting for about 25%.
International Financial Competitiveness and Incentives to Foreign Direct Investment
Authors: Jochem Axel
Published: April 2016

International financial integration has become an important factor for economic performance in the globalisation process. Access to international capital markets is crucial for a country’s ability to meet its financial needs and to keep up with the challenges of a changing global landscape. In this paper, “financial competitiveness” is interpreted as the attractiveness of a country as perceived by foreign investors, which is reflected in refinancing costs in international capital markets. The study concentrates on foreign direct investment (FDI), which is an essential feature of the globalisation process and has immediate implications for the real economy. An index of international financial competitiveness is calculated which is given by the ratio of the market value to the book value of inward FDI stocks. For a panel of five advanced economies from 1980 to 2006 it is shown that price competitiveness, stable inflation rates and registered patents have a positive impact on the index. Institutional factors like EMU membership or Anglo-American legislation also play a role. Financial competitiveness in turn encourages FDI inflows whereas it benefits fixed investment relative to M&A. There is also some evidence that an innovative environment accelerates investment decisions by promoting competition among investors.
Reassessing the Pay Gap for Temps in Germany
Authors: Jahn Elke J.
Published: April 2016

As a consequence of the rapid growth of temporary agency employment in Germany, the debate on the remuneration of temporary agency workers has intensified recently. The study finds that the earnings gap of temporary help workers in Germany is indeed large and increased during the past decade. Decomposition reveals that the widening gap mainly is driven by changes in relative skill prices and less by differences in the workforce composition. Temps already have to accept a marked earnings decline before entering the temporary help sector. Nevertheless, after leaving the sector temporary help workers no longer have to accept a pay penalty. A recent reform set a high incentive for temporary help agencies to pay their workers according to a collective agreement. Surprisingly, the unionization of the sector could not bring the widening earnings gap to a halt.
Child Benefit Reform and Labor Market Participation
Authors: Tamm Marcus
Published: April 2016

This paper examines the impact of a change in the German child benefit system in 1996, which led to a large increase in lump sum transfers to families with children.We analyze the impact on the labor force participation of women. Comparing behavioral changes of women with children with behavioral changes of women without children, we find that mothers with a working partner and children above age six considerably reduced the number of working hours (conditional on participation). Participation rates however did not decrease.
The Impact of Innovation Activities on Employment in the Environmental Sector – Empirical Results for Germany at the Firm Level
Authors: Horbach Jens
Published: April 2016

The paper explores employment effects of environmental product innovations at the firm level. Whereas there are many studies analysing this relationship for general innovations, studies for the environmental sector are still rare.On the background of high political attention connected with hopeful employment perspectives, a separate analysis of this sector in comparison to other, non-environmental fields seems to be very important.

The empirical analysis is based on the establishment panel of the Institute for Employment Research (Nuremberg). The econometric results show that the influence of environmental innovation activities on the employment development is significantly positive and the quantitative impact seems to be larger than in other, non-environmental fields. Within a bivariate probit model, the determinants of environmental innovation activities are also explored. They may be interpreted as indirect influences on the employment development of the firm. The results show that the improvement of the innovative capacities by R&D and further education measures and the existence of highly qualified human capital are significantly important for the development of new products in the environmental sector
Die Wirkung des Betriebsverfassungsgesetzes am Beispiel der Freistellung von Betriebsräten – ein Beitrag zur Rechtstatsachenforschung / The Effect of the Works Council Act on Paid Leave of Absence of Works Councillors
Authors: Backes-Gellner Uschi , Mohrenweiser Jens
Published: April 2016

In establishments with a works council and 200 and more employees, the Works Council Act requires the paid leave of absence of one works councillor, subjected to collective bargaining and works agreements. This paper analyses the de-facto distribution of this legal provision and shows that the paid leave of absence do not sharply increases at the legal threshold of 200 employees. Instead of a step function, we observe a continuous increase of the probability of paid leave of absence with the number of employees. In particular, a lot of establishments have a works councillor in paid leave of absence before the legal threshold and a lot of establishments have no-one far behind the threshold. Contrary, the probability of paid leave of absence for one works councillor sharply increases at the legal threshold for establishments with bad relations between management and works council.
Regressive Oil Price Expectations Toward More Fundamental Values of the Oil Price
Authors: Reitz Stefan , Rülke Jan-Christoph , Stadtmann Georg
Published: April 2016

We use oil price forecasts from the Consensus Economic Forecast poll for the time period Oct. 1989 - Dec. 2008 to analyze how forecasters form their expectations. Our findings indicate that the extrapolative as well as the regressive expectation formation hypothesis play a role. Standard measures of forecast accuracy reveal forecasters’ under performance relative to the random walk benchmark. We test the hypothesis of rational expectations by relying on the criteria of unbiasedness and orthogonality. Although both conditions are met, the forecast accuracy is significantly lower compared to naïve random walk forecast. The forecasters have problems to forecast the trends in the oil price. The recent roller-coaster movements in the international oil market have revealed forecasters’ inability to predict major trends in the spot oil price. As a consequence, some research institutes have stopped forecasting the oil price as an ingredient of their macroeconomic models and use a random walk forecast instead.
Beeinflussen bessere Qualitätsinformationen die Krankenhauswahl in Deutschland? / Does Better Quality Information Affect Hospital Choice in Germany?
Authors: Wübker Ansgar , Sauerland Dirk , Wübker Achim
Published: April 2016

This paper examines, whether well prepared report cards affect hospital choice within Germany. We report three main findings. First: hospitals, which publish their quality data voluntarily, extend their market shares after relative to before publishing the quality data - compared to such hospitals that do not publish their quality data. Second: in the group of the publishing hospitals, hospitals with a higher than average quality increased their market shares after relative to before the adoption of the report card - compared to hospitals with a lower than average quality. Third: hospitals with quality below average are basically chosen by patients living nearby and not by those with a higher travelling distance. Based on these finding decision makers in hospitals have strong incentives (i) to make quality information publicly available and (ii) to keep their quality scores high.