bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Estimation of Reservation Wages: A Simulation-Based Comparison
Authors: Leppin Julian S.
Published: April 2016

This paper examines the predictive power of different estimation approaches for reservation wages. It applies stochastic frontier models for employed persons and the approach from Kiefer and Neumann (1979b) for unemployed persons. Furthermore, the question of whether or not reservation wages decrease over the unemployment period is addressed. This is done by a simulated panel with known reservation wages which uses data from the Socio-Economic Panel as a basis. The comparison of the estimators is carried out by a Monte Carlo simulation. In case of employed persons, the cross-sectional stochastic frontier model shows the best performance. The Kiefer-Neumann approach for unemployed persons is able to predict decreasing reservation wages but the rise of the mean reservation wage in case of a constant simulated reservation wage went undetected. In general, the Kiefer-Neumann approach overestimates the reservation wage.
Firm Growth and the Spatial Impact of Geolocated External Factors
Authors: Duschl Matthias , Schimke Antje , Brenner Thomas , Luxen Dennis
Published: April 2016

This paper studies the relationship between firm growth and external factors. Externalities from related economic, public research and higher educational activities are traced back to specific locations in space. The spatial characteristics of their impact are examined within a distancebased, micro-founded approach. Applying quantile regression techniques on a large sample of German firms, we empirically disentangle the complex interplay between internal factors (firm size), external factors and their spatial extent. In particular, we find that the larger firms are, the more diverse are the activities they benefit from and that the geographical meaning of “nearby” depends on the kind of activity.
Reconciling Normative and Behavioral Economics: An Application of the “Naturalistic Approach” to the Adaptation Problem
Authors: Schubert Christian , Binder Martin
Published: April 2016

While standard economic theory takes individual preferences as stable and “given”, i.e., independent of situational context, real-world preferences tend to vary with changing opportunity sets. This is exemplified by Aesop’s fable of the fox and the sour grapes. This phenomenon of “adaptive preference formation” poses a vexing problem for normative economics: preferences which constitute the measuring rod for welfare are in turn shaped by the (economic) situation of the individual, leading to problems epitomized by Amartya Sen’s “hopeless beggar” dilemma: The beggar, enduring objectively miserable circumstances, nonetheless claims to have all his preferences satisfied, which would lead orthodox welfare economics to establish a high level of well-being. For those who find this counterintuitive, different solutions for the “adaptation problem” have been proposed in the literature, typically centering on highly demanding rationality and information requirements. We argue that, in order to cope with this and related problems of preference endogeneity, welfare economics rather needs to account for recent psychological insights into the mechanisms that drive preference formation and change. We then use these insights to suggest and apply a procedural criterion of autonomous preference formation.
Global Warming: Technology, Preferences and Policy
Authors: Birchenhall Chris , Windrum Paul
Published: April 2016

Global warming is a market failure in that the market prices of goods do not reflect the externality imposed on us all by the green house gases (GHGs) emitted in their production. To date global politics has not provided an effective agreement on how to abate these emissions. Over and above market failure there is political failure. A proper understanding of this fundamental institutional failure requires us to consider the interaction between producers, consumers and politics. We aim to offer a brief introduction to some of the issues involved and point to an evolutionary analysis in which technology, preferences and policies coevolve.
Naturalizing Institutions: Evolutionary Principles and Application on the Case of Money
Authors: Herrmann-Pillath Carsten
Published: April 2016

In recent extensions of Darwinism into economics, the replicator-interactor duality looms large. I propose a naturalistic approach to this duality in the context of the theory of institutions, which means that its use is necessarily dependent on identifying a physical realization. I introduce a general framework, which synthesizes Searle’s and Aoki’s theories, especially with regard to the role of public representations (signs) in the coordination of actions, and the function of cognitive processes that underlie rule-following as a behavioural disposition. Institutions are causal circuits that connect the population-level dynamics of interactions with cognitive phenomena on the individual level which ultimately root in neuronal structures. I propose a new conceptualization of the replicator in the context of institutions: the replicator is a causal conjunction between (physical) signs and neuronal structures which undergirds the dispositions that generate rule-following actions. Signs, in turn, are outcomes of population-level interactions. I apply this framework on the case of money, analysing the emotions that go along with the use of money, and presenting a stylized account of the emergence of money in terms of the naturalized Searle-Aoki model. In this view, money is a neuronally anchored sign for emotions relating with social exchange and reciprocity. The money replicator is physically realized in a causal conjunction of money artefacts and money emotions.
On the Rationality of Medium-Term Tax Revenue Forecasts: Evidence from Germany
Authors: Breuer Christian
Published: April 2016

This paper examines tax revenue projections in Germany for the period 1968 to 2012 with a focus on forecasting rationality. It is shown that tax revenue forecasts for the medium-term are upward biased. Overoptimistic revenue projections are particularly pronounced after the German reunification and reflect upward-biased GDP projections in this period. The predicted tax-GDP-ratio appears to be upward biased, as well. The forecasts are likely to overestimate tax revenues if the predicted tax-GDP-ratio exceeds its structural level of approximately 22½ percentage points. The results also indicate that forecast errors of short-term projections for the current year exhibit serial correlation. It is conceivable that the non-rational behaviour can be traced back to the specific institutional setting of revenue forecasting and budgetary planning in Germany.
Family Background and Educational Attainment – Are there Birth Order Effects in Germany?
Authors: Eschelbach Martina
Published: April 2016

This paper contributes to the literature on the determinants of children’s human capital by analyzing the effects of birth order in Germany. These effects are typically attributed to sibling rivalry for parental resources. For our analysis we use data collected as part of the German Life History Study on birth cohorts 1946-1977. We find a substantial positive impact of being first born on the probability of completing higher secondary education. Analyzing gender differences, we find stronger effects for boys. Furthermore, birth order effects are more prevailing in small families. The results are discussed against the background of equal opportunities in the German educational system.
Averaging Across Asset Allocation Models
Authors: Schanbacher Peter
Published: April 2016

Combination of asset allocation models is rewarding if (i) the applied risk function is concave and (ii) there is no dominating model. We show that most common risk functions are either concave or at least concave in common applications. In a comprehensive empirical study using standard asset allocation models we find that there is no constantly dominating model. The ranking of the models depends on the data set, the risk function and even changes over time. We find that a simple average of all asset allocation models can outperform each individual model. Our contribution is twofold. We present a theory why the combined model is expected to dominate most individual models. In a comprehensive empirical study we show that model combinations perform exceptionally well in asset allocation.
Literaturbeitrag / Review Paper. Macroeconometric Models – From “Little Science” to “Big Science”
Authors: Heilemann Ullrich
Published: April 2016

This is a fine, useful book on the history and structure of macroeconometric models. Its perspective is “applied” and has a “positivistic bias”. It gives a good (or not so good) picture of the state of the art. The problems of the now “Big Science” deserve more attention than the modelling community (and Welfe) so far has been willing to pay. The trend towards ever larger policy-relevant models will continue. However, few of them are accessible to third parties. “Transparency”, a major goal models had once started to increase, continues to get out of sight.
Group Decision Making in a Corruption Experiment: China and Germany Compared
Authors: Frank Björn , Li Sha , Bühren Christoph , Qin Haiying
Published: April 2016

Much hope is put into the ‘‘four eyes principle’’ as an anti corruption device in many countries. However, as recent cases have shown, entire groups of decision makers can be corrupt as well. This paper reports on an experimental investigation of individual versus group decision making in a corruption experiment.

We find that the group decisions, as compared to individual decisions, lead to a higher level of corruption, for bribers and for bribees, and in China as well as in Germany. Only German women are less corrupt in a group decision context than when deciding individually.

Further differences between Germany and China with respect to the effect of the teams’ gender composition were found. In Germany, groups that consist only of females are the most honest and the male groups are the most corrupt, whereas in China the groups with mixed gender combination have shown a higher inclination to make corrupt decisions than the groups that are homogenous with respect to gender.
Mitigating Extortive Corruption? Experimental Evidence
Authors: Khachatryan Elina , Kube Sebastian , Vollan Björn
Published: April 2016

Extortive petty corruption takes place when a public official elicits small bribes from citizens for providing public services that the citizens are legally entitled to receive. We implement a novel experimental design that mimics this phenomenon and explores bottom-up approaches for its mitigation. In different setups we examine how monitoring by citizens affects public official’s tendency to demand bribes and whether citizens are more willing to engage in monitoring if they can recommend rather than report. Our results are mixed. Recommendations seem to perform better in environments with personal and repeated interactions, where reports might cause discontent and further disadvantaged treatment by public officials. In contrast, reports and the sanctions these potentially cause are more likely to deter public officials from extortive behavior in settings similar to the stranger matching protocol. Regarding citizen’s monitoring involvement, we find a strong preference for recommendations over reports, even among stranger matching treatments. Moreover, independent of the matching protocol and the endogenous monitoring mechanism, we find that agents in both roles are sensitive to monitoring and detection rate variations: public officials in their decision to demand a bribe and citizens in their decision to monitor.
Employment Effects of Technological and Organizational Innovations: Evidence Based on Linked Firm-Level Data for Austria
Authors: Falk Martin
Published: April 2016

This paper investigates the impact of technological and organizational innovations on subsequent employment growth using a standard labour demand model. The main novelty of the paper is the use of a unique dataset, which merges the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) 2006 for Austria with structural business statistics from 2006-2008, resulting in 3,070 firm observations. For manufacturing firms, quantile regressions show that product innovations lagged two-years have a significantly positive but decreasing impact on employment growth over the conditional distribution given the impact of output and wage growth. For service firms, the positive employment effect of product innovations can only be observed for firms with high conditional employment growth rates. Results are robust with respect to the measurement of product innovations (e.g. market novelties or new to firm products). Process innovations exhibit a negative impact at the higher quantiles indicating that process innovations lead to an increase in labour productivity at the expense of employment. Furthermore organizational and marketing innovations do not have a significant impact on subsequent employment growth across the different quantiles.
Internal Validation of Temporal Disaggregation: A Cloud Chamber Approach
Authors: Müller-Kademann Christian
Published: April 2016

Temporal disaggregation is a recurrent problem in applied econometrics. This paper proposes a novel test approach for checking internal consistency of the disaggregation procedure. This test can serve as a substitute for external validations which deems useful when disaggregating under data poor conditions. The test builds on Chow and Lin’s 1971 disaggregation model and rests on the known parameter decay triggered by the temporal aggregation. A simulation study shows that the test indeed provides useful information. Temporal disaggregation of Swiss GDP figures illustrate the approach.
Ersatzraten in der Gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung / Replacement Rates in the German Statutory Pension System
Authors: Kluth Sebastian , Gasche Martin
Published: April 2016

This paper aims to find an adequate concept to evaluate the replacement rate of the latest retiree generation of 2010. Classic replacement rates fail to provide meaningful conclusions because they can only be calculated for around half the retirees. This paper proposes an alternative figure, the so-called life cycle replacement rate, which relates individuals’ pension payments to the average real income over their whole working history. In sum, work history related characteristics like marital status, income or retirement age strongly influence individuals’ replacement rates. Furthermore, women’s replacement rates particularly benefit from non-contribution based pension entitlements, e.g. for periods of child-raising.
Growth Regressions, Principal Components Augmented Regressions and Frequentist Model Averaging
Authors: Wagner Martin , Hlouskova Jaroslava
Published: April 2016

In this paper we consider frequentist model averaging for principal components augmented regressions illustrated with the Fernandez et al. (2001) data set on economic growth determinants. We compare and contrast our method and findings with the WALS approach of Magnus et al. (2010).
Intergenerational Transmission of Unemployment – Evidence for German Sons
Authors: Mäder Miriam , Riphahn Regina T. , Schwientek Caroline , Müller Steffen
Published: April 2016

This paper studies the association between the unemployment experience of fathers and their sons. Based on German survey data that cover the last decades we find significant positive correlations. Using instrumental variables estimation and the Gottschalk (1996) method we investigate to what extent fathers’ unemployment is causal for offsprings’ employment outcomes. In agreement with most of the small international literature we do not find a positive causal effect for intergenerational unemployment transmission. This outcome is robust to alternative data structures and to tests at the intensive and extensive margin of unemployment.
Youth Unemployment After Apprenticeship Training and Individual, Occupation, and Training Employer Characteristics
Authors: Zwick Thomas , Mohrenweiser Jens
Published: April 2016

This paper analyses the risk of unemployment, unemployment duration, and the risk of longterm unemployment immediately after apprenticeship graduation. Unemployed apprenticeship graduates constitute a large share of unemployed youth in Germany but unemployment incidence within this group is unequally distributed. Our paper extends previous research in three dimensions. It shows that (i) individual productivity assessment of the training firm, (ii) initial selection into high reputation training firms and occupations, and (iii) adverse selection of employer moving graduates are correlated with unemployment after apprenticeship graduation. The empirical evidence is obtained from the second longitudinal version of the linked employer-employee panel data from the IAB (LIAB). This large data set allows us to calculate the exact unemployment spell length of apprenticeship graduates. In addition, we can include individual, employer, occupation as well as industrial relation characteristics before and after apprenticeship graduation into our list of explanatory variables for unemployment risk. We show in several robustness checks that our results are remarkably stable when we vary the employees included in the sample, the definition of unemployment, and the list of explanatory variables.
Are there Long-Term Earnings Scars from Youth Unemployment in Germany?
Authors: Möller Joachim , Umkehrer Matthias
Published: April 2016

We analyze the relationship between early-career unemployment and prime-age earnings with German administrative linked employer-employee data. The careers of more than 720,000 male apprenticeship graduates from the cohorts of 1978 to 1980 are followed over 24 years. On average, early-career unemployment has substantial negative effects on earnings accumulated later in life. An identification strategy based on plant closure of the training firm at the time of graduation suggests that the revealed correlation is not the result of unobserved heterogeneity. Scarring effects also vary considerably across the earnings distribution. Workers with a high earning potential are able to offset adverse consequences of early-career unemployment to a large extent. Workers who are located at the bottom of the prime-age earnings distribution, in contrast, suffer substantial and persistent losses. Our findings imply that a policy with the aim of preventing early-career unemployment would have long-lasting beneficial effects on future earnings.
Crystal structure of (N,N′-bis(2-(((2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imino)methyl)phenyl)benzene-1,2-diamido-κ4
O,O′,O′′,O′′′)oxidovanadium(IV), C44H48N4OV
Authors: Ji Xiangdong , Gao Wei , Mu Ying
Published: April 2016

C44H48N4O1V, triclinic, P1̅ (no. 2), a = 9.0540(10) Å, b = 10.5416(11) Å, c = 20.148(2) Å, α = 91.115(2)°, β = 95.150(2)°, γ = 99.630(2)°, V = 1887.1(4) Å3, Z = 2, R
gt
(F) = 0.0618, wR
ref
(F
2
) = 0.1553, T = 185 K.
Zu den (Un)Höflichkeitsaspekten der „Öffentlichen Online-Beschwerde“ im Deutschen und im Arabischen. Eine linguistische Analyse
Authors: Massud Abdel-Hafiez
Published: April 2016

This paper deals with the public electronic complaint in German and in Arabic which is defined in this paper as “macro-speech act”. The Contribution aims to explore the aspects of politeness, impoliteness which may accompany this speech act in both languages. The paper understands politeness and impoliteness in complaints as a “discourse strategy” to achieve certain goals. Politeness and impoliteness cannot stand on its own, but always as part of a discourse. The base of my contribution is fifty complaints in German and fifty others in Arabic. The analysis of the corpus depends on the face theory of Brown and Levinson, the theory of speech act of Austin and Searle, the theory of “interactional justice” as well as the cooperation maxims of Grice. The results show that the speech act “public electronic complaint” is by nature a threatening speech act for the negative face. The special use of the linguistic devices in a given context can decide, if it has also a threatening impact on the positive face of the addressee. Yet, there are some differences between this speech act in German and its counterpart in Arabic which stem from the differences of both cultures. The findings of this paper should contribute to the improvement of cross culture communication and foreign language pedagogy.
Strafrecht und Soziologie. Einleitung zum Themenschwerpunkt / Penal law and sociology. Introduction to the special issue
Authors: Lautmann Rüdiger
Published: April 2016

In einem Überblick werden einige der thematischen Orte skizziert, an denen sich Soziologie und Rechtswissenschaft bei der Analyse des Strafrechts begegnen. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die Fragen nach der Genese und Gestalt des Strafrechts. Im Einzelnen werden behandelt: Geltung und Symbole des Strafrechts, Devianz Irritation der sozialen Ordnung Strafbarkeit der Korporation, Punitivität und Expression, die strafrechtsgenerierenden Diskurse über Si­cherheit - Opfer - Gender - Menschenrechte sowie Grenzen und Durchsetzung des Strafrechts. Für jedes dieser Schlüsselthemen enthält das Themenheft einen oder mehrere Artikel.
Die Ordnung des Rechts – zwischen Erwartung und Enttäuschung. Zum Verwandtschaftsverhältnis von law und order / The order of law - between expectation and disappointment. On the relationship of concepts of law and ideas of order
Authors: Benkel Thorsten
Published: April 2016

Da Gesellschaftsstrukturen ohne Ordnungskonzepte nicht vorstellbar sind, nimmt das Recht eine Sonderstellung innerhalb der ständigen Reformulierungsvorgänge ein, die die Rahmenbedingungen der sozialen Wirklichkeit gestalten. Die ordnungsgenerierende Kraft des Rechts spielt sich allerdings weitgehend im Rekurs auf die Rechtsordnung ab, die mit den in der Soziologie diskutierten Modellen der gesellschaftlichen Ordnung keineswegs iden­tisch ist. Je stärker der Referenzcharakter juristischer Normen als rechtssystemimmanentes Element gilt - etwa in den Inszenierungen von Gerichtsverhandlungen -, desto mehr scheinen formales Recht und implizite Ordnungsabsicht auftrennbar. Selbstmisstrauen kann als Relativierungsprinzip das Recht stärker mit außerrechtlichen Ordnungsideen verbinden, sofern damit die Anerkennung einhergeht, dass es im Recht nicht um Gerechtigkeit, sondern um eine spezifische Verwaltung der Produktivkraft von Unordnung geht.
Die Feminissierug des Opfers als diskursive Strategie im Kampf um Opferrechte. Eine wissenssoziologisch-diskursanalytische Annäherung an den Prozess der Rechtsentstehung am Beispiel der Opferrechte im österreichischen Strafprozessreformgesetz / The feminisation of the victim as a discursive strategy in the struggle for victims’ rights. Outline of a discourse analytical approach to the process of lawmaking, exemplified by the victims’ rights in the new Penal Procedure Code in Austria
Authors: Stückler Andreas
Published: April 2016

Im vorliegenden Beitrag soll ein wissenssoziologisch-diskursanalytischer Zugang zum Prozess der Rechtsentstehung skizziert und am Beispiel der Opferrechte im österreichischen Strafprozessreformgesetz demonstriert werden. Dieser Ansatz? nähert sich der Rechtsentstehung über die Analyse von dabei miteinander konkurrierenden Wissens­ordnungen und deren Auswirkungen auf die konkrete Ausgestaltung von Gesetzen. Auf dieser theoretisch-methodologischen Grundlage werden in der dargestellten Fallstudie unterschiedliche im Gesetzwerdungsprozess zirkulierende Opferdiskurse rekonstruiert und deren zugrundeliegenden opferbezogenen Deutungsschemata und Interpretationsmuster analysiert, um so den Prozess der diskursiven Konstruktion des ,Opfers’ als einer neuen strafprozessrechtlichen Kategorie nachzuvollziehen. Als wesentlichstes Ergebnis der Untersuchung kann vor allen Dingen eine auffällig vergeschlechtlichte Beschaffenheit des auf den ersten Blick geschlechtsneutralen Strafprozessrechts und die Bedeutung von geschlechtspezifischen Diskursen für den Verlauf der österreichischen Strafprozessreform nachgewiesen werden.
Protokolle von Vernehmungen im Vergleich und Rezeptionswirkungen in Strafverfahren / Records of investigative interviews in comparison and reception-oriented impacts in criminal procedures
Authors: Capus Nadja , Stoll Mirjam , Vieth Manuela
Published: April 2016

Schriftliche Protokolle von Vernehmungen sind nichtige Arbeitsinstrumente in Strafverfahren. Sie tragen zur Rekonstruktion des Sachverhalts bei und sind als Beweismittel ein zentraler Bestandteil der Akten. Nachfolgende Entscheidungen stützen sich zum Teil auf diese Dokumente. In diesem Artikel besprechen wir den derzeitigen Stand der Forschung. Wir legen dazu unterschiedliche Protokollierungsweisen und ihre Einflussfaktoren sowie Wirkungen auf die Rezeption von Protokollen im Strafte fahren dar. Dabei begehen wir Studien zu Befragungs- und Aussagestilen mit ein. Die bisherige Forschung wird der enormen Bedeutung kaum gerecht, die diesen Protokollen in der Praxis zukommt. Wir schlagen daher eine transdisziplinäre Perspektive vor, in der Protokolle an sich als untersuchenswert gelten, und schließen mit einer Forschungsagenda.
„Vergebliche Gesetzgebung“. Die Reform des Sexualstrafrechts 1997/1998 als Jahrhundertprojekt und ihr Scheitern in und an der sogenannten Rechtswirklichkeit / ,Futile legislation’. How the legislative reforms of sexual offences in 1997–1998 became a centennial project and failed in and due to legal reality
Authors: Lembke Ulrike
Published: April 2016

Die Reform der Strafbarkeit von Vergewaltigung und sexueller Nötigung war mit Blick auf ihre Dauer, Mobilisierungswirkung Konzepte und Paradigmenwechsel eines der bedeutendsten Gesetzgebungsverfahren in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik. Der Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über die politischen, kulturellen und rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen der über 30 Jahre diskutierten Reform, ihre wesentlichen Akteur*innen, die großen Streitpunkte und die erreichten Änderungen der Gesetzeslage. Doch die mit dem legislativen Großprojekt verbundenen Hoffnungen haben sich nicht er füllt: Die Anzeigequote ist kaum gestiegen, die Verurteilungsquote signifikant gesunken. Wesentliche Hindernisse für die angestrebte effektive Strafverfolgung sind Vergewaltigungsmythen und opferfeindliche Grundeinstellungen. Hierzu gehören fehlerhafte Vorstellungen über Täter und Tatort, die Opfer und deren Glaubwürdigkeit, Häufigkeit und Erscheinungsformen sexualisierter Gewalt, aber auch über Kommunikationsversagen und Mitschuld sowie über den kategorialen Unterschied zwischen Moral und Intimität einerseits und geschlechtsspezifischer Diskriminierung und Gewalt andererseits. Solange Rechtspolitik, Rechtswissenschaft und Rechtspraxis einschlägiges (rechts-) soziologisches Wissen nicht professionell wahrnehmen und umsetzen, werden legislative Reformen vergeblich bleiben.
Rechtswissenschaft und Interdisziplinarität - Einige Beobachtungen aus der Werkstatt / Law and interdisciplinarity - some practical observations
Authors: Huster Stefan
Published: April 2016

Der Aufsatz behandelt praktische Probleme der interdisziplinären Zusammenarbeit der Rechts­wissenschaft mit anderen Wissenschaftsdisziplinen. Ergeht dabei auch auf Fragen der juristischen Ausbildung ein.
Diskursanalyse, Wahrheit und Recht: Methodologische Probleme einer Diskursanalyse des Rechts / Discourse analysis, truth and law: Methodological problems of a discourse analysis of law
Authors: Schweitzer Doris
Published: April 2016

Michel Foucault hat nie direkt einen discours der Jurisprudenz in den Blick genommen. Daher stellt sich die Frage, ob sich die Werkzeuge der Diskursanalyse umstandslos auf die Analyse des Rechts an wenden lassen. Auf methodologischer Ebene tritt- so die These - an Problem auf Die Diskursanalyse wurde von Foucault anhand und für die Untersuchung von Wahrheitsdiskursen entwickelt (I.). Zu den Eigenarten des Rechtsdiskurses gehört jedoch, dass er sich in gewichtigen Teilen gerade nicht als Wahrheits-, sondern als normativer Diskurs bestimmt - und entsprechend andere Diskursmechanismen herausbildet. Daher birgt die Fokussierung auf Wahrheitsdiskurse die Gefahr, zu Fehlschlüssen hinsichtlich der internen Logik des modernen Rechts zu gelangen. Wie eine solche Konzentration auf Wahrheitsdiskurse in problematischer Weise das Bild des Rechts präfiguriert wird anhand der Untersuchung Der Vorsorgestaat des Foucault-Schülers François Ewald aufgezeigt (II.). Um trotz dieser Problematik die Diskursanalyse nicht für das Recht aufgeben zu müssen, werden abschließend drei methodologische Verschiebungen vorgeschlagen (III.).
Werbungskosten oder Subvention? Zur Rechtfertigung der Entfernungspauschale und Perspektiven ihrer Ausgestaltung
Authors: Homburg Stefan , Karrenbrock Holger , Eekhoff Johann
Published: April 2016

Stefan Homburg points out that in Germany commuting expenses have been deductible from the income tax base for a long time. Germany’s grand coalition has now restricted this deduction. The article analyses whether or not this was justified from an economic point of view. It is shown that, in the long run, the tax treatment of commuting expenses has nothing to do with production efficiency. Commuting rather represents a form of household production. The overall conclusion is that the more restrictive tax treatment seems economically justifiable.

Whereas Holger Karrenbrock deals with the arguments of the proponents of the so-called ‘Werkstorprinzip’, a principle which means that for tax purposes the sphere of occupational activity ends at the factory gate. He demonstrates that expenses for commuting to and from work are incomerelated and therefore have to be tax deductible. The commutation to and from work is a condition precedent to income production, and the corresponding expenses solely arise from the taxpayer’s occupation, which both is essential in his opinion.

Johann Eekhoff, however, emphasizes that since 2007 costs of commuting in Germany are in principle no longer deductible from taxable income. This change in taxation is appreciated because commuting costs can be substituted by housing costs. Generally speaking, the sum of both cost factors is the same at any distances from work. Only for married couples costs of a second household near the workplace should be tax-deductible if both partners are employed at different places.
Effizienzreserven in der stationären Pflege in Deutschland: Versuch einer Quantifizierung und Implikationen für die Reform der Gesetzlichen Pflegeversicherung
Authors: Häcker Jasmin , König Birgit , Raffelhüschen Bernd , Wernicke Matthias , Wettke Jürgen
Published: April 2016

The design of the German statutory long-term care insurance (LTCI) is deficient in many respects. One of the major flaws in nursing home care is the inherent incentive problem concerning the relationship of the insured, the insurers and the nursing homes: For one, there is no competition amongst the insurers which influences the negotiation behaviour towards the nursing homes concerning the fixing of the daily payment rates. The nursing homes in turn are more or less unrestricted at setting the daily payment rate as the insured are mostly not in a position to fully practice their consumer sovereignty in case of the need of long-term care treatment. In the framework of this paper we try to quantify the efficiency reserve behind these disincentives in nursing home care and try to assess to what extent the contribution rate to LTCI could be reduced, if the efficieny reserves were exhausted.
Zur Entwicklung des Anspruchslohns in Deutschland
Authors: Boss Alfred
Published: April 2016

Due to labor market reforms in Germany some years ago, the incentives to work changed. The paper analyzes the effects of the reforms on the reservation wages for specific groups. The replacement rates implied by the system of unemployment benefits and by the rules of means-tested social assistance are investigated in detail. In addition, the paper describes the development of the replacement rates in the recent decades. It turns out that the replacement rates increased in the period 1950 to 1975. Thereafter, the rates for the specific groups developed differently. However, in 2008 the rates are higher than they had been in the fifties and the sixties.
Aspekte sozialer Ungleichheit in Deutschland
Authors: Schupp Jürgen
Published: April 2016

Social inequality is one of the fundamental themes of sociology and has received increasing attention in recent years, not only in economics but also in the public debate. Alongside the attempt to locate this topic in the context of the current social science research, this paper seeks to introduce broader normative dimensions of social inequality and discuss questions regarding its legitimacy. In Germany, the principle of needs-based justice enjoys high legitimacy, but in many respects, its objectives conflict with those of the principle of meritocratic justice. Based on the examples of education and income, the paper shows that upward mobility has stagnated in Germany in recent years, confirming suspicions that talent reserves are not being developed. The paper ends with a discussion of potential unintended consequences of the growing tendency towards a polarization of social inequality.
Liberalismus und Wohlfahrtsstaat
Authors: Rauchenschwandtner Hermann
Published: April 2016

This paper elucidates several aspects of the liberal discourse concerning the welfare state. It is argued that the basic principles of liberalism (the ahistorical economic concept of the self, the fallacy of a naturalistic notion of competition and a state without the foundation of a sovereignty of the people in the tradition of Immanuel Kant) have to be questioned. Thus, a historical- epistemological consideration of the liberal discourse might attaina richer and more meaningful explanation regarding the difference between liberalism and the welfare state. So the liberal self and its desire for competition are normative imperatives and have to be enlarged in respect of a categorical imperative as the basic principle of the welfare state.
Markt und Staat bei Adam Smith
Authors: Treu Johannes
Published: April 2016

The name of Adam Smith is always associated with the development of the invisible hand, the differentiation of labour and with the foundation of the economic liberalism, so that his book the Wealth of Nation is still in fashion. Based on the criticism of mercantilism system Smith develops his own economic system. Furthermore this economic system is more than pure discretion, it is also instruction which role the market and the state have to fulfil. Smith attributes to the market his famous role, the free function of the price system. Whereas the function of the state is limited to three tasks and no intervention into the market or price process are allowed.
Die fiskalische Nachhaltigkeit der Zuwanderung in Deutschland – Eine Analyse anhand der Generationenbilanzierung
Authors: Hagist Christian , Moog Stefan , Raffelhüschen Bernd
Published: April 2016

Immigration has a twofold impact on the sustainability of German fiscal policy. First, due to its positive impact on population size the fiscal burden spreads more shoulders i. e. the burden per capita declines (demographic effect). Second, the socioeconomic differences across natives and immigrants imply a structural effect, whose sign cannot be determined a priori. Based on the method of Generational Accounting the present paper finds that the overall impact of immigration on the sustainability of Germany’s fiscal policy is positive. This over all positive impact stems from the demographic effect, which outweighs the negative structural effect of immigration. Regarding the design of migration policies we find that considerable gains in sustainability may be reaped by attracting a larger share of high-skilled immigrants, while the positive impact of present immigration may turn negative if the integration of especially the second and third generation of immigrants into society fails.
Leviathan Europa – Stärkung der Nationalstaaten und der EU durch konstitutionelle Schranken?
Authors: Knoll Bodo , Koenig Andreas
Published: April 2016

The uncontrolled centralization of competences on the European level is problematic insofar as it does not correspond to the citizens’ preferences. Constitutional constraints can prove essential for the freedom and the welfare of EU citizens. Existing constraints like the subsidiarity principle, the Council’s qualified-majority voting threshold, the checks and balances between different institutions, and the constitutional courts are not sufficient. Sunset competences, opting-out rights of the Member States, and the introduction of „Functional, Overlapping, and Competing Jurisdictions“ could strengthen institutional competition within the EU in order to shape the Union’s and Member States’ policies more according to citizens’ preferences.
Ökonomische Grundlagen des Wettbewerbs im Internet
Authors: Kruse Jörn
Published: April 2016

The main internet problem is how to deal with temporary overload, which negatively affects quality-sensitive high value services while others do not suffer. Capacity overprovisioning als well as volume tariffs will not be efficient. The optimal solution is the application of priority pricing, where higher prices are paid for higher qualities. This is economically superior to network management as well as to strict net neutrality.
Das Gesetz zur Angemessenheit der Vorstandsvergütung
Authors: Koch Rosemarie , Stadtmann Georg
Published: April 2016

We analyze the law regarding the adequacy of executive directors’ compensation in Germany. First we provide an overview of the law’s contents clustered in four different fields. We also introduce economic theories to analyze the principal-agent relationship with one principal (shareholders) and two agents (supervisory board, board of directors) as well as the D & O insurance in the context of two contradicting theories. We debate whether regulation can be viewed as justified and go into detail analyzing each new aspect of the law and possible economic consequences on the compensation level. We also provide a short overview and discuss the implication of the law by German firms.
Wettbewerb im deutschen Mobilfunkmarkt
Authors: Haucap Justus , Heimeshoff Ulrich , Stühmeier Torben
Published: April 2016

This paper studies competition in the German market for mobile telecommunications, motivated by recent suggestions that T-Mobile and Vodafone possess a position of collective dominance. Allegedly, their position of joint dominance is secured through a combination of first-mover advantages and discrimination between on-net and off-net prices. While our qualitative analysis remains inconclusive, as some factors tend to favour collusion while others make collusion more difficult to sustain, our empirical analysis suggests that T-Mobile and Vodafone cannot act independently of their smaller rivals, but that they are disciplined by their smaller competitors’ offerings
Verteilungskonflikte durch die europäische Klimaschutzpolitik – Verschärft die EU die Hungerproblematik?
Authors: Brunnengräber Achim
Published: April 2016

In this essay the European energy and climate protection policy and its effects on developing countries are to be discussed. Are their nutrition problems being detereorated or do additional exports establish opportunities for a sustainable development? I argue that coherence of energy security and climate protection policy, as aimed by the European Commission, cannot be achieved by the measures taken so far. First of all the paper discusses the primacy of competition policy while, in the second place, strategic selectivity of climate instruments will be dealt with. Thridly, the „faith in technology“ will be approached and the fourth issue is dedicated to agrofuels and the commodification of developing countries’ ressources. As a result the EU energy and climate policy is about to aggravate nutrition problems. What is needed is a Transformation to a sustainable economy to realigning the north-south divide on the one and to overcome inconsistencies between ener gy security and climate policy on the other hand.
Zugangsentgelte zur Infrastruktur der Deutsche Bahn AG: Fluch oder Segen durch vertikale Separierung?
Authors: Bataille Marc , Coenen Michael
Published: April 2016

It has been a policy proposal since long to vertically separate transport and infrastructure in Germany’s railway sector. The proposal received new momentum, when selling the transport subsidiaries of Deutsche Bahn AG to the public was discussed in 2008 / 2009. While vertical separation is general ly understood to prevent foreclosure and discrimination by the incumbent network- operator, advocates of vertical integration claim separation to have adverse effects on access prices to the infrastructure. We examine the price setting incentives of an integrated and a separated network-operator and compare our results to rough empirical findings on the profitability of the Deutsche Bahn AG infrastructure branches. Theoretical analysis highlights that after separation exceptional mark-ups on access prices to the railwayinfrastructure are feasible only in segments of railway-transport with insufficient competition. We therefore conclude that an economic policy for the railway sector directed on efficient supply and promoting effective competition should unbind itself from alleged price synergies and should press ahead with vertical separation instead.
Altersarmut mit Augenmaß statt politischem Aktionismus vermeiden
Authors: Arentz Oliver , Roth Steffen J.
Published: April 2016

Abstrac

t Poverty among the elderly is currently an exception in Germany. Nevertheless, it is foreseeable that future pensioners will have less income and assets at their disposal. Reasons are the effects of the demographic change to the pay-as-you-go pension scheme, gaps in employment biographies and low pay employment. With that in mind, the reform package advocated by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is discussed and guidelines for a sustainable reform of the pension schemes are derived.
Keine Königswege bei der Verhinderung von Altersarmut
Authors: Rürup Bert
Published: April 2016

Poverty in old age is, up to now, not a relevant social problem in Germany.

Nevertheless, there are clear indications that poverty among the elderly will increase in the future due to a bundle of reasons. Because of this there is no silver bullet to solve this problem. In the conception of an adequate strategy to reduce and to prevent a rise of poverty in old age, however, the equivalence principle as the basic principal the German statutory pension scheme has to be questioned critically.
Länderverschuldung: Hoher Konsolidierungsbedarf, unzureichende Konsolidierungsbemühungen
Authors: Gebhardt Heinz , Kambeck Rainer , Matz Florian , Schmidt Christoph M.
Published: April 2016

In a bold legislative move, in 2009 Germany introduced a fundamental reform of the government borrowing rules which are specified in its constitution. In particular, state governments will be required to provide a balanced budget, abstracting from cyclical fluctuations, starting in the year 2020. A fundamental requirement for the practical implementation of such a rule is the unequivocal decomposition of the actual budget surplus or deficit into derived structural and cyclical components. This paper uses an approach designed to identify cyclical components which tend to average out over time, and calculates the corresponding current structural deficits of all 16 federal states. We find that, at the time being, only two federal states have exerted sufficient effort to reduce their structural deficits to an extent which would be fully compatible with the objective of adhering to the constitutional rules at the end of this decade.
Eine ökonomische Analyse der Überwälzbarkeit der Kernbrennstoffsteuer
Authors: Haucap Justus
Published: April 2016

The paper analyses the incidence of the nuclear fuel tax, which has been imposed on operators of nuclear power plants by Germany’s Federal Government in 2011. The incidence of the tax matters not only from a distributional perspective, but also from a legal point of view as constitutional rules governing public finances in Germany mandate that the burden of a tax can be shifted to consumers in order for a tax to be declared as a consumption tax. Otherwise, the Federal Government has much more limited competences to invent new taxes. This paper shows that the burden of the nuclear fuel tax can neither be shifted to consumers in electricity spot or future markets nor can it be shifted to sellers of nuclear fuels. Hence, the incidence falls entirely on nuclear power plant operators and is, therefore, equivalent to a tax on their profits.
Spieltheoretische Analyse der (impliziten) Koordination von Benzinpreiserhöhungen am deutschen Tankstellenmarkt
Authors: Haaker Andreas
Published: April 2016

In a recent study, the Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) came to the conclusion that the oligopolistic market for petrol in Germany enables the oil companies to coordinate prices at petrol stations. In particular, prices are increased uniformly and on a regular basis on Fridays and just before public holidays. In this essay, possible coordination mechanisms, and their implications, will be analyzed with the aid of game-theoretical instruments. In line with the limits of game theory (Rubinstein, 1991), the empirical question of how (implicit) coordination mechanisms are applied in practice, and their political consequences, will not be examined in detail.
Die finanzielle Entwicklung der Gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung – Simulationsrechnungen mit dem Rentensimulationsmodell MEA-Pensim
Authors: Gasche Martin , Holthausen Annette , Rausch Johannes , Wilke Christina
Published: April 2016

Against the background of the demographic trend the German Pension System is faced with the question of its financial sustainability. In order to predict future developments or potential reforms we apply a simulation model for the German Pension System (MEA-pensim), which enables us to replicate the pension system including all its crucial determinants (i. e. the population and the labour market). We present the model and discuss some selected simulations like the effect of different population and labour market developments on the contribution rate as well as the benefit level or the impacts of the proposal by the federal government to extend the supplementary period (Zurechnungszeit) for disability pensions.
EU-Kohäsionspolitik: Finanzielle Fehlanreize und die Suche nach dem europäischen Mehrwert
Authors: Heinemann Friedrich
Published: April 2016

This article analyzes both, the reform needs and reform obstacles of EU cohesion spending. Although the empirical evidence is unable to substantiate an European added value, structural funds continue to absorb an increasing amount of resources. The analysis reveals several shortcomings of this policy: First, EU regional programs have neglected institutional constraints on the side of recipient countries and regions. Second, an inflation of policy objectives makes a clear performance measurement increasingly impossible. And third, through the inclusion of rich regions into its programs, cohesion spending has lost its focus. To tackle these shortcomings, a comprehensive reform package is recommended which includes new incentives on the financing side of the EU budget. Only increasing regional co-financing or other financing innovations can reduce disincentives from common pool-financing and overcome reform resistance. Without any such financing side reforms, merely some incremental reforms are consistent with political-economic constraints.