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Content:Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M., Wolfgang Maennig, Hanno Scholz: Expected External Effects and Voting: The Case of the Munich Allianz-Arena JBNST - Vol. 230/1 - 2010, pp. 2-26.
+ show abstract- hide abstractWe investigate at the precinct-level the 2001 stadium referendum for the Allianz-Arena inMunich,
where voters had to decide upon a projected site as well as on public subsidies for provision
of transport infrastructure. This is the first analysis of a stadium referendum with respect
to the spatial dimension outside the U.S. The new arena, which is the home venue of the professional
soccer clubs FC Bayern Mu¨ nchen and TSV 1860 Mu¨ nchen and also was a major
venue during the FIFAWorld Cup 2006 clearly won the approval of a majority of voters in
one of the referendums with the largest participation in the history of Munich. However,
in proximity of the projected site, residents strongly opposed the project, which reflects in
significantly reduced shares of yes-votes. Assuming rationality, we conclude that at city level
residents expected an increase in utility from the new arena that justified public expenses.
However, our results also point to considerable proximity cost, probably related to the presence
of fan crowds and congestion. This finding contradicts the existing evidence on stadium
impact from the U.S. There are also major differences in the socio-economic determinants of
voting behavior, indicating that the expected net-benefit of proximity to professional sports
facilities may vary across sports and countries. Available in: English Braakmann, Nils: Fields of Training, Plant Characteristics and the Gender Wage Gap in Entry Wages Among Skilled Workers – Evidence from German Administrative Data JBNST - Vol. 230/1 - 2010, pp. 27-41.
+ show abstract- hide abstractThis 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%. Available in: English Jochem, Axel: International Financial Competitiveness and Incentives to Foreign Direct Investment JBNST - Vol. 230/1 - 2010, pp. 42-58.
+ show abstract- hide abstractInternational 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. Available in: English Kholodilin, Konstantin A., Jan-Oliver Menz, Boriss Siliverstovs: What Drives Housing Prices Down? Evidence from an International Panel JBNST - Vol. 230/1 - 2010, pp. 59-76.
+ show abstract- hide abstractIn this study, we suggest an explanation for the low growth rates of real housing prices in Canada
and Germany in comparison to other OECD countries over the period 1975–2005. We
show that the long-run development of housing markets is determined by real disposable percapita
income, the real long-term interest rate, population growth, and urbanization. The differential
development of real housing prices in Canada and Germany is attributed to the fundamentals
in these two countries. Canada and Germany are characterized by relatively low average
growth rates of real disposable income and relatively high interest rates, resulting in depressed
housing prices over a long period of time. Institutional structure accentuates these tendencies.
Given the importance of housing wealth for private consumption, our paper aims at
drawing the attention of policymakers to the necessity of preventing not only overheating but
also overcooling of the housing market that entails lower economic growth rate. Available in: English Pfeifer, Christian: Work Effort During and After Employment Probation: Evidence from German Personnel Data JBNST - Vol. 230/1 - 2010, pp. 77-91.
+ show abstract- hide abstractThe degree of employment protection affects employment flows as well as work effort of employees.
Whereas the former aspect has been analysed in many studies, the impact of employment
protection on work effort has been analysed in few recent studies. Theory predicts that
employment protection reduces work effort because employee shirking cannot be that easily
punished by the firm, which decreases the separation probability and increases the expected
utility for a shirker in efficiencywage models. Personnel records of aGerman company are used
to assess the impact of lower employment protection during probation on worker absenteeism
as a proxy for work effort. The main finding is that new white-collar workers are on average
more than 50 percent less likely to be absent and have on average more than 60 percent fewer
absent working days during the three months probation period compared to the nine months
period afterwards. These relative effects differ only slightly between the genders and between
different age and educational groups. Available in: English Südekum, Jens: Human Capital Externalities and Growth of High- and Low-Skilled Jobs JBNST - Vol. 230/1 - 2010, pp. 92-114.
+ show abstract- hide abstractHuman capital is unequally distributed across cities or regions within a country. The way how
the spatial distribution of human capital evolves over time sheds light on the strength of
concentration forces for high-skilled workers, such as localised increasing returns to human
capital. In this paper I analyse the impact of human capital on local employment growth for
Western German regions (1977–2006). Two main empirical facts are established: “Skilled
cities” inWestern Germany grow faster. At the same time there is convergence of human capital
shares across cities, i.e., high-skilledworkers do not increasingly concentrate in space.Whereas
the first fact (the “smart city hypothesis”) similarly holds in Germany and in the US, there is a
striking difference when it comes to the second fact. Some researchers have found an opposite
trend of human capital divergence across US metropolitan areas. My findings suggest that
human capital exhibits a different spatial trend in different countries. I present a theoretical
model which shows that the spatial convergence trend does not imply that concentration forces
for high-skilled workers are absent inWestern Germany, but only that they are relatively weak
compared to countervailing dispersion forces. I further discuss some reasons that may explain
the differences between Western Germany and the US. I emphasise the role of the tax system
and the impact of pro-dispersive regional policy in Europe. Available in: English Thiele, Silke: Increase of the Value Added Tax (VAT): Budget- and Welfare-Effects for Consumers JBNST - Vol. 230/1 - 2010, pp. 115-130.
+ show abstract- hide abstractOn January 1st 2007 the Federal Republic of Germany increased the value added tax (VAT)
from16%up to 19%. The reduced VAT for food of 7%has been is kept but it is often debated.
The issue in debate is whether distributional effects between different groups of households
occur if the VAT of food is increased up to 19%. The objective of this analysis is to quantify
the welfare effects of an increase of the VAT for different German household groups. Furthermore
budget effects are calculated, which look upon household expenditures before and after
the VAT increase. The methodical basis of this analysis is the Almost Ideal Demand System
(AIDS) estimated with cross sectional data of 11,831 German households. Two aspects
have to be taken into account with the use of cross-sectional data: insufficient price information
and zero expenditures. To derive quality adjusted prices an approach of Cox/Wohlgenannt
(1986) is applied. To take censoring of the dependent variables into account a procedure of
Shonkwiler/Yen (1999) was employed. The results show that low income households and
households with children will have comparatively high welfare losses. Available in: English
Book Reviews Gnos, Claude, Louis-Philippe Rochon (eds.): Monetary Policy and Financial Stability - A Post-Keynesian Agenda JBNST - Vol. 230/1 - 2010, pp. 131-131.
Schneider, Friedrich, Johannes Kepler (eds.): The Economics of the Hidden Economy JBNST - Vol. 230/1 - 2010, pp. 132-132.
Wiegmann, Jochen Gert Arend: Produktivitätsentwicklung in Deutschland JBNST - Vol. 230/1 - 2010, pp. 133-133.
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