Evidence For Germany Research Articles

Gender differences in reservation wages: New evidence for Germany

Generally, women set lower reservation wages than men what may translate into substantial gender pay gaps in the labor market. This paper compares both parametric and semiparametric estimators to analyze unexplained gender gaps in reservation wages among non-employed individuals in Germany. We examine these estimators using both conventional and data-driven model specifications. The results suggest substantial unexplained gaps in favor of men (up to 8%). In addition, we show that the gaps are larger at the top of the reservation wage distribution as well as among individuals with children and with a high educational attainment. The estimates are robust across the various estimators and model specifications. These findings imply that pronounced unexplained gender gaps in reservation wages do exist in Germany. As they are likely to result in actual gender pay gaps, gender gaps in reservation wages should be on the political agenda.

Struggles for co-determination: Anti-unionism, obstruction of works councils and employees’ counterstrategies in Germany

In recent years, there has been growing evidence in Germany of efforts by employers to obstruct works councils, trade unions and individual employees in the exercise of their participation rights. When such situations arise, the asymmetry of power intrinsic to the employment relationship will put the employee side at a structural disadvantage. Nonetheless, employees have strategic options to regain their legal rights to co-determination. The article examines, firstly, how employers obstruct works councils, trade union representation and collective bargaining. Secondly, it analyses the strategies and practices the employee side uses in response. Based on 28 case studies from various sectors and a total of 87 interviews, the study identifies two broad types of obstruction of co-determination by employers and six key dimensions that characterize employee resistance. The analysis of successful and failed conflicts points to a wide range of the diverse options available to employees.

Everyday discrimination, co-ethnic social support and mood changes in young adult immigrants in Germany–Evidence from an ecological momentary assessment study

ObjectiveIn the context of international migration flows, Germany is the second largest receiving country of migrants in the world. The aim of this study is to investigate the momentary mood effects of discrimination experiences for young adult immigrants and which social resources can buffer negative effects. A distinction is made between the importance of inter and intra-ethnic interaction partners in processing stressors. MethodUsing an ecological momentary assessment design, first-generation migrants in Germany who had recently migrated from Poland, Turkey or Syria were interviewed three times a day over seven days in June 2021 (N individuals = 976; N observations = 11,470). The timing of the short surveys was chosen at random using a signal contingent sampling method. Participants reported their momentary mood and instances of discrimination, along with information on social support perception and interaction partners during the preceding hour in the context of their everyday lives. Hybrid mixed-effects regression models were estimated and the research questions were tested with three-way interactions. ResultsThe results indicate that perceived social support only moderately buffers the negative effect of everyday discrimination experiences on mood. A positive main effect on mood is observed for situational variations in perceived social support as well as for support from interaction partners. ConclusionThe findings illustrate that being embedded in supportive relationships is important in everyday life, regardless of the occurrence of stressors. Furthermore, the study suggests that the level of perceived support is more important for first-generation migrants than the ethnic origin of the support provider.

Climate change and health equity: A public health perspective on climate justice.

The discourse on climate justice has developed from the theoretical approaches and discussions on environmental justice. A central tenet of the concept of environmental and climate justice is that environmental and climate issues cannot be seen in isolation from issues of social justice. A conceptual model was developed on the relationship between climate change impacts, social dimensions, adaptive capacities, biological sensitivity, and health equity in order to systematically analyse climate justice. Based on an exploratory literature review and the evaluation of the individual contributions of the status report on climate change and health, the evidence in Germany on social inequalities in exposure to climate change impacts and vulnerability to their direct and indirect health effects was summarised. This paper provides an overview of the international debate and examples of evidence on climate justice in Germany. Climate justice in the sense of avoidable, unjust social inequalities in exposure, vulnerability, and the effects of climate mitigation and adaptation measures on health inequalities is still insufficiently addressed in Germany. A consistent integration of equity issues into climate policy is necessary. With reference to the international literature, options for action and research needs are identified.

VersKiK: Study protocol of an observational registry-based study on the current state of follow-up care and adherence to follow-up guidelines after cancer in childhood or adolescence

BackgroundThis article describes the study design of the quantitative part of the VersKiK study, The primary objectives of this study are to examine the occurrence of late effects in survivors of childhood or adolescent cancer (module 1), investigate health-related vulnerabilities and medical service utilization within this survivor group (modules 1 and 3), and assess the alignment between documented follow-up care for cardiological and audiological late effects with guideline recommendations, along with evaluating the extent of adherence among paediatric cancer survivors (module 3). MethodsThis is a non-interventional retrospective observational cohort study. It is based on stochastically linked insurance claims data from approximately 150,000 statutory insured persons with information concerning around 25,000–30,000 cancer survivors recorded in the German Childhood Cancer Register (GCCR). To explore adherence to selected follow-up guidelines, intention to treat treatment data from clinical study groups for particular diagnostic entities will be additionally included. DiscussionThe growing group of survivors after cancer in childhood and adolescence is representing a special population with an increasing demand for life-long healthcare services through relative high probability of late effects. Currently, there is a limited evidence in Germany on utilization of corresponding medical services and adherence to follow-up guidelines. With this study design, we are aiming to address these gaps and, consequently, suggest improvements to existing follow-up guidelines and follow-up care provision in Germany.

Aquacel Ag Advantage/Ag+ Extra and Cutimed Sorbact in the management of hard-to-heal wounds: a cohort study.

To compare Aquacel Ag Advantage/Ag+ Extra (Aquacel Ag+) (Convatec, UK) and Cutimed Sorbact (Sorbact) (Essity, US) dressings indicated for the treatment of patients with venous leg ulcers (VLUs), diabetes foot ulcers (DFUs) and pressure injuries (PIs) for clinical performance and outcomes using real-world evidence in Germany and the US. This study was a chart audit review of patients who used either Aquacel Ag+ or Sorbact dressings in the 24 months prior to October 2022. Healthcare providers with access to electronic medical records and charts were asked to capture data via patient record forms. The quantitative data were analysed. Findings in Germany were comparable between Aquacel Ag+ and Sorbact with regards to wound description, management and treatment outcomes, including percent area reduction and wound closure. A difference was that a greater proportion of Sorbact patients required surgery (0% versus 11%; p=0.039). In the US, a greater proportion of wounds were worsening before dressing in the Aquacel Ag+ cohort (49% versus 34%; p=0.010). A multinomial logistic regression yielded the result that patients who received Aquacel Ag+ were 3.53 times more likely to have the wound completely healed (p=0.033). Both Aquacel Ag+ and Sorbact dressings are widely used in Germany and the US for patients with VLUs, DFUs and PIs. Our study found two important differences: patients who used Aquacel Ag+ were less likely to need further surgery in Germany; and in the US, there were significantly higher odds that wounds would completely heal with Aquacel Ag+ dressings compared to Sorbact.

Scoping review of climate change and mental health in Germany - Direct and indirect impacts, vulnerable groups, resilience factors.

Climate change is a major threat to human health and has direct and indirect impacts on the human psyche. To assess the state of knowledge on the impact of climate change on mental health in Germany, a scoping review was conducted for the focus topics extreme weather events, temperature increase, intra-psychological processing, sociological aspects, and resilience factors. Ten studies met the inclusion criteria of the searches in the databases Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, PubPsych, PubMed, and PsychInfo. The majority of the studies looked at correlative relationships in a cross-sectional design. There are indications of an accumulation of psychiatric disorders after extreme weather events; in addition, the risk of suicide increases with higher temperatures and it appears there is an increase in aggressive behaviour. The majority of people surveyed in Germany report concerns about the consequences of climate change, although these currently rarely lead to clinically significant impairments in mental health. Overall, the evidence for Germany must be classified as insufficient. In addition to the absolute priority of climate protection (mitigation) by reducing emissions, there is a particular need for additional research with a focus on vulnerable groups and possibilities for prevention and adaptation.

Do immigrants affect crime? Evidence for Germany

The paper empirically analyses the causal relationship between immigrants and crime using data for German administrative districts between 2008 and 2019. Before the refugee crisis (2008–2014), an increase in the current share of immigrants increased the total crime rate. In contrast, the effect was negative (or insignificant) during and after the refugee crisis (2015–2019). When analysing the total period, the estimates average out to zero. Studying more closely the composition of the migrant group, a plausible explanation of the negative (or insignificant) effect of immigrants on crime in the later period is related to a larger share of migrants with a less certain residence status.

The use of policeware to hack electronic evidence in Germany and the Netherlands

Hacking as manipulation of software, data, computer system or network without the knowledge and permission of the user constitutes an act of criminal offence. However, given that certain technological tendencies make it difficult/impossible to collect electronic evidence, the question arises as to whether the authorities responsible for detecting and proving criminal offenses should be authorized to hack, i.e. to conduct investigations in the digital environment in such a way that they would be authorized to exploit technical, systemic and human vulnerabilities within the IT system, without knowledge and permission of the user, in order to gain a remote access to protected system and conduct further actions. Although a state authorities' hacking with the aim of collecting electronic evidence carries immense risks for information security and human rights and freedoms with it, one cannot dispute that the deployment of such techniques might be useful in criminal investigations. However, the application of hacking technique would not per se violate the right to privacy and other guaranteed rights and freedoms, only as far as such interference is properly regulated. Hence, the legal framework should explicitly regulate the lawful hacking as a special investigative measure, especially the conditions that should be met and mechanisms that should be applied. As hacking for the purposes of criminal investigation may be performed through various techniques, this paper focuses on a hacking technique based on a malware, and its regulations in two countries with explicit provisions - Germany and the Netherlands.

HTA146 From Vague to Valid – Chances and Risks of Benefit Re-Assessments Due to New Scientific Evidence in Germany

In Germany, the G-BA decides on the added benefit of pharmaceuticals. This rating is the most important factor for the subsequent price negotiations. The G-BA’s rules of procedure (chapter 5 sect. 14 VerfO) allow manufacturers to request a re-assessment based on “new scientific evidence”, which – if accepted – would consequently lead to a re-negotiation as well. This precedence analysis aims at identifying the evidence level required for a re-assessment in general, for an improved benefit rating and ultimately the impact regarding the negotiations with the GKV-SV.

On the Impact of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence on Employers' Flexibility Requirements in Occupations—Empirical Evidence for Germany

Artificial intelligence (AI) has a high application potential in many areas of the economy, and its use is expected to accelerate strongly in the coming years. This is linked with changes in working conditions that may be substantial and entail serious health risks for employees. With our paper we are the first to conduct an empirical analysis of employers' increasing flexibility requirements in the course of advancing digitalization, based on a representative business survey, the IAB Job Vacancy Survey. We combine establishment-level data from the survey and occupation-specific characteristics from other sources and apply non-linear random effects estimations. According to employers' assessments, office and secretarial occupations are undergoing the largest changes in terms of flexibility requirements, followed by other occupations that are highly relevant in the context of AI: occupations in company organization and strategy, vehicle/aerospace/shipbuilding technicians and occupations in insurance and financial services. The increasing requirements we observe most frequently are those concerning demands on employees' self-organization, although short-term working-time flexibility and workplace flexibility also play an important role. The estimation results show that the occupational characteristics, independently of the individual employer, play a major role for increasing flexibility requirements. For example, occupations with a larger share of routine cognitive activities (which in the literature are usually more closely associated with artificial intelligence than others) reveal a significantly higher probability of increasing flexibility demands, specifically with regard to the employees' self-organization. This supports the argument that AI changes above all work content and work processes. For the average age of the workforce and the unemployment rate in an occupation we find significantly negative effects. At the establishment level the share of female employees plays a significant negative role. Our findings provide clear indications for targeted action in labor market and education policy in order to minimize the risks and to strengthen the chances of an increasing application of AI technologies.

Evidence-Based Policymaking in Times of Acute Crisis: Comparing the Use of Scientific Knowledge in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy

This article studies how different systems of policy advice are suited to provide relevant knowledge in times of acute crisis. The notion of evidence-based policymaking (EBP) originated in the successful 1997 New Labour program in the United Kingdom to formulate policy based not on ideology but on sound empirical evidence. We provide a brief overview of the history of the concept and the current debates around it. We then outline the main characteristics of the policy advisory systems in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy through which scientific knowledge—in the form of either person-bound expertise or evidence generated through standard scientific processes—was fed into policy formulation processes before the COVID-19 crisis. Whereas EBP takes place in the form of institutionalized advisory bodies and draws on expertise rather than on evidence in Germany, the system in Switzerland focuses more on the use of evidence provided through external mandates. Italy has a hybrid politicized expert system. The article then analyzes how this different prioritization of expertise vs. evidence in the three countries affects policymakers’ capacity to include scientific knowledge in policy decisions in times of acute crisis. The comparison of the three countries implies that countries with policy advisory systems designed to use expertise are better placed to incorporate scientific knowledge into their decisions in times of acute crisis than are countries with policy advisory systems that relied primarily on evidence before the COVID-19 crisis.

Spill over or Spill out? – A multilevel analysis of the cluster and firm performance relationship

ABSTRACT Regional clusters have become an inseparable component of modern economies. Spurred by the idea that clusters unrestrictedly encourage firm innovativeness, the cluster approach has particularly gained attention among politicians. Nevertheless, due to a lack of holistic consideration of different influencing variables, the scientific results about the effect of clusters on firm innovative performance are highly contradictive. Consequently, this paper aims to empirically investigate the conditions through which companies can gain from being located in clusters, focussing thereby particularly on moderating variables that relate to possible knowledge spillovers. Therefore, three different levels of analysis are considered separately and interactively. By analysing a unique multilevel dataset of 11.889 companies in Germany evidence is found that being located in a cluster has a positive impact on firm innovativeness. However, the results also indicate that firms benefit unequally within the cluster environment, depending on the specific firm, cluster and market/industry conditions.

Well-being in urban and rural areas, challenges, general policies, and their monitoring: Some evidence for Germany before and during the COVID-19 pandemic1

Major changes in society, the economy, the natural environment and the government haven taken place. The current pandemic demonstrates even more their social importance and positive or negative effects worldwide. In particular, an increasingly cross-generational awareness of sustainability, new information and communication channels and growing international interdependencies as well as comprehensive policies fostering well-being are gaining worldwide importance and pervade all activities. Germany has – as many nations worldwide – besides its national strategies committed to implement major strategies at United Nations’ and European Union’s levels. In the following, it will be examined which differences exist in the living conditions from a spatial point of view. Using selected indicators and current data mainly from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, an urban-rural comparison is made for Germany at the lowest federal level ‘Kreise’ (NUTS 3 of the European spatial classification). Even if it is still unclear what the long-term consequences of the drastic measures of the current global COVID-19 pandemic will be, current trends will be briefly presented. Furthermore, this study presents the latest data mainly before the worldwide outbreak of the pandemic and thus will offer starting points for later analysis of opportunities and risks for urban or rural areas post COVID-19.

Photovoltaics and the Solar Rebound: Evidence for Germany

Recent research suggests that households would increase their electricity consumption in the aftermath of installing photovoltaics (PV) panels, a behavioral change commonly referred to as the solar rebound. Drawing on panel data originating from the German Residential Energy Consumption Survey (GRECS), we employ panel estimation methods and the dynamic system estimator developed by Blundell and Bond (1998) to investigate the solar rebound effect, thereby accounting for simultaneity and endogeneity issues relating to PV installation and the electricity price. Our empirical results suggest that PV panel adoption of households hardly reduces the amount of electricity taken from the grid. As we derive theoretically, this outcome implies that the rebound reaches a maximum that is bounded by about 30% for German households. Yet, we are skeptical of whether there is such a large solar rebound effect given the strong economic incentives to feed solar electricity into the public grid in the past.

Truth or Justice: A Comparative Look at the Exclusionary Rule in Germany and the United States

Procedural rules and case law play a key role in shaping the fact-finder’s ability to “find the truth” in both Germany and the United States. In the United States, in the absence of comprehensive codes of criminal procedure, the judiciary’s shifting interpretations affect the exclusionary rule’s scope forcing prosecutors to use the pre-trial process to determine “whether the logically relevant information [they have] gathered will successfully undergo the legal metamorphosis into technically competent evidence.” In both countries, the willingness of courts to impose those rules or to reshape the contours of past case law in a manner that may or may not exclude evidence shifts over time. At this moment in history, we are witnessing competing trends regarding the exclusion of evidence in Germany and in the United States. Although courts in the United States, in particular the Supreme Court, have recently been more willing to narrow the use of the exclusionary rule, the decisions of German courts are trending in favor of placing more safeguards on the legislature’s efforts to expand police powers. Many scholars have highlighted the differences in the scope and application of both country’s exclusionary rules. While I summarize this prior scholarship and key court decisions in Parts I and II of this article, in Part III, I explore how these different normative underpinnings fare in a world of rapid technological developments. Further, I probe how the differing legal conceptions of privacy, autonomy, and dignity mediate the relationship between the democratic state and the concept of the individual and ask whether the structure of evidentiary protections in both countries prepare us for the decades ahead.

Public Childcare and Maternal Employment — New Evidence for Germany

AbstractThis study explores the linkage between five policy indicators of public childcare provision for below threes and maternal employment in terms of employment propensity and (conditional) working hours based on German microcensus data 2006–14. Our two‐way fixed effects estimations with individual and macro‐level confounders as well as year‐ and state‐fixed effects show that raising the coverage rate by 1 percentage point and the existence of a legal childcare claim from the age of one relates to an increase of weekly working hours by 0.5 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively. Regarding the employment propensity, correlations with policy indicators are rather weak.

Non-audit services and audit quality: evidence from Germany

The study examines the impact of non-audit services (NAS) on audit quality. It is motivated by the new re-strictions on the joint provision of audit and NAS for EU Member State (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy 2016, Regulation 2014, EC 2011) which are based on concerns that auditors’ provided NAS may impair auditor independence. Empirical evidence in Germany as well as in other Continental European countries is limited. We use a sample of 2567 firm-year observations from German listed firms between 2006 and 2013 and test the association between the level and type of non-audit service fees (NAS fees) paid to the auditor and audit quality. Earnings management is used as a proxy for audit quality. The findings indicate that the higher levels of NAS fees negatively affect audit quality. Separating different types of NAS shows that especially other assurance and other consultancy services have a negative impact on audit quality, whereas the level of tax services has no impact on audit quality. In further tests we show that cap on NAS fees at 70% of averaged three prior years audit fees imposed by the EU fails to prevent an impairment of audit quality, but that a moderate level of NAS does not result in lower audit quality compared to audit quality of auditors providing no NAS.

The labour market effects of offshoring of small and medium-sized firms: micro-level evidence for Germany

ABSTRACTSmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the economic powerhouse of many OECD countries (perhaps most prominently so in Germany). Yet, the labour market dynamics caused by the internationalization of their production activities are largely unexplored. We use survey-based micro-level data for Germany to explore the employment effects of offshoring of SMEs, relying on propensity score matching and difference-in-difference analysis. We find evidence for a downsizing effect in the immediate aftermath of offshoring whereas, initially, job creation is not spurred. In the medium run, we find evidence for a slowing down of employment dynamics of offshoring firms (that tend to belong to the better performing SMEs in Germany) relative to non-offshoring firms. Even though our results do not point to a net employment loss in the medium run, our evidence suggests that offshoring may lead to less jobs being created. This conclusion cannot be confirmed for large companies.

Smoking Behaviour in Germany Evidence from the SOEP

As in most OECD countries, smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption have been decreasing in Germany since the early 2000s. This paper analyses whether smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption, as well as their development over time, differ between socio-economic subgroups. Identifying these differences provides insights into the effect of policy interventions on German smoking behaviour. Based on data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), a large longitudinal study of the German population, we find that both the decline in smoking prevalence and the decline in average cigarette consumption were probably driven by a behavioural change of younger people, as well as of those with a high educational level and those with a high income. People who quit smoking were on average more highly educated, had a higher income and had most likely a lower cigarette consumption (before quitting). In contrast, smoking prevalence increased among people who were older than 45 and had a low educational level and among those who were unemployed. Smoking prevalence among women was relatively constant over time. Indeed, the smoking prevalence of women and men converged over time, especially in older age groups. Daily cigarette consumption of smokers increased among 66-to-75-year-olds, although it decreased in all other age groups. One explanation might be that the tobacco control measures were successful only in certain socio-economic subgroups. Not only smoking prevalence, but also smoking intensity was higher among men, among those with a lower educational level and among those with a lower income. Especially for younger birth cohorts, smoking prevalence among those with a lower educational level was particularly high. Thus, based on data from 1998 through 2014, the so-called social gradient in smoking was only a distinct feature of younger birth cohorts, and not of older ones.