Evidence For Germany Research Articles

Multidimensional Well‐Being at the Top: Evidence for Germany*

AbstractThis paper employs a multidimensional approach for the measurement of well‐being at the top of the distribution using German SOEP micro data. Besides income as the traditional indicator for material well‐being, we include health as a proxy for non‐material quality of life and self‐reported satisfaction with life as dimensions. We find that one‐third of the German population are well off in at least one dimension but only 1 per cent in all three dimensions simultaneously. While the distribution of income has become more concentrated at the top, measures of multidimensional well‐being at the top have decreased slightly over time. Moreover, health and life satisfaction are important drivers of multidimensional richness, which has important policy implications.

Regional Intelligence and Suicide Rate in Germany, Revisited

Across the 10 westerly and 6 easterly states of Germany, better-than-average school-end grades, taken as a proxy for intelligence, corresponded to higher regional suicide rates. This finding adds to similar evidence from other countries (Austria, Belarus, British Isles, Denmark, Netherlands, and USA), suggestive of positive ecologic (group-level) associations between indicators for cognitive ability and suicide prevalence, whilst offsetting prior inconclusive evidence for Germany from Voracek (2006) on the same question.

The Impact on Earnings When Entering Self-Employment – Evidence for Germany

Using data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) earnings differentials between self-employed and wage-employed workers in the German labor market are explored. Previous research based on US data reports lower incomes for entrepreneurs. In contrast to that, the findings of this contribution suggest the opposite for German entrepreneurs. They have considerably higher earnings than wage-employed workers. Furthermore, there is a significant and positive effect on earnings when entering self-employment. This holds true when it is also taken into account that workers usually report a smaller firm size and work longer after beginning an entrepreneurial occupation.

The Effect of Patent Litigation on Firm Performance – Evidence for Germany

I analyse how patent litigation outcome in Germany affects the performance of the disputing firms by interpreting changes in a firm's credit rating as a proxy for changes in firm performance. The results match theoretical considerations on the functioning of the bifurcated German patent litigation system: The separation of litigation and invalidity decisions, resulting in invalidity decisions taking much longer than decisions on infringement, provides patent holders with a window of opportunity to enforce patents that may later be invalidated. This shifts a major share of the immediate risk to the defendant and allocates bargaining power to the plaintiff. The estimation results provide support for this incongruity. Plaintiffs on average profit from litigation while defendants agreeing upon a settlement deal lose as much as defendants losing in trial. I further show that small, inexperienced defendant firms are at a disadvantage when dealing with litigation.

Intrinsic Motivations of Public Sector Employees: Evidence for Germany

This discussion paper resulted in a publication in the German Economic Review , 16(3), 343-366. We examine differences in altruism and laziness between public sector employees and private sector employees. Our theoretical model predicts that the likelihood of public sector employment increases with a worker's altruism, and increases or decreases with a worker's laziness depending on his altruism. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, we find that public sector employees are significantly more altruistic and lazy than observationally equivalent private sector employees. A series of robustness checks show that these patterns are stronger among higher educated workers; that the sorting of altruistic people to the public sector takes place only within the caring industries; and that the difference in altruism is already present at the start of people's career, while the difference in laziness is only present for employees with sufficiently long work experience.

Intrinsic Motivations of Public Sector Employees: Evidence for Germany

We examine differences in altruism and laziness between public sector employees and private sector employees. Our theoretical model predicts that the likelihood of public sector employment increases with a worker's altruism, and increases or decreases with a worker's laziness depending on his altruism. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, we find that public sector employees are significantly more altruistic and lazy than observationally equivalent private sector employees. A series of robustness checks show that these patterns are stronger among higher educated workers; that the sorting of altruistic people to the public sector takes place only within the caring industries; and that the difference in altruism is already present at the start of people's career, while the difference in laziness is only present for employees with sufficiently long work experience.

Determinants of further training – evidence for Germany

We explore the relevance and development of further training in private sector firms using the German Socio-Economic Panel, which is a representative sample of German residents. We focus on formal training and explore possible individual and job-based determinants of its incidence. We also show changes over time during a 20-year observation period from 1989 to 2008. Most hypotheses are supported by the empirical evidence. Job status and firm size are the most relevant characteristics for training participation. Furthermore, our analyses reveal a general trend of rising training rates from 1989 to 2008, indicating an increased importance in the German labor market.

The Impact on Earnings when Entering Self-Employment – Evidence for Germany

Using data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) earnings differentials between self-employed and wage-employed workers in the German labor market are explored. Previous research based on US d...

Measuring regional inequality by internet car price advertisements: Evidence for Germany

We suggest to use car sale prices from internet advertisements for measuring economic inequality between and within German regions. Our estimates of regional income levels and Gini indices based on advertisements are highly positively correlated with the official figures.

Tax and the City - A Theory of Local Tax Competition and Evidence for Germany

Despite the well-developed empirical literature on local tax competition, little is known about the actual spatial structure of inter-municipal competition. Assuming that competition takes place only among neighbours (as in the empirical literature) is at odds with the theoretical approaches where all jurisdictions compete simultaneously. In this paper we use a survey conducted among mayors in the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg to show that the perceived intensity of competition for firms varies considerably between jurisdictions and can mainly be explained by the size and location of the jurisdiction. Based on these findings, we develop a sequential tax competition model in which urban centres compete with other urban centres and rural jurisdictions in their own neighbourhood. This model predicts that larger jurisdictions do not necessarily rely more on capital taxes; in case they face strong competition with more distant competitors, larger cities even have lower capital taxes. In addition, we discuss how the model compares to a standard simultaneous approach and show that results from our sequential model are in line with trends in local taxation in Baden-Wurttemberg.

The macroeconomic consequences of migration diversion: Evidence for Germany and the UK

This paper examines the macroeconomic consequences of the diversion of migration flows away from Germany towards the UK in the course of the EU's Eastern Enlargement. The EU has agreed transitional periods for the free movement of workers with the new member states from Central and Eastern Europe. The selective application of migration restrictions during the transitional periods has resulted in a reversal of the pre-enlargement allocation of migration flows from the new member states across the EU. Based on a forecast of the migration potential under the conditions of free movement and of the transitional arrangements, we employ a CGE model with imperfect labour markets to analyse the macroeconomic effects of this diversion process. We find that EU Eastern enlargement has increased in the GDP per capita in the UK substantially, but that the diversion of migration flows towards the UK has reduced wage gains and the decline in unemployment there. The effects of the EU Eastern enlargement are less favourable for Germany, but the diversion of migration flows has protected workers there against a detrimental impact on wages and unemployment.

International Migration With Heterogeneous Agents: Theory and Evidence for Germany, 1967–2009

AbstractTemporary migration, though empirically relevant, is often ignored in formal models. This paper proposes a migration model with heterogeneous agents and persistent cross country income differentials that features temporary migration. In equilibrium there exists a positive relation between the stock of migrants and the income differential, while the net migration flow becomes zero. Consequently, existing empirical migration models, estimating net migration flows, instead of stocks, may be misspecified. This suspicion appears to be confirmed by our investigation of the cointegration relationships of German migration stocks and flows since 1967. We find that (i) panel‐unit root tests reject the hypothesis that migration flows and the explanatory variables are integrated of the same order, while migration stocks and the explanatory variables are all I(1) variables, and (ii) the hypothesis of cointegration cannot be rejected for the stock model.

Bounds of Unfair Inequality of Opportunity: Theory and Evidence for Germany and the US

Previous estimates of inequality of opportunity (IOp) are lower bounds because of the unobservability of the full set of endowed characteristics beyond the sphere of individual responsibility. Knowing the true size of unfair IOp, however, is important for the acceptance of (some) inequality and the design of redistributive policies as underestimating the true amount of IOp might lead to too little redistribution. This paper is the first to suggest an upper bound estimator. We illustrate our approach by comparing Germany and the US based on harmonized micro data. We find significant, sizeable and robust differences between lower and upper bound estimates - both for gross and net earnings based on either periodical or permanent income - for both countries. We discuss the cross-country differences and (surprising) similarities in IOp in the light of differences in social mobility and persistence.

Dark photokinesis behavior in larval zebrafish does not require the eyes or the pineal

Event Abstract Back to Event Dark photokinesis behavior in larval zebrafish does not require the eyes or the pineal Kandice Fero1*, Antonio Fernandes2, Aristides Arrenberg2, Sadie Bergeron1, Wolfgang Driever2 and Harold Burgess1 1 National Institutes of Health, Eunice K. Shriver National Insitute of Child Health and Human Development, United States 2 University of Freiburg, Developmental Biology Unit, Germany Evidence that deep brain photoreception influences physiology has been reported from a variety of non-mammalian vertebrates including fish. We tested whether light modifies behavior in zebrafish larvae through deep brain photosensors. We found that after genetic or surgical disruption of retinal function, blind larvae still aggregate on the lit side of a chamber during a phototaxis assay. Whereas intact larvae navigate toward the lit area through directional turn maneuvers, blind larvae do not display directed orientation while aggregating in the light. Upon loss of ambient light, blind larvae showed the same period of hyperactivity seen in intact larvae. This behavior in both groups is typified by increased turn initiation and greater swim displacement; such features are indicative of a navigation strategy by 'kinesis,' where increased locomotion with frequent turning enables an animal to move to a target region. Thus, the hyperactive response to loss of light may represent a 'dark photokinesis.' As larvae normally navigate in a three-dimensional habitat, we characterized vertical swimming during dark photokinesis. After loss of light, both intact and blind larvae swim downward then rapidly return to the surface when light is restored (the 'dive response'). To uncover the extra-ocular pathway driving dark photokinesis, we tested whether loss of the photoreceptive pineal organ, using nitroreductase mediated ablation in conjunction with enucleation, eliminated the response. Double-lesioned larvae retained robust hyperactivity and dive responses, suggesting a deep brain photosensor drives dark photokinesis. Neuroanatomical considerations led us to test orthopedia (otpa) mutants which showed a defect in the dive response and a loss of turn initiation during dark photokinesis. These results suggest that Otpa specifies a population of photosensitive neurons that function as deep brain photoreceptors underlying a non-directional strategy for light-seeking behavior. Keywords: Extraocular, Melanopsin, otpa, Photokinesis, Pineal, sensorimotor, transgenic, Zebrafish Conference: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012. Presentation Type: Poster (but consider for participant symposium and student poster award) Topic: Orientation and Navigation Citation: Fero K, Fernandes A, Arrenberg A, Bergeron S, Driever W and Burgess H (2012). Dark photokinesis behavior in larval zebrafish does not require the eyes or the pineal. Conference Abstract: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00334 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 30 Apr 2012; Published Online: 07 Jul 2012. * Correspondence: Dr. Kandice Fero, National Institutes of Health, Eunice K. Shriver National Insitute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD, United States, ferokc@mail.nih.gov Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Kandice Fero Antonio Fernandes Aristides Arrenberg Sadie Bergeron Wolfgang Driever Harold Burgess Google Kandice Fero Antonio Fernandes Aristides Arrenberg Sadie Bergeron Wolfgang Driever Harold Burgess Google Scholar Kandice Fero Antonio Fernandes Aristides Arrenberg Sadie Bergeron Wolfgang Driever Harold Burgess PubMed Kandice Fero Antonio Fernandes Aristides Arrenberg Sadie Bergeron Wolfgang Driever Harold Burgess Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Multidimensional Well-Being at the Top: Evidence for Germany

This paper employs a multidimensional approach for the measurement of well-being at the top of the distribution using German SOEP micro data. Besides income as traditional indicator for material well-being, we include health as a proxy for nonmaterial quality of life as well as self-reported satisfaction with life as dimensions. We find that one third of the German population is well-off in at least one dimension but only one percent in all three dimensions simultaneously. While the distribution of income has become more concentrated at the top, the concentration at the top of the multidimensional well-being distribution has decreased over time. Moreover, health as well as life satisfaction contribute quite substantially to multidimensional wellbeing at the top which has important policy implications.

Heterogeneity in the rebound effect: Further evidence for Germany

Rebound effects measure the behaviorally induced offset in the reduction of energy consumption following efficiency improvements. Using both panel estimation and quantile regression methods on household travel diary data collected in Germany between 1997 and 2009, this study investigates the heterogeneity of the rebound effect in private transport. With the average rebound effect being in the range of 57% to 62%, our results are in line with a recent German study by Frondel, Peters, and Vance (2008), but are substantially larger than those obtained from other studies. Furthermore, our quantile regression results indicate that the magnitude of estimated fuel price elasticities – from which rebound effects can be derived – depends inversely on the household's driving intensity: households with low vehicle mileage exhibit fuel price elasticities, and hence rebound effects, that are significantly larger than those for households with high vehicle mileage.

Social networks, job search methods and reservation wages: evidence for Germany

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the role of social networks on the job search choices of the unemployed. If social networks convey useful information in the job search process, individuals with larger networks should experience a higher productivity of informal search channels. This in turn affects the choice of formal search intensity and the reservation wage. The paper seeks to test these search‐theoretic implications of productive social networks empirically.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the IZA Evaluation Dataset containing detailed information on job search behavior of recently unemployed individuals. Observing a rich array of personality traits and direct measures of the social network, the authors choose an identification approach based on observable characteristics using least squares and binary probit regression analysis.FindingsThe findings confirm theoretical expectations. Individuals with larger networks use informal search channels more often and shift from formal to informal search. In addition to that, evidence is found for a positive relationship between network size and reservation wages.Research limitations/implicationsThe extent to which networks are used during job search most likely also depends on the quality of the network, which cannot be observed in the data. However, as the network significantly changes the observable formal job search effort of individuals, public job search monitoring policies should take these effects into account.Originality/valueThe paper complements the previous body of literature on the role of social networks in the labor market that predominantly focuses on labor market outcomes. By highlighting the interaction between networks and job search choices the paper improves the understanding of realized labor market outcomes in the presence of networks.

Lower and Upper Bounds of Unfair Inequality: Theory and Evidence for Germany and the US

Previous estimates of unfair inequality of opportunity (IOp) are only lower bounds because of the unobservability of the full set of endowed circumstances beyond the sphere of individual responsibility. In this paper, we suggest a new estimator based on a fixed effects panel model which additionally allows identifying an upper bound. We illustrate our approach by comparing Germany and the US based on harmonized micro data. We find significant and robust differences between lower and upper bound estimates – both for gross and net earnings based either on periodical or permanent income – for both countries. We discuss the cross-country differences and similarities in IOp in the light of differences in social mobility and persistence.

Changes in Import Pricing Behaviour: Evidence for Germany

Summary Since changes in import prices feed into consumer prices and thus might affect monetary policy decisions, policymakers need to establish whether or not German importers’ long-run pricing behaviour has changed. Of particular interest are any shifts in the importance of cost pass-through and pricing-to-market for import pricing in Germany that may have ocurred since the 1990s. We analyse pricing in single equations for 11 product categories because the factors influencing the pricing behaviour, eg competitive pressure,may well have developed differently on the individual product markets. The Saikkonen (1991) approach is applied to test the import price levels for changes in the impact of their determinants. After aggregating the findings for the individual product categories, we find that, on the whole, pricing-to-market has increased, whereas cost pass-through via foreign costs and exchange rates is lower, but not via commodity prices.

Does leaving welfare improve health? Evidence for Germany

Using exceptionally rich linked administrative and survey information on German welfare recipients we investigate the health effects of transitions from welfare to employment and of assignments to welfare-to-work programmes. Applying semi-parametric propensity score matching estimators we find that employment substantially increases (mental) health. The positive effects are mainly driven by males and individuals with bad initial health conditions and are largest for males with poor health. In contrast, the effects of welfare-to-work programmes, including subsidised jobs, are ambiguous and statistically insignificant for most outcomes.