International Outsourcing, the Nature of Tasks, and Occupational Stability – Empirical Evidence for Germany

Using a large administrative data set of individual employment histories in Germany, this paper studies how international outsourcing affects the individual risk of leaving the occupation. Moreover, a rich data set on tasks performed in occupations is used to better characterize the sources of worker vulnerability. While international service outsourcing is associated with an increase in overall stability, the impact of international material outsourcing is slightly negative. These effects, however, are not uniform but depend on the nature of tasks performed in the occupation. Higher intensities of non-routine and interactive tasks are associated with a more beneficial (or less adverse) impact of international outsourcing on occupational stability.Occupational stability, international outsourcing, duration analysis

International Trade and Worker Turnover – Empirical Evidence for Germany

Using a linked employer-employee data set for Germany, this paper studies how worker turnover is related to establishments‘ international trade involvement. The descriptive analysis shows that trading establishments have lower worker turnover rates than non-traders, suggesting a higher degree of employment stability. Conditional on an extensive set of control variables, exporting is further associated with a higher net job flow rate, which is almost entirely due to a lower separation rate (particularly for highskilled workers and transitions into non-employment). In contrast, an increase in import intensity is associated with a lower accession rate (particularly for low-skilled workers and their accessions out of non-employment). These results are more pronounced for smaller establishments, and they partly lose statistical significance once unobservable establishment characteristics are taken into account.International trade; worker turnover; job turnover; linked employer-employee data

Offshoring, Tasks, and the Skill-Wage Pattern

The paper investigates the relationship between offshoring, wages, and the ease with which individuals' tasks can be offshored. Our analysis relates to recent theoretical contributions arguing that there is only a loose relationship between the suitability of a task for offshoring and the associated skill level. Accordingly, wage effects of offshoring can be very heterogeneous within skill groups. We test this hypothesis by combining micro-level information on wages and demographic and workplace characteristics as well as occupational information relating to the degree of offshorability with industry-level data on offshoring. Our main results suggest that in partial equilibrium, wage effects of offshoring are fairly modest but far from homogeneous and depend significantly on the extent to which the respective task requires personal interaction or can be described as non-routine. When allowing for cross-industry movement of workers, i.e., looking at a situation closer to general equilibrium, the magnitude of the wage effects of offshoring becomes substantial. Low- and medium-skilled workers experience significant wage cuts due to offshoring which, however, again strongly depend on the degree of personal interaction and non-routine content.outsourcing, offshoring, tasks, skills, wages

Cross-border Investment, Heterogeneous Workers, and Employment Security – Evidence from Germany

We analyse how foreign direct investment (FDI) aff ects employment security using administrative micro data for German employees. FDI intensity is measured at the industry level, which enables us to take into account the sum of direct eff ects at the investing fi rms as well as indirect eff ects of FDI that stem from competitive eff ects, input-output linkages, technology spillovers, and changes in factor prices. We account for both inward and outward FDI, and diff erentiate these two types of FDI by source and destination region, respectively. We also investigate whether specifi c worker groups are aff ected diff erently by FDI. We fi nd that both inward and outward FDI at the industry level signifi cantly reduce employment security. This is particularly the case for inward FDI coming from the western part of the European Union, as well as for outward FDI going to Central and Eastern Europe. The eff ects are quantitatively small overall, but sizeable for some worker groups such as old and low-skilled workers.Foreign direct investment; labour market transitions; duration analysis

Offshoring, Tasks, and the Skill-Wage Pattern

The paper investigates the relationship between offshoring, wages, and the ease with which individuals' tasks can be offshored. Our analysis relates to recent theoretical contributions arguing that there is only a loose relationship between the suitability of a task for offshoring and the associated skill level. Accordingly, wage effects of offshoring can be very heterogeneous within skill groups. We test this hypothesis by combining micro-level information on wages and demographic and workplace characteristics as well as occupational information relating to the degree of offshorability with industry-level data on offshoring. Our main results suggest that in partial equilibrium, wage effects of offshoring are fairly modest but far from homogeneous and depend significantly on the extent to which the respective task requires personal interaction or can be described as non-routine. When allowing for cross-industry movement of workers, i.e., looking at a situation closer to general equilibrium, the magnitude of the wage effects of offshoring becomes substantial. Low- and medium-skilled workers experience significant wage cuts due to offshoring which, however, again strongly depend on the degree of personal interaction and non-routine content.Tasks, Offshoring, Outsourcing, Skills, Wages

Exporters and the Rise in Wage Inequality – Evidence from German Linked Employer-Employee Data

Using a linked employer-employee data set of the German manufacturing sector, this paper analyses the role of exporting establishments in explaining rising wage dispersion. Over the period of analysis (1996–2007), the raw wage differential between exporters and domestic establishments increased substantially, which can only partly be attributed to corresponding changes in human capital endowments and the returns to them. These findings are consistent with recent heterogeneous-fi rm trade models that feature an exporter wage premium as well as variability of the premium with respect to increasing trade liberalization. A decomposition analysis shows that the increase in the conditional wage gap indeed contributed to rising wage inequality both within and between skill groups. In contrast, the growing employment share of exporters contributed to a reduction in wage dispersion.Exports; wages; exporter wage premium; wage inequality; linked employer-employee data; decomposition

Model to simulate impact of eye oculomotor behavior under imaging condition

Purpose : Fixational eye movements influence the measurement process of anterior and posterior examinations and effect the reliability. We developed a model of these movements in order to study their impact on simultaneous measurement processes, e.g. retina imaging by laser scanner ophthalmoscopy (SLO). Methods : Geometrical eye: Based on published schematic eye models a geometrical model (cornea, bulbus oculi) was implemented in three degrees of abstraction. The highest degree considers all components as spheres whereas the medium degree provides ellipsoidal shapes. The lowest degree takes into account complex surfaces for cornea and retina. The lens was generally simplified by a plane characterizing the optical effect. Oculomotor behavior: Based on published parameters individual oculomotor movements like micro saccade, drift and tremor were modelled as synthetic data. Specific eye movements from measured data of different eye tracker devices were also included. The rotation was implemented following Dondor’s law and Listing’s law. The plane of rotation is positioned 13.5 mm behind the apex of the cornea. Measurement procedure: Based on current technical parameters for SLO, a rectangular scanning pattern was modelled covering a 30° x 30° field of view with 768 x768 pixel at 96 ms and 1,536 x 1,536 pixel at 192 ms scan time per image. Validation: A phantom eye performing defined movements was constructed. It consists of a biconvex lens as anterior part and a concave posterior part covered with a printed vessel tree, at the ends of a water filled tube in their anatomical distance. The movement was realized by a Gimbal-Mirror-Mount (Newport) stirred by two stepping motors. Results : For a most sensible setup we decided for a diagonal direction of motion in the phantom eye as well as our simulation. Therewith the first visible artifacts occurred in horizontal rather than in vertical direction. The movement of the phantom eye in one direction was visible over 35 frames. A displacement of 3.4° with a maximum velocity of 2° per second lead to the first horizontal artifacts in two consecutive images in both our SLO video data and our model. Conclusions : Our customizable model allows simulation of monocular fixational behavior of the human eye during a measurement process. This provides comprehensible information regarding intended vs. real measurement position and measured value to specify measurement errors more precisely

Temporary Agency Work and the Great Recession

We investigate with German data how the use of temporary agency work has helped establishments to manage the economic and financial crisis in 2008/09. We examine the (regular) workforce development, use of short-time work, and business performance of establishments that made differential use of temporary agency work prior to the crisis. Overall, our results suggest that establishments with a greater use of temporary agency work coped better with the sharp decline in demand and made less frequent use of government-sponsored short-time work schemes