Determinanten institutioneller Vielfalt

The paper attempts to assess the validity of competing theories of institutional determinants and change using a sample of both transition countries and non-transition countries. Economic theory explains the determinants of institutions as results of political economy approaches, legal origin theory or culture differences between societies. As dependent institutional variables investor protection, labor market institutions and a composite index of coordination are chosen. In order to allow for different slopes and intercepts of transition countries several interaction terms are included. All variables are able to explain some of the variation across countries, but it seems that for transition countries political and cultural approaches are most applicable

Emerging economic systems in Central and Eastern Europe – a qualitative and quantitative assessment

In a first step, more generally, the concept of institutional arbitrage within the comparative capitalism literature is put to a test: as a result of comparative institutional advantages due to different investment incentives provided by types of institutions, companies relocate activities to countries, where the institutional set-up best supports a given activity. We test this proposition using German outward FDI figures on a sectoral level. We find evidence of institutional arbitrage using different ways to operationalize system differences between countries. Evidence crucially depend on the size of the receiving sector. FDI in a sector with comparative institutional advantage increases with sector size, while for a sector without a comparative institutional advantage the size of the sector does not matter. In a next step, the concept of the Varieties of Capitalism approach is applied to two Eastern European countries, Estonia and Slovenia, thereby assessing the general applicability of the postulated rcomplementarities-framework. In five spheres of the economy the institutional configuration is analysed: industrial relations, corporate governance, inter-firm relations, social security and vocational training. Slovenia seems to exhibit western style features of a coordinated market economy in all areas under study. Estonia is organised very liberally, as we would expect from a liberal market economy. However, in the sphere of corporate governance in both cases we identify deviations from institutional complementarities of advanced capitalist systems. Lastly, in a more general setting involving a larger sample of Central and Eastern European countries, a number of econometric approaches is used to assess the explanatory power of competing theories of institutional emergence and change. Political economy, legal origin and cultural notions of institutional determinants are tested. --New Institutional Economics,Central and Eastern Europe,Transition,Varieties of Capitalism,Foreign Direct Investment

MHz free electron laser x-ray diffraction and modeling of pulsed laser heated diamond anvil cell

International audienceA new diamond anvil cell experimental approach has been implemented at the European x-ray Free Electron Laser, combining pulsed laser heating with MHz x-ray diffraction. Here, we use this setup to determine liquidus temperatures under extreme conditions, based on the determination of time-resolved crystallization. The focus is on a Fe-Si-O ternary system, relevant for planetary cores. This time-resolved diagnostic is complemented by a finite-element model, reproducing temporal temperature profiles measured experimentally using streaked optical pyrometry. This model calculates the temperature and strain fields by including (i) pressure and temperature dependencies of material properties, and (ii) the heat-induced thermal stress, including feedback effect on material parameter variations. Making our model more realistic, these improvements are critical as they give 7000 K temperature differences compared to previous models. Laser intensities are determined by seeking minimal deviation between measured and modeled temperatures. Combining models and streak optical pyrometry data extends temperature determination below detection limit. The presented approach can be used to infer the liquidus temperature by the appearance of SiO2 diffraction spots. In addition, temperatures obtained by the model agree with crystallization temperatures reported for Fe–Si alloys. Our model reproduces the planetary relevant experimental conditions, providing temperature, pressure, and volume conditions. Those predictions are then used to determine liquidus temperatures at experimental timescales where chemical migration is limited. This synergy of novel time-resolved experiments and finite-element modeling pushes further the interpretation capabilities in diamond anvil cell experiments