Nacrt konvencije UNCITRAL-a o prijevozu robe (u cijelosti ili djelomično) (morem)

This paper constitutes systematic overview of the UNCITRAL Draft Convention on the Carriage of Goods (Wholly or Partly) (by Sea). The author elaborates on important and controversial provisions of Draft Convention dealing with scope of application, mandatory character of the provisions of the Draft Convention, period of responsibility, obligations and liability of the carrier as well as of the shipper, transport documents, right of control, limits of liability, time for suit, jurisdiction, arbitration etc. Differences between Draft Convention and international legislation in force are pointed out.U radu se daje sustavan prikaz odredaba Nacrta konvencije UNCITRAL-a o prijevozu robe (u cijelosti ili djelomično) (morem). Autor analizira važne i kontroverzne odredbe Nacrta koje uređuju polje njegove primjene, kogentnost odredaba, razdoblje odgovornosti za robu, obveze i odgovornosti prijevoznika i krcatelja, prijevozne isprave, pravo nadzora, granice odgovornosti, zastaru, nadležnost, arbitražu itd. Posebno su naglašene razlike između rješenja Nacrta i međunarodne regulative na snazi

Field of study, qualification mismatch, and wages : does sorting matter?

Graduates from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are usually found to have higher wages and a lower risk of overqualification. However, it is unclear whether we can interpret the effect of STEM subjects on overqualification and wages in a causal way, since individuals choosing these subjects might differ systematically in unobserved characteristics, such as ability. Using data on German male graduates we show that unobserved heterogeneity indeed matters for differences in the risk of overqualification and wages when STEM graduates are compared to the Business & Law group, while it plays only a minor role for the difference between STEM graduates and the Social Sciences & Humanities group

How relevant is job mismatch for German graduates?

In this study, we examine the incidence and direct consequences of job mismatch for German graduates. Beyond measuring job mismatch by the comparison of qualification obtained by employees and required for a job, we employ self-reported skill mismatch variables concerning overall skills and more detailed information about the surplus or deficit in specific competences. The results indicate that a substantial share of graduates underutilizes own skills in the job. The rate of overqualification and skill mismatch is found to differ strongly between fields of study, type of university and gender. In addition, we investigate to what extent jobs of matched graduates differ from jobs held by mismatched graduates. Jobs of the latter are found to exhibit lower complexity and creativity requirements but to be more monotone than matching jobs. Furthermore, we provide a conceptual underpinning of the possible explanations of job-worker mismatch and its implication for different actors in the economy

Individual and Regional Returns to Higher Education: Empirical Evidence for Germany

The thesis empirically investigates individual and regional returns of higher education in Germany. Chapter 2, coauthored with Ulrich Zierahn, investigates the individual payoffs of different fields of study. Graduates from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are usually found to have higher wages and a lower risk of overqualification. However, it is unclear whether we can interpret the effect of STEM subjects on overqualification and wages in a causal way, since individuals choosing these subjects might differ systematically in unobserved characteristics, such as ability. Using data on German male graduates we show that unobserved heterogeneity indeed matters for differences in the risk of overqualification and wages when STEM graduates are compared to the Business & Law group, while it plays only a minor role for the difference between STEM graduates and the Social Sciences & Humanities group. In Chapter 3, I investigate regional differences in skill mismatch depending on the size of the local labor market. Using survey data for Germany, I find that workers in large cities are both less likely to be overqualified for their job and to work in a different field than the one they are trained for. Different empirical strategies are employed to account for the potential sorting of talented workers into more urbanized areas. Results on individuals never moving from the place of childhood and fixed-effects estimates obtaining identification through regional migrants suggest that sorting does not fully explain the existing differences in qualification mismatch across areas. This provides evidence of the existence of agglomeration economies through better matches. However, lower qualification mismatch in larger cities is found to explain only a small part of the urban wage premium. Chapter 4, coauthored with Christina Gathmann and Verena Lauber, studies the effects of universities on the local economy using administrative data from Germany. Our empirical approach proceeds in two steps: first, we exploit college openings in order to identify the short- and medium-run effects on regional development. Second, we combine a matching procedure with a time-varying difference-in-differences approach to find suitable control regions for regions with a college opening. The results indicate that a college opening increases the share of high-skilled workers without reducing high-skilled wages which is consistent with shifts on the demand side

Earnings of university dropouts across Europe

This paper investigates relative earnings of individuals leaving tertiary education without a degree across 18 European countries employing survey data on adult workers. We find that, on average, university dropouts earn 8% more than those never enrolling into tertiary education, but 25% less than university graduates. Moreover, university dropouts do not appear to have better employment chances than other upper secondary graduates while they have a significantly lower employment probability than those graduating from tertiary education. We document substantial heterogeneity across countries concerning whether university attendance without completion is rewarded in the labour market. We find some suggestive evidence that university dropouts are less penalised in terms of earnings in countries with a lower share of tertiary graduates and with more flexible labour market policies

Preferred field of study and academic performance

This paper investigates the impact of studying the first-choice university subject on dropout and switching field of study for a cohort of students in Germany. Using detailed survey data, and employing an instrumental variable strategy based on variation in the local field of study availability, we provide evidence that students who are not enrolled in their preferred field of study are more likely to change their field, delay graduation and drop out of university. The estimated impact on dropout is particularly strong among students of low socio-economic status and is driven by lower academic performance and motivation

College openings and local economic development

We study how the presence of a college affects the local economy using administrative data. Our analysis exploits the opening of new institutions of tertiary education across Germany in the 1980s and 1990s. The new college substantially increased the student population and share of high-skilled workers in the region. Yet, we find no effect on regional wages or employment indicating that the local economies did not experience additional growth through skill-biased technological change, for instance. Instead, there is sizable heterogeneity in the local gains: high-tech firms in manufacturing absorb most of the new college graduates, esp. in engineering professions. We find little impact on the low- or high-skilled service sector or employment in managerial professions. Finally, we show that local labor market conditions prior to the opening matter: in regions with a more dynamic labor market, the opening encourages firm creation and a permanent upskilling of the workforce. Areas with a less dynamic labor market experience little sustained growth in high-skilled workers who are absorbed by incumbent firms

Working from home: heterogeneous effects on hours worked and wages

Working from home (WfH) has become much more common since the early 2000s. We exploit the German Socio-Economic Panel between 1997 and 2014 to investigate how such a work arrangement affects labour market outcomes and life satisfaction. We find that childless employees work an extra hour per week of unpaid overtime and report higher satisfaction after taking up WfH. Among parents, WfH reduces the gender gap in working hours and monthly earnings, as contractual hours increase more among mothers. Hourly wages, however, increase with WfH take-up among fathers, but not among mothers unless they change employer. This points to poorer bargaining outcomes for women compared to men when staying with the same employer. Controlling for selection into paid employment due to changes in unobserved characteristics or preferences does not affect the magnitude of the effects