Fiscal federalism in Germany: Stabilization and redistribution before and after unification

We provide empirical estimates of the risk-sharing and redistributive properties of the German federal fiscal system based on data from 1970 until 2006, with special attention to the effects of German unification. We find that tax revenue sharing between the states and the federal government and the fiscal equalization mechanism (Länderfinanzausgleich) together reduce differences in per-capita state incomes by 37 percent during period 1970 to 1994. After the full integration of East German states into the mechanism in 1995, the redistributive effects increase slightly to about 39 percent. With respect to the insurance effect of the German fiscal system, our results indicate that the federal fiscal system offsets 47 percent of an asymmetric shock to state per-capita incomes. This effect has significantly decreased after the inclusion of the East German states in 1995. Furthermore, we find that the German fiscal system provides almost perfect insurance for state government budgets against asymmetric revenue shocks; also, its redistributive effect with regard to the tax resources available to state governments is very strong. --Regional Risk-sharing,Fiscal Federalism,Monetary Union

Interstate risk sharing in Germany: 1970-2006

We study the channels of interstate risk sharing in Germany for the time period 1970 to 2006 following the methodology of Asdrubali et al. (1996). Their framework allows us to estimate the degree of smoothing of a shock to a state's gross domestic product by factor markets, the government sector, and credit markets, respectively. For the time period from 1970 to 1994 pre-unification Germany we find that about 19 percent of shocks to a state's gross domestic product (GDP) are smoothed by private factor markets, 50 percent are smoothed by the German government sector, and a further 17 percent are smoothed through credit markets. For the post-reunification period, 1995 to 2006, the relative importance of the smoothing channels changes. In the complete sample, factor markets contribute around 50.5 percent to consumption smoothing, and credit markets contribute another 17.5 percent. The government sector's role is diminished: it smoothes around 10 percent of a shock. For this period, we also split our sample between West and East German states. In West Germany, 63 percent of idiosyncratic income shocks are smoothed out by factor markets; and another 15 percent by the government sector. In East Germany, factor markets smooth about 34.5 percent of the volatility in state GDP, the government sector about 19 percent, and another 18 percent are smoothed by credit markets. --Regional Risk-sharing,Factor Markets,Consumption Smoothing,Fiscal Federalism

Fiscal federalism in Germany: Stabilization and redistribution before and after unification

We provide empirical estimates of the risk-sharing and redistributive properties of the German federal from 1970 until 2006, with special attention to the effects of German fiscal system base unification. We find that tax revenue sharing between the states and the federal government and the fiscal equalization mechanism (Länderfinanzausgleich) together reduce differences in per-capita state incomes by 36.9 percent during period 1970 to 1994. After the full integration of East German states into the mechanism in 1995, the redistributive effects increase slightly to about 38.6 percent. With respect to the insurance effect of the German fiscal system, our results indicate that the federal fiscal system offsets 47 percent of an asymmetric shock to state per-capita incomes. This effect has significantly decreased after the inclusion of the East German states in 1995. Furthermore, we find that the German fiscal system provides almost perfect insurance for state government budgets against asymmetric revenue shocks; also, its redistributive effect with regard to the tax resources available to state governments is very strong. --Regional Risk-sharing,Fiscal Federalism,Monetary Union

Regional risksharing and redistribution in the German federation

We provide empirical estimates of the risksharing and redistributive properties of fiscal equalization among the states of the German federation. Fiscal equalization serves as a mechanism to insure state budgets against asymmetric revenue shocks, but provides almost no insurance against regional income shocks. Equalization responds only weakly to income differentials but strongly to tax revenue differentials across states. A further result is that the correlation of state tax revenues with state GDPs has declined over time. This may reflect a weakening in state tax efforts in response to the adverse incentive effects of fiscal equalization. --

Hat das Ausbildungsniveau einen Einfluss auf das individuelle Rentenzugangsverhalten?

Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht, inwieweit das Ausbildungsniveau der Versicherten das Rentenzugangsgeschehen beeinflusst. Informationen darüber sind aktuell insofern von Interesse, als die im Mai 2007 in Kraft getretene Initiative 50plus des Bundesministeriums für Arbeit und Soziales die Beschäftigungsfähigkeit und die Beschäftigungschancen älterer Menschen in Deutschland erhöhen möchte (vgl. BMAS 2006). Ausgehend von der Annahme, dass insbesondere gering Qualifizierte oft früh aus dem Arbeitsleben ausscheiden, soll u. a. über eine deutliche Erhöhung der Teilnahme an beruflicher Weiterbildung die „produktive Lebensphase“ verlängert werden. Hohe Bildung in Kombination mit beruflicher Weiterbildung soll laut BMAS steigenden Qualifikationsanforderungen auf Zukunftsarbeitsmärkten gerecht werden. Vor diesem Hintergrund untersucht der vorliegende Aufsatz auf Basis des Scientific Use File (SUF) Versichertenrentenzugang 2006 des Forschungsdatenzentrums der Rentenversicherung (FDZ-RV), ob im Jahr 2006 Hochqualifizierte später als niedriger Qualifizierte in Rente gegangen sind. Die Befunde verweisen darauf, dass mit zunehmender Qualifikation das Rentenzugangsalter tendenziell ansteigt. Allerdings zeigt eine differenzierte Betrachtung einzelner Zugangsjahre die große Bedeutung eines vor der Regelaltersgrenze von 65 Jahren liegenden Übergangs in den Ruhestand, insbesondere bei besser gestellten Hochqualifizierten.

Thermopower and conductivity of aerosol deposited BaFe1-xTaxO3-δ films

The thermopower, also known as Seebeck coefficient, is an important parameter to determine constants for defect chemical models of semiconductor materials since it is a measure for the charge carrier concentration. The Seebeck coefficient does not depend on the geometry of the material, like the often investigated conductivity. BaFe0.7Ta0.3O3-δ is known as a temperature independent conductometric oxygen sensor material with perovskite crystal structure. The present work considers the thermopower as well as the electrical conductivity of BaFe1-xTaxO3-δ for x in the range of 0.1 to 0.45 (BFTx). Seebeck coefficient and conductivity were measured simultaneously between 400 and 850°C under varying oxygen partial pressures from 10-2 to 1 bar. BFTx fine powders have been prepared by conventional mixed-oxide route and were calcined at 1350°C. Crystal structure and phase purity were investigated by X-ray diffraction. BFTx thick-films have been successfully deposited by the novel Aerosol Deposition Method (ADM) at room temperature on a special transducer. This well designed transducer includes four platinum electrodes and two gold-platinum thermocouples. Both, thermopower and electrical conductivity, of samples with tantalum contents between x=0.2-0.3 show almost no temperature dependency but depend strongly on the oxygen partial pressure in the temperature range from 700 to 850°C. Results are shown for sample BFT20 in figure 1 and figure 2. All samples have a positive Seebeck coefficient and no n-p-type transition was observed in the investigated oxygen partial pressure range. In contrast to the electrical conductivity, the Seebeck coefficient of all samples decreases with increasing oxygen partial pressure. An initial defect chemical model of BFTx will be presented in this study as well. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Reply to Comment on "Circular Motion of Asymmetric Self-Propelling Particles"

In a Comment [Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 029801 (2014)] on our Letter on self-propelled asymmetric particles [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 198302 (2013); arXiv:1302.5787], Felderhof claims that our theory based on Langevin equations would be conceptually wrong. In this Reply we show that our theory is appropriate, consistent, and physically justified.Comment: 2 page

Infectious diseases during the European Union training mission Mali (EUTM MLI) - a four-year experience

Background: The European Union Training Mission Mali (EUTM MLI) is a multinational military training deployment to the Western African tropical nation of Mali. Based on routinely collected disease and non-battle injury surveillance data, this study quantifies the true impact of infectious diseases for this tropical mission and potential seasonal variations in infectious disease threats. Methods: Categorized health events during the EUTM MLI mission and associated lost working days were reported using the EpiNATO-2 report. Infection-related health events were descriptively analyzed for a 4-year period from the 12th week in 2013 to the 13th week in 2017. Aggregated EpiNATO-2 data collected from all missions other than EUTM MLI were used as a comparator. Results: Among the infectious diseases reported by EUTM MLI, non-severe upper respiratory infections and gastrointestinal diseases dominated quantitatively, accounting for 1.65 and 1.42 consultations per 100 person-weeks, respectively. The number of recorded infectious disease-associated lost working days during the whole study interval was 723. Seasonal changes in disease frequency were detectable. More gastrointestinal infections were seen in the rainy season, and more respiratory infections occurred in the dry season;these were associated with peaks of more than 2.5 consultations per 100 person-weeks for both categories. Conclusions: Despite initial concerns focused on tropical infectious diseases during this mission in tropical Mali, upper respiratory tract and gastrointestinal infections predominate. The relatively low number of reported lost working days may indicate that these infections are at the milder end of the spectrum of infectious diseases despite a likely reporting bias

Comparative Study of Different Methods for Soot Sensing and Filter Monitoring in Diesel Exhausts

Due to increasingly tighter emission limits for diesel and gasoline engines, especially concerning particulate matter emissions, particulate filters are becoming indispensable devices for exhaust gas after treatment. Thereby, for an efficient engine and filter control strategy and a cost-efficient filter design, reliable technologies to determine the soot load of the filters and to measure particulate matter concentrations in the exhaust gas during vehicle operation are highly needed. In this study, different approaches for soot sensing are compared. Measurements were conducted on a dynamometer diesel engine test bench with a diesel particulate filter (DPF). The DPF was monitored by a relatively new microwave-based approach. Simultaneously, a resistive type soot sensor and a Pegasor soot sensing device as a reference system measured the soot concentration exhaust upstream of the DPF. By changing engine parameters, different engine out soot emission rates were set. It was found that the microwave-based signal may not only indicate directly the filter loading, but by a time derivative, the engine out soot emission rate can be deduced. Furthermore, by integrating the measured particulate mass in the exhaust, the soot load of the filter can be determined. In summary, all systems coincide well within certain boundaries and the filter itself can act as a soot sensor