Not Employed 37 Hours or Employed 41? A CGE Analysis for Germany

The objective of our analysis is to find out whether an increase in working time without pay compensation can be considered an adequate policy to reduce unemployment. From the perspective of economic theory the outcome is in general ambiguous: On the one hand, as the increase in working time raises labour productivity per employee, conditional demand for labour will increase (substitution effect) and conditional demand for intermediate inputs will decline. Since, on the other hand, workers do have a longer working time anyway, no positive effect on the number of persons employed can be expected. However, output of the manufacturing industry, and thus unconditional demand for labour, capital and intermediate goods, will increase (output effect). In order to sell the additional output, firms have to lower prices. Depending on the price elasticities, revenues and hence profits will change. We quantify the employment effects of an economy-wide increase in weekly normal hours in Germany on the basis of a CGE model using an input-output framework for all sectors of the economy. Our simulation results support the argument of the opponents of longer working time that not more jobs will be created. However, when we recycled the higher tax revenues from GDP growth to lower the contribution to social security, then we have been able to support the claim of the proponents that more jobs will be created. --unemployment,labour market rigidities,longer working hours,computable general equilibrium modelling

Externe Kosten der Energieversorgung und ihre Bedeutung im Konzept einer dauerhaft-umweltgerechten Entwicklung

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A Regulatory Framework for a Policy of Sustainability: Lessons from the Neo-Liberal School

In this paper targets, institutions and policy measures for describing and implementing sustainable development are evaluated in terms of their conformity with the economic framework of a market system. Firstly, from the viewpoint of neo-liberal economic thinking as conceived by the German Freiburg school of economists (Eucken), a general set of criteria is developed, including issues of operationalization and legitimation of goals as well as institutional and instrumental issues. On this basis general rules for designing an ecological framework guaranteeing the greatest possible degree of conformity with a market system are derived. The concrete application of these rules leads to recommendations for a policy of sustainability with respect to the setting of goals, the establishment of institutions (role of ecological councils, of a central environmental organization on UN level and of the GATT/WTO regime) as well as the use of appropriate instruments. --sustainability targets,regulatory rules,neo-liberal framework,environment and international trade,environmental policy assessment

Not Employed 37 Hours or Employed 41? : A CGE Analysis for Germany

The objective of our analysis is to find out whether an increase in working time without pay compensation can be considered an adequate policy to reduce unemployment. From the perspective of economic theory the outcome is in general ambiguous: On the one hand, as the increase in working time raises labour productivity per employee, conditional demand for labour will increase (substitution effect) and conditional demand for intermediate inputs will decline. Since, on the other hand, workers do have a longer working time anyway, no positive effect on the number of persons employed can be expected. However, output of the manufacturing industry, and thus unconditional demand for labour, capital and intermediate goods, will increase (output effect). In order to sell the additional output, firms have to lower prices. Depending on the price elasticities, revenues and hence profits will change. We quantify the employment effects of an economy-wide increase in weekly normal hours in Germany on the basis of a CGE model using an input-output framework for all sectors of the economy. Our simulation results support the argument of the opponents of longer working time that not more jobs will be created. However, when we recycled the higher tax revenues from GDP growth to lower the contribution to social security, then we have been able to support the claim of the proponents that more jobs will be created

Halothane inhibits the neurotoxin stimulated [14C]guanidinium influx through ‘silent’ sodium channels in rat glioma C6 cells

AbstractWe have investigated the effect of pharmacological agents on [14C]guanidinium ion influx through sodium channels in C6 rat glioma and N18 mouse neuroblastoma cells. The sodium channels of the N18 cells can be activated by aconitme alone, indicating that they are voltage-dependent channels. In contrast, sodium channels in the C6 cells require the synergistic action of aconitine and scorpion toxin for activation and are therefore characterized as so-called silent channels. The general anesthetic halothane used at clinical concentrations, specifically inhibited the ion flux through the silent sodium channel of C6 rat glioma cells. The voltage-dependent channels of the N18 cells were insensitive to halothane at the concentrations tested

A Regulatory Framework for a Policy of Sustainability: Lessons from the Neo-Liberal School

In this paper targets, institutions and policy measures for describing and implementing sustainable development are evaluated in terms of their conformity with the economic framework of a market system. Firstly, from the viewpoint of neo-liberal economic thinking as conceived by the German Freiburg school of economists (Eucken), a general set of criteria is developed, including issues of operationalization and legitimation of goals as well as institutional and instrumental issues. On this basis general rules for designing an ecological framework guaranteeing the greatest possible degree of conformity with a market system are derived. The concrete application of these rules leads to recommendations for a policy of sustainability with respect to the setting of goals, the establishment of institutions (role of ecological councils, of a central environmental organization on UN level and of the GATT/WTO regime) as well as the use of appropriate instruments

Empirical macromodels under test: a comparative simulation study of the employment effects of a revenue neutral cut in social security contributions

In the paper we simulate a revenue-neutral cut in the social security contribution rate using five different types of macro- / microeconomic models, namely two models based on time-series data where the labour market is modelled basically demand oriented, two models of the class of computable equilibrium models which are supply oriented and finally a firm specific model for international tax burden comparisons. Our primary interest is in the employment effects the models predict due to the cut in the contribution rate. It turns out that qualitatively all models considered predict an increase in employment three years after the cut. But the employment effects differ considerably in magnitude, which follows immediately from the different behavioral assumptions underlying the different models. -- In dem Beitrag wird der Beschäftigungseffekt infolge einer aufkommensneutralen Senkung der Sozialversicherungsbeiträge simuliert. Zu diesem Zweck werden fünf unterschiedliche ökonomische Modelle verwendet, namentlich zwei Modelle, die auf Zeitreihendaten aufbauen und in denen der Arbeitsmarkt überwiegend von der Nachfrageseite dominiert wird, zwei Modelle aus der Klasse der computable equilibrium models, die typischerweise angebotsorientiert sind, und ein mikroökonomisches, firmenspezifisches Steuerbelastungsvergleichsmodell. Alle Simulationsergebnisse der Modelle weisen auf einen, wenngleich teilweise kleinen, positiven Beschäftigungseffekt hin, der sich allerdings beträchtlich in seiner Größenordnung unterscheidet. Dies ist eine unmittelbare Folge aus den unterschiedlichen Verhaltensannahmen, die den einzelnen Modellen unterliegen.

Empirical Macromodels Under Test

This paper examines the employment effects of a revenue-neutral cut in the social security contribution rate in Germany by running policy simulations in four different types of macroeconomic models. Two models are based on time-series data where the labor market is modeled basically demand oriented, whereas the other two models are supply oriented computable general equilibrium models. While the predicted employment effects of the cut in the contribution rate are qualitatively similar across models three years after the cut, they differ considerably in magnitude. These differences can to a large extent be attributed to differences in the basic structure of the models. Of special importance is how prices and wages react in each model to the cut in the social security tax rate on one side, and the necessary increase of the indirect tax rate on the other side. The results, therefore, provide a guideline for assessing the outcome of policy simulations and for the further development of macroeconomic models suitable for this kind of experiments

Empirical Macromodels Under Test : A Comparative Simulation Study of the Employment Effects of a Revenue Neutral Cut in Social Security Contributions

In the paper we simulate a revenue-neutral cut in the social security contribution rate using five different types of macro- / microeconomic models, namely two models based on time-series data where the labour market is modelled basically demand oriented, two models of the class of computable equilibrium models which are supply oriented and finally a firm specific model for international tax burden comparisons. Our primary interest is in the employment effects the models predict due to the cut in the contribution rate. It turns out that qualitatively all models considered predict an increase in employment three years after the cut. But the employment effects differ considerably in magnitude, which follows immediately from the different behavioral assumptions underlying the different models