Deutschland muss mehr in seine Zukunft investieren

Kurz vor der Bundestagswahl 2013 schwimmt Deutschland in den Augen der Ökonomen auf einer Welle der Euphorie: Kaum ein anderes Euroland hat die Finanz- und Schuldenkrise so gut gemeistert. Das deutsche Bruttoinlandsprodukt ist seit 2009 um mehr als acht Prozent gewachsen, es entstanden rund 1,2 Millionen neue Arbeitsplätze. Die öffentlichen Haushalte wurden konsolidiert, im Jahr 2012 gab es einen fiskalischen Überschuss von 0,2 Prozent des Bruttoinlandsprodukts. Eine glänzende Bilanz für ein Land, das vor zehn Jahren noch als der kranke Mann Europas galt - aber auch eine einseitige. Setzt man andere Vergleichsgrößen an, trübt sich das Bild erheblich ein: Seit 1999 hat Deutschland im Vergleich zum Euroraum ein niedrigeres Wirtschaftswachstum erzielt. Die Reallöhne sind seit 1999 kaum gestiegen, und die realen Konsumausgaben haben im Eurozonen-Durchschnitt deutlich kräftiger zugenommen als in Deutschland. Stark geschrumpft ist das deutsche Staatsvermögen: Lag es 1999 noch bei etwa 20 Prozent des Bruttoinlandsprodukts, so ist es bis 2011 auf 0,5 Prozent des Bruttoinlandsprodukts zusammengeschmolzen und steht damit für künftige Generationen nicht mehr zur Verfügung. In vielen Bereichen ist Deutschland nicht wirklich vorangekommen, in einigen deutlich hinter andere Länder zurückgefallen. Diese Rückstände sind durch die zuletzt gute Entwicklung nicht wieder aufgeholt worden

Germany must invest more in its future

Shortly before the parliamentary election in 2013, Germany is riding on a wave of euphoria: hardly any other euro country has weathered the financial and debt crisis so well. Since 2009, GDP has grown by over eight percent and 1.2 million new jobs have been created. Public finances were consolidated and, in 2012, there was a fiscal surplus of 0.2 percent of GDP. An impressive financial position indeed for a country that, only ten years ago, was considered the sick man of Europe. But it is also a deceptive one. If one substitutes these for other comparative figures, then this image is seriously tarnished. Since 1999, Germany has achieved lower economic growth than the rest of the euro area. Real wages have barely increased since 1999 and real consumer spending has grown much more in the euro area on average than in Germany. In addition, German net public assets have contracted significantly. In 1999, net state assets were about 20 percent of GDP and, by 2011, they had declined to 0.5 percent of GDP and are, therefore, no longer available for future generations. In many areas, Germany has not really progressed at all and in some areas it has fallen significantly behind other countries. These arrears have not been balanced out by recent positive developments

Force-length recording of eye muscles during local-anesthesia surgery in 32 strabismus patients

Abstract. Force-length recordings were made from isolated human eye muscles during strabismus surgery in local, eye-drop anesthesia in 32 adult patients. From each muscle three recordings were made: (1) while the patient looked with the other eye into the field of action of the recorded muscle, (2) looked ahead, and (3) looked out of the field of action of the recorded muscle. Non-innervated eye muscles (state 3) had an approximately exponential relation between force and length. During contraction evoked by letting the patient look ahead or into the field of action of the muscle (states I or 2), the relation between force and length was grossly linear. The approximate spring constants of horizontal rectus muscles that had not been operated on before ranged from 2 to 4 g/mm. In palsies, the degree of muscle paresis could be quantified accurately using this method and, accordingly, cases of true superior oblique palsy could be well differentiated from strabismus sursoadductorius (= upshoot in adduction) that may mimic a superior oblique palsy. In seven patients with Graves' disease of recent onset, affected muscles were found to be very stiff when the other eye looked ahead. It was expected that these stiff muscles would be able to shorten to some extent but would not be able to lengthen, due to fibrosis of the muscle. We found, however, that the affected muscles lengthened considerably when the other eye looked out of the field of action of the muscle. This implies that, in these cases of Graves' disease of recent onset, the raised muscle tension and reduced elasticity of the affected muscles and, hence, the strabismus were primarily caused by active muscle contraction, not by fibrosis

Is There Increasing Regional Specialisation within the General Process of Deindustrialisation?

Trade theory and economic geography suggest that the removal of trade barriers is likely to bring about more economic specialisation and potentially more diverse development paths between countries and regions. Thus, the deepening and extending European integration should be accompanied by an increasing regional specialisation. In contrast, our results for the period from 1995 to 2004 show considerably declining differences in the share of manufacturing in total value added across nations and regions of the EU. The decrease in sectoral specialisation is accompanied by a strong and almost uniform process of deindustrialisation. However, this trend is slowing down and manufacturing shares appear to be gradually approaching lower limits. These bounds are specific according to national affiliation and settlement types of regions

Product Policy and the East-West Productivity Gap: Evidence from German Manufacturing Firms

After 20 years of transition from an economy integrated in an exchange scheme of planned economies towards an open market economy based on the ideas of competition, we ask whether East German firms succeeded in finding their place in the international division of labour. We concentrate on the question, to what extent they have caught up with the productivity level of their Western counterparts of similar size and sector and how this productivity difference is related to changes in their product policy. We analyse these questions with a unique data set provided by Statistics Germany that contains both product policy and productivity information for individual manufacturers from both parts of the country. Using a decomposition approach suggested by Nopo (2008) as a nonparametric extension of the widely-used Oaxaca-Blinder methodology (Blinder 1973; Oaxaca 1973) we find that the time span from 1995 - 2004 has two component periods: a period of adaptation from 1995 to 2001and a period of branding from 2002 to 2004. The initial period is characterized by a smaller share of Eastern firms that modify their product range and by a large productivity gap of Eastern Non-Modifiers if compared to Western Non-Modifiers of comparable size and sector. The evidence for the second period, however, points to a more active and established role of East German manufacturers: more of them alter their product range and step up their productivity performance

Influence of artificial aging: mechanical and physicochemical properties of dental composites under static and dynamic compression

Objective!#!The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of filler content, degradation media and time on the mechanical properties of different dental composites after in vitro aging.!##!Materials and methods!#!Specimens (1 mm!##!Results!#!Incorporation of fillers with more than 80 w% leads to significantly better mechanical properties under static and dynamic compression tests and a better water sorption behavior, even after chemical degradation. The influence of degradation media and time is of subordinate importance for chemical degradation.!##!Conclusion!#!Although the investigated composites have a similar matrix, they showed different degradation behavior. Since dentine and enamel occur only in small layer thickness, a test specimen geometry with very small dimensions is recommended for direct comparison. Moreover, the use of compression tests to determine the mechanical parameters for the development of structure-compatible and functionally adapted composites makes sense as an additional standard. Clinical relevance Preferential use of highly filled composites for occlusal fillings is recommended

Industriepolitik – ineffizienter staatlicher Eingriff oder zukunftsweisende Option?

Die Digitalisierung, die Energiewende und der Aufstieg Chinas zu einem wichtigen Konkurrenten stellen die Wirtschaftspolitik vor große Herausforderungen. Die Politik reagiert darauf mit Überlegungen, europäische Champions zu schaffen oder lenkend in die Wirtschaft einzugreifen. Eine horizontale Industriepolitik ohne spezifische Förderung einzelner Branchen halten viele Ökonomen für richtig. Direkte Interventionen können allerdings nicht nur in eine technologische Sackgasse führen, sondern auch dem Wettbewerb schaden. Aber sie sind in einer Wirtschaft, die von Netzwerkeffekten und Pfadabhängigkeiten dominiert wird, vor allem deshalb unabdingbar, weil Investitionen mit großer Unsicherheit über die Zukunft und hohen Risiken verbunden sind. Industriepolitik sollte letztlich das Ziel, mehr Wohlfahrt und Nachhaltigkeit für die gesamte Gesellschaft zu erreichen, in den Vordergrund stellen

Anforderungen an und Anknuepfungspunkte fuer eine Reform des Steuersystems unter oekologischen Aspekten. T. 1: Das deutsche Steuersystem - traditionelle Ziele, Maengel und Reformperspektiven. T. 2: Steuerreform unter oekologischen Aspekten. T. 3: Wirkungen der oekologischen Steuerreform Endbericht

Also published as UBA-Berichte 3/99Available from TIB Hannover: RN 8908(99-024,1) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman