Social Pacts Revisited: ‘Competitive Concertation’ and Complex Causality in Negotiated Welfare State Reforms

This article discusses three major issues related to tripartite social pacts: first, the puzzles they present for classic theories of corporatism; second, the contrasts between the political economies of ‘competitive concertation’ and Keynesian coordination; and third, the problems of assessing their effects in the context of complex causality. The main focus is on one specific policy area: negotiated welfare state reforms. The conclusion is that though such negotiations have dominated the process of welfare state recalibration in Europe during the 1990s, tripartite social pacts are neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for success

Zwischen Sozialstaats-Status quo und Beschäftigungswachstum. Das Dilemma des Bündnisses für Arbeit und Trilemma der Dienstleistungsgesellschaft

Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland weist – aus historisch wie aus international vergleichender Perspektive – in den 90er Jahren eine suboptimale wirtschaftliche Performanz auf und laboriert gegenwärtig vor allem an einer anhaltenden Wachstums- und Innovationsschwäche mit einhergehender strukturell verfestigter Massenarbeitslosigkeit. In diesem Beitrag gehen wir der Frage nach, inwiefern die Sozialstaatsfinanzierung die Beschäftigungsdynamik beeinflusst und welche Implikationen sich daraus für die von der rot-grünen Regierungskoalition (neuerlich) initiierten Konzertierungsbemühungen im Rahmen eines Bündnisses für Arbeit ergeben. Unsere Hauptthese ist, dass ein ausgebauter Sozialversicherungsstaat die Beschäftigungsdynamik insbesondere im niedrigproduktiven Dienstleistungssektor bremst, also in einem Beschäftigungssegment, dem in Zukunft große Wachstumspotenziale zugeschrieben werden können. Just an der Schnittstelle von Arbeitsmarkt und Sozialstaat setzen auch die Bündnisgespräche an. Jedoch erschien das Bündnis für Arbeit aufgrund prozeduraler und institutioneller Rahmenbedingungen bis zum Sommer 1999 als eine wenig erfolgversprechende Konzertierungsaktion, um das Dilemma zwischen ausgebautem Sozialversicherungsstaat und Beschäftigungsdynamik im Dienstleistungszeitalter abzuschwächen

Measuring well-being: W3 indicators to complement GDP

"Numerous people in Germany, including politicians and researchers, believe that the gross domestic product (GDP) is an outdated indicator of a society’s prosperity. Therefore, at the end of 2010, the German Bundestag, the federal parliament, established a study commission (Enquete-Kommission) tasked with developing an alternative to the GDP for measuring growth, prosperity, and quality of life. This commission has now submitted a proposal: to supplement the GDP with nine additional indicators, including a wide range of factors such as the distribution of income, biodiversity, and life expectancy. The ten indicators cover three dimensions of well-being-economy, ecology, and social wealth-and hence are called W3 Indicators. Replacing the gross domestic product by a single alternative index was rejected by the commission, however, since it is not possible to reduce citizens' very different wishes and expectations to "a common denominator". A representative survey of registered voters conducted by DIW Berlin and TNS Infratest shows that citizens consider the indicators proposed by the commission to be important. Respondents ranked preserving "democracy and freedom" as the most relevant indicator and "further increasing life expectancy" as the least relevant. The average per capita income -as an indicator of the gross domestic product- is the second least relevant factor as far as registered voters in Germany are concerned. However, the study also shows that opinions on the importance of different indicators vary widely. Moreover, there are systematic differences in the relevance of various policy areas for different social groups." (author's abstract

Parental well-being in times of Covid-19 in Germany

We examine the effects of Covid-19 and related restrictions on individuals with dependent children in Germany. We specifically focus on the role of day care center and school closures, which may be regarded as a “disruptive exogenous shock” to family life. We make use of a novel representative survey of parental well-being collected in May and June 2020 in Germany, when schools and day care centers were closed but while other measures had been relaxed and new infections were low. In our descriptive analysis, we compare well-being during this period with a pre-crisis period for different groups. In a difference-in-differences design, we compare the change for individuals with children to the change for individuals without children, accounting for unrelated trends as well as potential survey mode and context effects. We find that the crisis lowered the relative well-being of individuals with children, especially for individuals with young children, for women, and for persons with lower secondary schooling qualifications. Our results suggest that public policy measures taken to contain Covid-19 can have large effects on family well-being, with implications for child development and parental labor market outcomes

Leben außerhalb Deutschlands: eine Machbarkeitsstudie zur Realisierung von Auslandsbefragungen auf Basis des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP)

Mit der Pilotstudie "Leben außerhalb Deutschlands" beschreitet die Längsschnittstudie Sozio-oekonomisches Panel (SOEP) absolutes methodisches Neuland, indem versucht wird, die Adressen ausgewanderte Teilnehmer des deutsche Haushaltspanels SOEP im Ausland zu recherchieren und die Auswanderer mit Hilfe eines eigens entwickelten Fragebogens zu den Hintergründen ihres grenzüberschreitenden Umzugs schriftlich zu befragen. In den Jahren 2002 bis 2005 konnten 228 Auswanderer unter den SOEPTeilnehmern identifiziert werden. Nach erfolgreicher Adressrecherche war es möglich, an 52 Auswanderer den Fragebogen zu verschicken. Letztlich konnten auf diesem Weg 23 Befragungen realisiert werden. Geringe Selektivitätsprobleme sind hinsichtlich des Geschlechts, des Partnerschaftsstatus, der subjektiven Einschätzung des Gesundheitszustandes, der Lebenszufriedenheit und der Wohnregion vor der Auswanderung (alte vs. Neue Bundesländer) zu verzeichnen. Hingegen sind deutliche alters- und erwerbsstatusspezifische Selektivitätseffekte zu beobachten.SOEP, Migration, Survey

Politikziele im Spiegel der Bevölkerung: Erhalt der freiheitlich-demokratischen Ordnung weiterhin am wichtigsten

Nicht wenige PolitikerInnen und WissenschaftlerInnen sehen in einer primären Ausrichtung der Politik an ökonomischen Wohlstandsindikatoren eine Schieflage. Angesichts wissenschaftlicher und öffentlicher Diskurse zum Thema Wohlstand analysiert dieser Bericht, wie die Wahlberechtigten in Deutschland die Bedeutung verschiedener Politikziele 2013 und zu Beginn des Jahres 2017 einschätzten. Grundlage sind zwei mit Kantar Public (vormals TNS Infratest) durchgeführte repräsentative Befragungen, in denen die Relevanz verschiedener Politikziele direkt ermittelt wurde. Die Auswahl der Ziele orientierte sich dabei an den von der Enquete- Kommission „Wachstum, Wohlstand, Lebensqualität“ ausgewählten zehn Wohlstandsindikatoren, die die Ergebnisse von Politik quantifizieren, sowie an 20 der 46 von der Bundesregierung ausgewählten Indikatoren, welche die Lebensqualität („Gut leben in Deutschland“) beschreiben sollen. Dieser Bericht zeigt, dass diese Indikatoren tatsächlich von den Bürgerinnen und Bürgern überwiegend als wichtige Politikziele angesehen werden. An der Spitze der Relevanz lag 2013 wie 2017 der Erhalt der Demokratie. Auf Platz zwei landet 2017 die Verbesserung der Pflege alter Menschen und den dritten Rang nimmt eine wirksamere Bekämpfung der Kriminalität ein, der ein etwas höheres Gewicht als Vollbeschäftigung zugemessen wird. Gleichzeitig zeigt sich, dass die Menschen verschiedene Politikbereiche erkennbar unterschiedlich gewichten. Zusätzlich wird deutlich, dass es auch systematische Unterschiede in der Relevanz von Politikbereichen bei verschiedenen sozialen Gruppen gibt. Nach dem Themenbereich „Geflüchtete“ wurde nicht gefragt, da die Zahl der Geflüchteten in beiden Indikatorensystemen nicht als Politikbereich enthalten ist

Distribution, threats and protection of selected karst groundwater-dependent ecosystems in the Mediterranean region

Karst groundwater-dependent ecosystems (KGDEs) in the Mediterranean region are important in terms of ecosystem services and biodiversity but are increasingly under anthropogenic pressures and climate-change constraints. For this study, the ecohydrological characteristics, threats, and protection status of 112 selected KGDEs around the Mediterranean Sea, including caves, springs, rivers and wetlands, were evaluated, based on local expert knowledge and scientific literature. Results demonstrate that KGDEs contribute considerably to regional biodiversity. The diversity of karst landscapes, combined with the groundwater emergence at springs, leads to exceptional habitat diversity, particularly in arid climates, where KGDEs serve as a refuge for species that could not thrive in the surrounding environment. The most common threats identified among the selected sites are direct human disturbances, such as mass tourism or overfishing, water-quality deterioration and water shortage from aquifer overdraft and/or climate change. Although most of the selected sites are under protection, conservation measures are frequently insufficient. Such shortcomings are often caused by poor data availability, little knowledge on conservation needs of invertebrate species, and conflicts of interest with the local population. For this purpose, it is necessary to raise environmental awareness and promote interdisciplinary research, in order to monitor water quality and quantity in addition to the status of the biocenoses

Increase in perceived case suspiciousness due to local contrast optimisation in digital screening mammography

Item does not contain fulltextOBJECTIVES: To determine the influence of local contrast optimisation on diagnostic accuracy and perceived suspiciousness of digital screening mammograms. METHODS: Data were collected from a screening region in the Netherlands and consisted of 263 digital screening cases (153 recalled,110 normal). Each case was available twice, once processed with a tissue equalisation (TE) algorithm and once with local contrast optimisation (PV). All cases had digitised previous mammograms. For both algorithms, the probability of malignancy of each finding was scored independently by six screening radiologists. Perceived case suspiciousness was defined as the highest probability of malignancy of all findings of a radiologist within a case. Differences in diagnostic accuracy of the processing algorithms were analysed by comparing the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (A(z)). Differences in perceived case suspiciousness were analysed using sign tests. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in A(z) (TE: 0.909, PV 0.917, P = 0.46). For all radiologists, perceived case suspiciousness using PV was higher than using TE more often than vice versa (ratio: 1.14-2.12). This was significant (P <0.0083) for four radiologists. CONCLUSIONS: Optimisation of local contrast by image processing may increase perceived case suspiciousness, while diagnostic accuracy may remain similar. KEY POINTS: Variations among different image processing algorithms for digital screening mammography are large. Current algorithms still aim for optimal local contrast with a low dynamic range. Although optimisation of contrast may increase sensitivity, diagnostic accuracy is probably unchanged. Increased local contrast may render both normal and abnormal structures more conspicuous.1 april 201

Does spatial locative comprehension predict landmark-based navigation?

In the present study we investigated the role of spatial locative comprehension in learning and retrieving pathways when landmarks were available and when they were absent in a sample of typically developing 6- to 11-year-old children. Our results show that the more proficient children are in understanding spatial locatives the more they are able to learn pathways, retrieve them after a delay and represent them on a map when landmarks are present in the environment. These findings suggest that spatial language is crucial when individuals rely on sequences of landmarks to drive their navigation towards a given goal but that it is not involved when navigational representations based on the geometrical shape of the environment or the coding of body movements are sufficient for memorizing and recalling short pathways