Anmerkungen zum Monopson am Arbeitsmarkt: Der Zeithorizont macht den Unterschied

Ob die Marktform des Monopsons am Arbeitsmarkt vorliegt, ist fur die Frage des Für oder Wider des Mindestlohns von essentieller Bedeutung. Denn in der kurzfristigen Analyse kann, insofern monopsonistische beziehungsweise oligopsonistische Strukturen am Arbeitsmarkt nachgewiesen werden, die Einführung eines Mindestlohns nicht nur zu einer exogenen Lohnerhöhung für die bisher angestellten Arbeitnehmer, sondern auch zu einem positiven Beschäftigungseffekt führen. Wählt man jedoch eine Modellierung jenseits einer kurzfristigen Betrachtung und nimmt fur die mittlere Frist den Faktor Kapital als variabel an, dann gilt fur den Unternehmer mit Marktmacht am Arbeitsmarkt genau dasselbe, was auch fur alle anderen Unternehmer ohne Marktmacht am Arbeitsmarkt gilt: Eine exogene Verteuerung des Faktors Arbeit - wie die Einfuhrung eines Mindestlohns - führt zu einer Substitution von Arbeit durch Kapital. Dieses Ergebnis scheint insbesondere vor dem Hintergrund der politischen Diskussion rund um den Mindestlohn und für die Einordnung der Ergebnisse des oft zitierten Beitrages von Card und Krueger (1994) von Bedeutung zu sein.The market forms of monopsony/oligopsony are about the only ones where the introduction of minimum wages goes along with an extension of employment, production and a likely decrease of prices. Thisfinding contrasts the bad outcomes of minimum wages predicted by the model of full competition in the labour market. However, these results were derived in literature with a short-run perspective, where the capital stock is assumed to be either constant or irrelevant. In this paper, we show in detail how these results are modified when capital is now variable and can serve considerably to substitute - if needed - labour. Hence, if capital intensity is significant and the elasticity of substitution between labour and capital is high - given a monsopsonistic firm vis-à-vis to the labour market -, a minimum wage will not cause so much positive employment effects as calculated under the short-run horizon. We also demonstrate the relevance of the rate of exploitation for the likely effects of the minimum wage on employment and capital intensity. Our results contribute to the discussion raised by the seminal paper of Card und Krueger (1994) and tend to shed a less optimistic light on monopsonies/oligopsonies in conjunction with minimum wages

How do Beveridge and Phillips curves in the euro area behave under the stress of the world economic crisis?

In this paper, the authors present a new concept of the 'modified output gap' based on the New Keynesian Phillips curve and on the Beveridge curve. In the first part of the paper, both mentioned curves are derived analytically. In doing so, we identify key parameters for the shift of the Beveridge curve (up- or downwards) and prove that - fulfilling a minimum of assumptions - the New Keynesian Phillips curve is (also) a falling convex relationship between the inflation rate and the unemployment rate in the tradition of Phillips (1958). Inserting the Phillips curve into the Beveridge curve reveals the explicit positive relationship between the vacancy ratio and the inflation rate. In the second part of the paper, we put all three relationships under an empirical 'stress test' using panel data from eleven of the EA 12 countries for three different samples during the world economic crisis: In all cases, the parameter estimates confirm the presumed existence of the three functions

Concurrent study of bottomside spread F and plasma bubble events in the equatorial ionosphere during solar maximum using digisonde and ROCSAT-1

Data from the Jicamarca digisonde and the ROCSAT-1 satellite are employed to study the equatorial ionosphere on the west side of South America during April 1999-March 2000 for the concurrent bottomside spread F (BSSF) and plasma bubble events. This study, using digisonde and ROCSAT-1 concurrently, is the first attempt to investigate the equatorial spread F. Results show that BSSF and plasma bubble observations appear frequently respectively in the summer (January, February, November, and December) and in the equinoctial (March, April, September, and October) months, respectively, but are both rarely observed in the winter (May-August) months. The upward drift velocity during the concurrent BSSF and bubble observations has been determined to study the driving mechanism. This analysis shows that large vertical drift velocities favor BSSF and bubble formations in the equinoctial and summer months. Conversely, the smaller upward velocities during the winter months cause fewer BSSF and bubble occurrences. For the geomagnetic effect, the BSSF/bubble occurrence decreases with an increasing <i>K<sub>p</sub></i> value in the equinoctial months, but no such correlation is found for the summer and winter months. Moreover, the anti-correlations between <i>K<sub>p</sub></i> and d<i>h'F</i>/dt are apparent in the equinoctial months, but not in the summer and winter months. These results indicate that in the equinoctial months the BSSF/bubble generations and the pre-reversal drift velocity can be suppressed by geomagnetic activity, because the disturbance dynamo effects could have decreased the eastward electric field near sunset. However, BSSF and bubble occurrences may not be suppressed by the geomagnetic activity in the summer and winter months

Price effects of minimum wages: Evidence from the construction sector in East and West Germany

In this paper, the authors present a new approach to estimate the impact of a minimum wage on the labor market of the construction sector in Germany. Instead of estimating the effect on employment, the authors focus on the change of prices on a firm level in order to differentiate between a competitive and a monopsonistic structured labor market. The composition of the sector-specific labor market serves again as a basis to evaluate whether the consequences of the minimum wage can be taken as economically advantageous or disadvantageous. Using firm data monthly conducted by the Ifo Institute for Economic Research, the estimations show that the minimum wage did have a different impact in East and West Germany. In East Germany, we find significant positive price effects of the minimum wage which exclude the possibility of positive employment effects due to monopsonistic structures. On the contrary, our results indicate a competitive sectorspecific labor market and declining employment. In contrast, there was no significant price reaction observed for West Germany. The minimum wage seems too low compared to the wages paid in the West German construction sector. Therefore, the introduction of the minimum wage cannot be assumed to be binding

Local Properties of the Potential Energy Landscape of a Model Glass: Understanding the Low Temperature Anomalies

Though the existence of two-level systems (TLS) is widely accepted to explain low temperature anomalies in the sound absorption, heat capacity, thermal conductivity and other quantities, an exact description of their microscopic nature is still lacking. We performed computer simulations for a binary Lennard-Jones system, using a newly developed algorithm to locate double-well potentials (DWP) and thus two-level systems on a systematic basis. We show that the intrinsic limitations of computer simulations like finite time and finite size problems do not hamper this analysis. We discuss how the DWP are embedded in the total potential energy landscape. It turns out that most DWP are connected to the dynamics of the smaller particles and that these DWP are rather localized. However, DWP related to the larger particles are more collective

Short-term relationship of total electron content with geomagnetic activity in equatorial regions

The short-term relationship between equatorial ionosphere and geomagnetic activity is examined. Hourly averages of the total electron content (TEC) and critical frequency of the F(2) layer (f(o)F(2)) are compared with the Dst index, a proxy for equatorial geomagnetic activity, at three local times (0700-0800, 1200-1300, and 1600-1700 LT) from March 1998 to August 1999. Owing to the geomagnetic latitude and local times used, positive storms, almost exclusively, are observed (cf. Prolss, 1995). While f(o)F(2) measurements over an extended period (similar to 10 years) have been studied (Matsushita, 1959) and TEC and f(o)F(2) are coupled, TEC measurements can provide a significantly better signal-to-noise ratio. At timescales of 2-3, 3-5, 5-9, and 9-11 days, there are significant correlations (similar to 0.4 at local noon, when all the data are included) between TEC and Dst. These correlations increase from morning to afternoon. By comparison, correlations between f(o)F(2) and Dst are significantly smaller, similar to 0.2 ( near the noise level) at local noon. Even during geomagnetically quiet times (Dst \u3e -20), a clear correlation (0.21, which exceeds the 95% confidence level by 0.05) is seen between TEC and Dst at the shortest timescale examined. As geomagnetic activity increases, the correlations increase rapidly. For example, when moderate levels of geomagnetic activity (Dst \u3e -50) are included for observations at local noon, distinct correlations (similar to 0.3) are seen and persist for all but the longest timescale; with higher levels of geomagnetic activity included, there are distinct correlations at all the timescales examined. The presence of a significant correlation at quiet conditions and persistence of the correlation at moderate levels of activity are both unexpected

The Ethical Management of a Psychiatric Patient Disposition in the Emergency Department

This case examines the ethical issue of the disposition of a patient who presents in the emergency room with a psychotic disorder when a nurse practitioner is given the autonomy to determine disposition of a patient and the attending physician disagrees. Therein lies the dilemma of an NP lacking emergency psychiatric admitting privileges. The NP ethically needs to continue to act as a patient advocate to ensure patient safety and best outcomes