Analyzing rebound effects

Are efficiency improvements in the use of natural resources the key for sustainable development, are they the solution to environmental problems, or will second round effects - so-called rebound effects - compensate or even overcompensate potential savings, will they fire back? The answer to this question will have fundamental policy implications but the research on rebound effects does not provide clear results. This paper aims to clarify the theoretical basis of various analytical approaches which lead to widely different estimates of rebound effects. -- Sind Verbesserungen in der Effizienz im Umgang mit den natürlichen Ressourcen der Schlüssel für eine Nachhaltige Entwicklung, können sie eine Lösung für die Umweltprobleme sein? Oder werden die potenziellen Einsparungen durch so genannte Rebound-Effekte wieder aufgefressen, also kompensiert oder gar überkompensiert? Die Antwort hierauf hat weitreichende politische Implikationen, doch die Forschung zu Rebound-Effekten liefert keine klaren Ergebnisse. Dieses Papier soll dazu beitragen, die theoretische Basis verschiedener analytischer Zugänge, die zu weit voneinander abweichenden Abschätzungen der Rebound-Effekte kommen, zu klären.

Institutions in the Economic Fitness Landscape: What Impact Do Welfare State Institutions Have on Economic Performance?

Sozialstaat, Institutionalismus, Wirtschaftswachstum, Beschäftigungseffekt, Arbeitsmarktflexibilisierung, Kündigungsschutz, Tarifpolitik, Lohnstruktur, OECD-Staaten, Welfare state, Institutional economics, Economic growth, Employment effect, Labour market

Differences in US-German time-allocation: Why do Americans work longer hours than Germans?

The conventional view is that Americans work longer hours than Germans and other Europeans but when time in household production is included, overall working time is very similar on both sides of the Atlantic. Americans spend more time on market work but German invest more in household production. This paper examines whether these differences in the allocation of time can be explained by differences in the incentive structure, this is by the tax-wedge and differences in the wage differentials, as economic theory suggests. Its analysis of unique time-use data reveals that the differences in time-allocation patterns can indeed be explained by economic variables. -- Nach allgemeiner Auffassung arbeiten Amerikaner länger pro Jahr als Deutsche oder andere Europäer. Wenn jedoch die Arbeit im Haushalt einbezogen wird, ist die Gesamtarbeitszeit auf beiden Seiten des Atlantiks fast gleich. Amerikaner leisten mehr Arbeitsstunden in bezahlter Arbeit, Deutsche investieren mehr Arbeitsstunden in Hausarbeit. Dieser Beitrag untersucht, ob diese unterschiedliche Arbeitszeitverteilung durch unterschiedliche Anreizstrukturen erklärt werden kann; das heißt Steuerzwänge und Lohn-/Gehaltsunterschiede, wie dies wirtschaftstheoretische Überlegungen nahe legen. Die Analyse von zeitgleichen Daten ergibt, dass Arbeitszeitverteilungsmuster tatsächlich durch ökonomische Variablen erklärt werden können.

Services and Employment: Explaining the U.S.-European Gap

Why is Europe's employment rate almost 10 percent lower than that of the United States? This "jobs gap" has typically been blamed on the rigidity of European labor markets. But in Services and Employment , an international group of leading labor economists suggests quite a different explanation. Drawing on the findings of a two-year research project that examined data from France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, these economists argue that Europe's 25 million "missing" jobs can be attributed almost entirely to its relative lack of service jobs. The jobs gap is actually a services gap. But, Services and Employment asks, why does the United States consume services at such a greater rate than Europe? Services and Employment is the first systematic and comprehensive international comparison on the subject. Mary Gregory, Wiemer Salverda, Ronald Schettkat, and their fellow contributors consider the possible role played by differences in how certain services--particularly health care and education--are provided in Europe and the United States. They examine arguments that Americans consume more services because of their higher incomes and that American households outsource more domestic work. The contributors also ask whether differences between U.S. and European service sectors encapsulate fundamental trans-Atlantic differences in lifestyle choices. In addition to the editors, the contributors include Victor Fuchs, William Baumol, Giovanni Russo, Adriaan Kalwij, Stephen Machin, Andrew Glyn, Joachin Möller, John Schmitt, Michel Sollogoub, Robert Gordon, and Richard Freeman.services, employment, jobs gap, rigidity, labor market, health care, education, incomes, lifestyle, United States, Europe

Institutions in the economic fitness landscape: what impact do welfare state institutions have on economic performance?

"This paper uses data from 20 OECD countries to investigate the impact of welfare state institutions (especially employment protection, wage bargaining and work incentives) on the functioning of the labour market both theoretically and empirically. It shows that the impact of welfare state institutions is not as clear-cut as the deregulationists' view suggests. This result may be surprising against the background of the common view that welfare state measures cause European employment problems but it is in line with the outcomes of many other economic studies. The reasons for the ambiguous effects of welfare state institutions are manifold but the most important reason is the complexity of the impacts. There are many side-effects or second-round effects of welfare state institutions which, although often neglected, prove to be very important in the real 'imperfect market' world. Many welfare state institutions only have a clear-cut negative effect against the background of the theoretical perfect market model." (author's abstract)"Das Papier untersucht anhand von Daten aus 20 OECD Ländern den Einfluss von wohlfahrtsstaatlichen Einrichtungen (insbesondere Arbeitsschutz, Tarifverhandlungen und Arbeitsanreize) auf die Funktion von Arbeitsmärkten sowohl theoretisch als auch empirisch. Es zeigt auf, dass der Einfluss der wohlfahrtsstaatlichen Einrichtungen nicht so eindeutig ist, wie es die Sichtweise der Deregulierer nahe legt. Dieses Ergebnis mag überraschend sein vor dem Hintergrund der allgemein vertretenen Ansicht, dass wohlfahrtsstaatliche Maßnahmen die Ursache der europäischen Beschäftigungsprobleme sind, es stimmt aber mit den Ergebnissen anderer wirtschaftswissenschaftlicher Studien überein. Die Gründe für die mehrdeutigen Auswirkungen von wohlfahrtsstaatlichen Einrichtungen sind vielfältig, aber der wichtigste Grund ist die Komplexität der Einflüsse. Es gibt viele Nebeneffekte oder nachgelagerte Effekte von wohlfahrtsstaatlichen Einrichtungen, die - obwohl oft vernachlässigt - sich als sehr wichtig in der realen 'unvollkommenen Marktwelt' erweisen. Viele wohlfahrtsstaatliche Institutionen haben nur einen eindeutig negativen Effekt vor dem Hintergrund des theoretisch perfekten Marktmodells." (Autorenreferat

Marketization of Production and the US-Europe Employment Gap

Women work much more in the US than in Germany and most other EU economies. We find that the US-German employment gap is not strongly related to cross-country differences in the level of pay or social benefits. The difference in employment is due to the different marketization of activities between the two economies: German women work as many hours as US women when we consider time spent in household production as well as in market production. For instance, German women spend more time preparing meals while US women use take-out and restaurants more intensely. The organization of some social activities, such as schooling, and the dispersion of skills, as well as pay differences, affect the degree of marketization.

Autonomous Wage Inflation

This paper develops a theory of stagflation, based on turnover-efficiency-wage theory. In these theories, wages are forward-looking, i.e., set to keep incumbents with the firm. The employed workers apply for better jobs and compete with unemployed applicants. An employed applicant is, however, preferred to an unemployed applicant, or the long-term unemployed, who, with their outdated skills, form an essentially non-competing group. Consider now the case that the monetary authority succeeds in stabilizing the price level permanently. Start from efficiency-wage unemployment equilibrium. The skills of the unemployed will, after a while, become outdated. This reduces the „effective” rate of unemployment and causes the labor market to tighten. Turnover increases, and the former equilibrium is destroyed. The individual firm will raise wages in order to reduce turnover costs. Costs increase, causing prices to also increase. The monetary authority reacts with restrictive policies, and unemployment increases. This leads to a new turnover-efficiency-wage equilibrium, and the process continues. The argument implies that wage inflation emerges after a while at all employment levels. This paper concludes by discussing some of the consequent policy implications