Pricing to market of German exporters: evidence from panel data

This paper investigates price discrimination of German exporters across different foreign markets. We examine the degree of pass-through of exchange rate fluctuations in the pricing of 70 export items. The model is estimated using panel data on export unit values. Parameter estimation relies on GMM first difference, fixed effects, LAD, OLS first difference, and the random coefficients model. The main results for 70 manufactured goods and 15 destination countries between 1990-1994 are : The degree of pricing to market differs among destinations and products. Highest pricing to market is observed for U.S., Japan, Italy and Spain. Pricing to market is more prevalent in exports of chemicals and fertilisers than in machinery products. --Pricing to market,law of one price,panel data

The impact of office machinery and computer capital on the demand for heterogeneous labor

This paper analyzes the impact of office machinery and computer capital (OCM) on the demand for heterogeneous labor. A system of static and dynamic factor demand equations based on a variant of the generalized Box-Cox cost function nesting the translog, the generalized Leontief and the normalized quadratic functional form is derived and estimated. OCM capital and general capital are treated as quasi-fixed factors. Using panel data on 35 German industries, we find that OCM capital is complementary to all skill levels. For the manufacturing sector, the increase in OCM capital and general capital has accounted for at least 60 percent and 9 percent of the expanding employment of university graduates. In nonmanufacturing industries, we find that an increase in general capital tends to reduce unskilled workers. Wage effects and substitution effects between different types of labor and material inputs play a minor role in explaining employment changes of highly skilled workers and medium-skilled workers but these effects are more important in explaining the demand for unskilled workers. --skill-biased technological change,capital-skill complementarity

Diffusion of information technology, internet use and the demand of heterogeneous labor

This paper analyzes the link between the diffusion of information- and communication technology (ICT) and both the skill structure and employment expectations of the different skill categories. The analysis is based on cross-sectional data for 4150 German firms conducted in mid-2000. The penetration of ICT is measured as the percentage of workers using a computer on the job for at least half of the working time, the number of computers per worker, percentage of workers with internet access, as well as the use of software applications such as ERP, CAD/CAE and database management systems. The empirical evidence indicates that firms with a higher diffusion of ICT employ a larger fraction of workers with a university degree as well as ICT specialists. Conversely, a greater ICT penetration is significantly negatively related to the share of both medium-skilled and unskilled workers. To account for censoring in the employment shares, the empirical analysis uses Powell?s (1984) Censored Least Absolute Deviations estimator (CLAD). Furthermore, results of ordered probit models show that employment expectations for workers with a university degree are positively related to the degree of ICT penetration. --diffusion of information technology,labor demand,skill structure,censored regression model

Determinants of the Trade Balance in Industrialized Countries

This paper investigates the determinants of the trade balance using panel data for 32 industrialized and emerging economies for the period 1990?2007. The results based on fixed effects models and linear mixed models allowing for random slope coefficients, show that the trade balance as a percentage of GDP is significantly positively related to real foreign GDP per capita of the trading partners. Real domestic GDP per capita has a negative effect on the trade balance. A real depreciation of the real exchange rate index leads to an improvement of the trade balance. However, in countries with a negative trade balance and/or a large positive net foreign direct investment position the trade balance is much less sensitive to movements in the real effective exchange rate index.Foreign Direct Investment, trade balance, real effective exchange rate index, fiscal balance, panel data methods

What drives the vacancy rate for information technology workers?

This paper provides empirical evidence on both the magnitude and determinants of unfilled positions for information technology workers using cross-sectional data on 4150 German firms. Vacancies are defined as unfilled positions excluding those created by replacement needs during the first half of the year 2000. The share of unfilled positions created by replacement needs is only about 20 percent, indicating that high turnover rates are not the main reason for high vacancy rates. The adjusted job vacancy rate for ICT workers varies between 5.7 percent in the ICT sector and 6.7 percent in the non-ICT sector. The results of a generalized tobit model show that the adjusted vacancy rate mainly depends on the firm size, the share of ICT workers and actions taken in the past to solve the ICT worker shortage but not on the diffusion of ICT. In the ICT sector, the decision made in the past to train apprentices in the new ICT occupations seems to have reduced the current vacancy rate. In the non-ICT sector, a successful strategy to solve the ICT worker shortage appears to be increased internal training. Finally, in the non-ICT sector, the common practice of completely outsourcing software programming significantly reduces the probability of unfilled positions. -- Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Anzahl und den Bestimmungsfaktoren unbesetzter Stellen für IKT-Fachkräfte in Deutschland. Datengrundlage ist eine repräsentative telefongestützte (CATI) Umfrage von 4150 Unternehmen für das Jahr 2000. Die Quote unbesetzter Stellen für IKT-Fachkräfte (ohne Stellen aufgrund Ersatzbedarfs) variiert zwischen 5,7 Prozent in der IKT-Branche und 6,7 Prozent in der Nicht-IKT-Branche. Der Anteil fluktuationsbedingt unbesetzter Stellen an allen unbesetzten Stellen beträgt 20 Prozent. Somit dürfte die Personalfluktuation der IKT-Fachkräfte nicht die Hauptursache für die hohe Quote unbesetzter Stellen sein. Regressionsergebnisse auf Basis verallgemeinerter tobit-Modelle zeigen, dass die Quote unbesetzter Stellen hauptsächlich von der Firmengröße, dem Anteil der IKT-Fachkräfte im Vorjahr sowie den Strategien zur Überwindung des IKTFachkräftemangels in der Vergangenheit abhängen, jedoch von der Diffusion der Informationstechnologie nicht beeinflusst werden. Hinsichtlich der Wahrscheinlichkeit unbesetzter Stellen zeigt sich, dass die Auslagerung der Software-programmierung an Fremdunternehmen zu einer geringeren Betroffenheit von unbesetzten Stellen für IKT-Fachkräfte führt.unbesetzte Stellen,IKT-Fachkräfte,Informationstechnologie,Unfilled positions,ICT workers,information technology

Organizational change, new information and communication technologies and the demand for labor in services

Between 1993 and 1995, the majority of German firms in services introduced new organizational practices (OC), in particular total quality management systems, certified ISO 9000, lean administration, flatter hierarchies, delegation of authority and ICT-enabled organizational changes). This paper analyzes the impact of organizational change as well as the impact of the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) on actual labor demand as well as on employment expectations. The focus of attention is also directed to potential endogeneity of OC using treatment effect models as well as multivariate probit models. The empirical results suggest that OC has a positive effect on actual employment growth given output and factor price changes. Furthermore, we find that organizational change has a positive impact on expected employment for all skill groups except for unskilled labor. New ICT and the share of training expenditures are primary forces behind OC. Finally, employment effects are robust to endogeneity of organizational change. --organizational change,ICT,skill structure

Testing Gibrat's Law for European Multinational Enterprises

This paper investigates the link between firm size and growth for European multinational enterprises based on the AMADEUS firm-level database. Using data for about 20,000 firms for the period 2000 2004, we find that firm size has a significant negative impact on firm growth of the multinational enterprises. This holds when growth and its level are measured in terms of employment or turnover. Estimates for seven broad industry groups reveal that the negative relationship can be observed in all industries with higher effects in business services and in the investment goods industry. Furthermore we find that the average year of foundation of the foreign affiliates has a positive impact on the growth of the parent companies.Foreign Direct Investment

Labour markets in Poland and Hungary five years from the start of transition: Evidence from monthly data

This paper presents error correction estimates of a simple interdependent model of the labour market using monthly data over 1990-1994 for the industrial sector in Poland and Hungary. The aim is to investigate three issues in the performance of labour markets during transition. First, is there a stable labour market equilibrium or do high unemployment rates across the region indicate hysteresis? Second, has the intensity of employment adjustment increased with progress in institutional reforms that strengthened corporate governance at the enterprise level? Third, what governs the evolution of real wages and to what extent is there evidence for strong insider power in the labour market? The results reveal striking differences between Poland and Hungary. The former exhibits hysteresis and evidence for considerable insider power while the latter has experienced adjustment towards a stable labour market equilibrium. The intensity of adjustment, however, is high in both countries over the sample period and fails to respond to the initiation of institutional reforms.Hysteresis,Adjustment Intensity,Insider Power

Making sense of the J-curve: Capital utilisation, output, and total factor productivity in Polish industry 1990 - 1993

The economies of Central and Eastern Europe are undergoing a period of rapid structural change. The general pattern confirms to the J-curve anticipated by several observers at the start of transition. This paper conceptualises the J-curve as the result of a combination of two factors. First, real energy price increases render parts of the capital stock obsolete, due to complementarity between capital and energy in the short run. Second, demand shifts and to a lesser extent efficiency improvements induced by increases in competition cause dramatic changes in total factor productivity. The paper shows for the case of Polish industry that 43 per cent of the capital stock was rendered obsolete over the 1990-1993 period. Total factor productivity fell by 11 per cent in 1990 but had increased to 17 per cent above the 1989 level by 1993. As the capital stock is gradually rebuilt, improvements in efficiency will guarantee an output level higher than before the start of transition.capital ultilisation,efficiency,J-curve,Poland