Labor Market Effects of Economic Integration - The Impact of Re-Unification in German Border Regions

The paper argues that economic integration causes problems for the labor market of high-wage countries due to cross-border labor mobility and the accompanying increase in labor supply. Empirical evidence is provided from an analysis of regional labor market effects of German re-unification. In the aftermath of the re-unification shock, despite some gain in employment, border regions situated on the former German-German border are found to have experienced a fall in the relative wage position and an increase in unemployment relative to other West-German regions. As this points to adverse labor supply effects for resident workers due to cross-border labor mobility, this result is bad news for EU regions situated on the border with the Accession countries in Central and Eastern Europe.economic integration, border regions, EU enlargement, German re-unification, differences in differences estimation

Occupational upgrading and the business cycle in West Germany

"The occupational skill structure depends on the business cycle if employers respond to shortages of applicants during upturns by lowering their hiring standards. The notion and relevance of hiring standards adjustment was advanced by Reder (1955) and investigated formally in a search-theoretic framework by Mortensen (1970). Devereux (2002) implements empirical tests for these theories and finds affirmative evidence for the U.S labour market. We replicate his analysis using German employment register data. Regarding the occupational skill composition we obtain somewhat lower but qualitatively similar responses to the business cycle despite of well known institutional differences between the U.S. and German labour market. The responsiveness of occupational composition wages to the business cycle is considerably lower in Germany." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Konjunkturabhängigkeit, berufliche Qualifikation, Qualifikationsanforderungen, Personalanpassung, Personaleinstellung, Lohnhöhe, Geschlechterverteilung

Labor Market Effects of Economic Integration - The Impact of Re-Unification in German Border Regions

The paper argues that economic integration causes problems for the labor market of high-wage countries due to cross-border labor mobility and the accompanying increase in labor supply. Empirical evidence is provided from an analysis of regional labor market effects of German re-unification. In the aftermath of the re-unification shock, despite some gain in employment, border regions situated on the former German-German border are found to have experienced a fall in the relative wage position and an increase in unemployment relative to other West-German regions. As this points to adverse labor supply effects for resident workers due to cross-border labor mobility, this result is bad news for EU regions situated on the border with the Accession countries in Central and Eastern Europe

Methods for pH Determination in Human Erythrocytes

Peer Reviewe

Occupational upgrading and the business cycle in West Germany

"Die berufliche Qualifikationsstruktur ist konjunkturabhängig, wenn Arbeitgeber ein zu geringes Angebot von Arbeitskräften mit einer Senkung der Einstellungs- und Qualifikationsstandards beantworten. Die Bedeutung von Einstellungsstandards für Anpassungsprozesse auf dem Arbeitsmarkt wurde von Reder (1955) in die theoretische Diskussion eingeführt und von Mortensen (1970) formal im Rahmen eines suchtheoretischen Modellrahmens untersucht. Devereux (2002) implementiert empirische Tests für diese Theorien und findet mit U.S.-Daten Evidenz für diese Modelle. Wir replizieren seine Analyse mit deutschen Registerdaten. Trotz der institutionellen Unterschiede zwischen beiden Ländern, finden wir in Bezug auf die berufliche Qualifikation für Deutschland etwas geringere, aber qualitativ sehr ähnliche Effekte der Konjunktur." [Autorenreferat]The occupational skill structure depends on the business cycle if employers respond to shortages of applicants during upturns by lowering their hiring standards. The notion and relevance of hiring standards adjustment was advanced by Reder (1955) and investigated formally in a search-theoretic framework by Mortensen (1970). Devereux (2002) implements empirical tests for these theories and finds affirmative evidence for the U.S labour market. We replicate his analysis using German employment register data. Regarding the occupational skill composition we obtain somewhat lower but qualitatively similar responses to the business cycle despite of well known institutional differences between the U.S. and German labour market. The responsiveness of occupational composition wages to the business cycle is considerably lower in Germany. [auhtor's abstract

Hochschulranglisten als Qualitätsindikatoren im Wettbewerb der Hochschulen

Am Beispiel der Wirtschaftswissenschaften wird untersucht, inwieweit Studierende die Qualität der Fachbereiche bei der Studienortwahl berücksichtigen. Im Rahmen eines Gravitationsansatzes zeigt sich, dass vor allem die Nähe zum Heimatort und die Lebenshaltungskosten am Ort der Hochschule die Studienortwahl bestimmen. Bezüglich der Qualität der Bildungsleistungen finden sich zwar keine signifikanten Effekte von Bewertungen im Rahmen von Umfragen bei Studierenden. Die positive Bewertung eines Fachbereiches durch Professoren aber geht mit höheren Studierendenzahlen einher ebenso wie die Höhe der eingeworbenen Drittmittel. --