Nach 1995 deutliche Wachstumsschwäche der deutschen Wirtschaft im internationalen Vergleich

Im Folgenden werden ausgewählte Ergebnisse einer neuen Datenquelle zur Messung von Wachstum und Produktivität im internationalen Vergleich präsentiert. Die Informationen decken den Zeitraum von 1970 bis 2004 ab. Sie zeigen, dass Deutschland seine langjährige Wachstumsführerschaft in Europa im Laufe der 90er Jahre verloren hat. Die aktuellen gesamtwirtschaftlichen Daten für 2006 sowie die Schätzungen für 2007 und 2008 deuten allerdings darauf hin, dass Deutschland mittlerweile wieder Anschluss an die Entwicklung in den übrigen Ländern der EU gewonnen hat.Growth, Productivity, European Union

Outsourcing and Firm-level Performance

Using firm-level panel data from the German cost structure survey over the period 1992 to 2000, our empirical analysis shows that firms that increased material inputs relative to internal labor costs performed better in terms of gross operating surplus than other firms. However, firms that increased external services relative to internal labor costs, thus outsourcing service functions previously provided within the firm, performed worse. In sum, our findings support the view that firms tend to overestimate the benefits accruing from outsourcing of services previously provided internally.Outsourcing, Firm Performance, Business Service Sector.

Intangibles, Can They Explain the Dispersion in Return Rates?

It is argued that the observed return rates on capital at firm-level have an upward bias if firms are producing with unobserved intangible capital. Using EUKLEED, a comprehensive firm level data base for Germany, this theoretical preposition is proved empirically. Furthermore, making unobserved capital observable the dispersion in return rates reduces dramatically. The results clearly support the assumption that a considerable part of the observed dispersion in return rates among firms can be contributed to unobserved capital formation in intangible capital. Firms with high input in intangibles also have an above average observed rate of return. However, the question to what extent a more intense use of intangibles can be the cause for higher return rates in the sense of both the monopoly-based and the innovation-based explanations is not answered.Intangible capital, Rate of return, Firm-level profitability

Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Lohnstückkosten in der Strukturanalyse (Competitiveness and unit labour costs in structural analysis)

"There is virtually a unanimous opinion in academic circles that the competitiveness of eastern German enterprises is being diminished by wage costs that are too high. This conclusion is reached if the competitiveness of an enterprise is measured on the basis of unit labour costs, which is a common indicator in macroeconomic analyses. First of all this article looks into the question of how suitable this indicator is for assessing the competitive situation for each industry. This is then followed by a discussion, on the basis of the cost structures of western and eastern German enterprises, of the extent to which other cost factors besides wages are responsible for the inadequate profits of eastern German enterprises." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Lohnstückkosten, Wettbewerbsfähigkeit - Determinanten, regionaler Vergleich, Ostdeutschland, Westdeutschland, Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Firm Specific Wage Spread in Germany - Decomposition of regional differences in inter firm wage dispersion

The purpose of this paper is to sort out firm-related differences from effects that result from different economic structures. A non-parametric decomposition is used to analyse firm level difference between the wage spread in the two major regions of unified Germany. If firm-specific effects explain wage dispersion between firms, a decomposition of the wage dispersion between firms is necessary. The decomposition can help to find out, whether the economy-wide results for different regions are due to the composition of the regional economies by industries and firm-size, or whether the differences are due to firm-specific influences, like distinctions in market power. For Germany, a considerable part of the difference in the wage spread between the East and the West can be explained by different economic structures. However, by far the greater part of the difference in the wage spread between firms in the two parts of the country results from lower wages paid by firms of the same type in East Germany compared with their counterparts in West Germany.Productivity, Wage Differentiation, Wage Spread, Firm Wage Levels, Wage Sharing, Non Parametric Analysis, Decomposition