Wirtschaftswissenschaft in Zeiten der Globalisierung

Seit einiger Zeit ist in der wirtschaftspolitischen Diskussion die Auffassung verbreitet, die Wirtschaftswissenschaft stünde im Globalisierungsprozess wachsenden Ansprüchen gegenüber, verbessertes Steuerungswissen für die Wirtschaftspolitik bereitzustellen. Dass große ökonomische Krisen eine Herausforderung für die Wirtschaftswissenschaft als Erfahrungswissenschaft sind, ist nicht neu. Meine These ist jedoch, dass die Globalisierung und die damit verbundene größere Komplexität der Interdependenzen in der Wirtschaft keine grundsätzlich neuartige Problemstellung für die Wirtschaftswissenschaft enthält. Dafür lassen sich zwei Argumente anführen: Erstens werden die wechselseitigen Abhängigkeiten zwischen den institutionellen Regelungen im Bereich der Wirtschaft (Interdependenz der Regelordnungen) seit langem in der Wirtschaftstheorie im Bereich der Wirtschaftsordnungstheorie - oder moderner der Neuen Institutionenökonomik - behandelt. Zweitens ist die internationale Interdependenz, die von einzelnen Aktionen im ökonomischen Prozess eines Landes ausgelöst wird, beginnend mit der klassischen Theorie des internationalen Handels Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts von David Ricardo und John Stuart Mill für offene Volkswirtschaften erkannt und erklärt worden. Der heutige Globalisierungsprozess, der ökonomische, soziale und politische Dimensionen hat, schafft aus Sicht der Wirtschaftswissenschaft keine grundsätzlich neuartigen Problemstellungen. Allerdings sind die internationalen Abhängigkeiten infolge der steigenden Anzahl privater und staatlicher Wirtschaftsakteure aus immer mehr Ländern, die unterschiedliche institutionelle Spielregeln haben, und wegen der immer stärker differenzierten Güter- und Dienstleistungsmärkte in der Welt zweifellos komplexer geworden. Dies alles verändert aber nicht die Qualität oder Struktur des wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisproblems, sondern dessen Dimension

A design for a market economy

In most LDCs, the public sector and dirigisme have been allotted a vast, if not dominating, influence over the national economy. As a viable alternative to this widespread trend, the author seeks to develop an economic pattern of development policy based on the principles of market economy

Welche Bedeutung haben nationale Wirtschaftsordnungen für die Zukunft der EU? Der Beitrag der sozialen Marktwirtschaft

National economic and social policies of European Union member states are restricted by international and supranational treaties and by effects of globalisation. Furthermore, in the European integration process many economic policy areas have been transferred completely or partly to EU. Under such circumstances, what is the future role of national economic systems? What could Social Market Economy contribute to European integration? The paper's thesis reads that national economic systems will maintain the basic function fostering a competition of ideas for further developing an open, competitive and social orientated European order. Institutional competition (or competition among systems) is helping to discover and test suitable concepts and institutional innovations for Europe. Contributions of Social Market Economy to EU's future economic and social system mainly can be seen in four areas. 1. A continuing intellectual and political dispute concerning concepts of interventionism and centralising in the European common market. With it, EUcitizens preferences for decentralising or centralising policy responsibilities should be acknowledged strongly. Principles of Social Market Economy - freedom, solidarity, subsidiarity - should be defended as guidelines for further European integration. 2. Strengthening and defending competitive order in Europe, which is far more than competition law. German contributions are, firstly, supporting a market model understanding competition as a normativefunctional order, incorporating freedom and efficiency elements. Secondly, stick to Germany's proposal setting up an independent cartel office on European level. 3. Defending the independence of the European System of Central Banks as guarantor for monetary stability. Having politically weakened the Stability and Growth Pact (1997) the principle of ECB's independence is becoming even more important. Requests for changing ECB's status and rising political pressure on ECB's Board of Directors should be rejected in order to develop a culture of stability. 4. The European Social Model should be compatible with opportunities for national competence in social policies. Following the principle of subsidiarity, EU members should have extensive competences institutionalising and financing their own social security systems. Institutional competition can be seen as an approach, open for learning from bestpractise-cases, as e.g. Denmark's flexicurity concept for labour markets. Competition among systems, arising from the existing - though restricted - national economic orders of EU member states, has the non-replaceble function discovering and controlling efficient concepts and institutional arrangements for the future of the European Union

Welche Bedeutung haben nationale Wirtschaftsordnungen für die Zukunft der EU? Der Beitrag der sozialen Marktwirtschaft

National economic and social policies of European Union member states are restricted by international and supranational treaties and by effects of globalisation. Furthermore, in the European integration process many economic policy areas have been transferred completely or partly to EU. Under such circumstances, what is the future role of national economic systems? What could Social Market Economy contribute to European integration? The paper's thesis reads that national economic systems will maintain the basic function fostering a competition of ideas for further developing an open, competitive and social orientated European order. Institutional competition (or competition among systems) is helping to discover and test suitable concepts and institutional innovations for Europe. Contributions of Social Market Economy to EU's future economic and social system mainly can be seen in four areas. 1. A continuing intellectual and political dispute concerning concepts of interventionism and centralising in the European common market. With it, EUcitizens preferences for decentralising or centralising policy responsibilities should be acknowledged strongly. Principles of Social Market Economy - freedom, solidarity, subsidiarity - should be defended as guidelines for further European integration. 2. Strengthening and defending competitive order in Europe, which is far more than competition law. German contributions are, firstly, supporting a market model understanding competition as a normativefunctional order, incorporating freedom and efficiency elements. Secondly, stick to Germany's proposal setting up an independent cartel office on European level. 3. Defending the independence of the European System of Central Banks as guarantor for monetary stability. Having politically weakened the Stability and Growth Pact (1997) the principle of ECB's independence is becoming even more important. Requests for changing ECB's status and rising political pressure on ECB's Board of Directors should be rejected in order to develop a culture of stability. 4. The European Social Model should be compatible with opportunities for national competence in social policies. Following the principle of subsidiarity, EU members should have extensive competences institutionalising and financing their own social security systems. Institutional competition can be seen as an approach, open for learning from bestpractise-cases, as e.g. Denmark's flexicurity concept for labour markets. Competition among systems, arising from the existing - though restricted - national economic orders of EU member states, has the non-replaceble function discovering and controlling efficient concepts and institutional arrangements for the future of the European Union. --Institutional competition,Social Market Economy,subsidiarity principle,independence of ECB

Wirtschaftswissenschaft in Zeiten der Globalisierung

Seit einiger Zeit ist in der wirtschaftspolitischen Diskussion die Auffassung verbreitet, die Wirtschaftswissenschaft stünde im Globalisierungsprozess wachsenden Ansprüchen gegenüber, verbessertes Steuerungswissen für die Wirtschaftspolitik bereitzustellen. Dass große ökonomische Krisen eine Herausforderung für die Wirtschaftswissenschaft als Erfahrungswissenschaft sind, ist nicht neu. Meine These ist jedoch, dass die Globalisierung und die damit verbundene größere Komplexität der Interdependenzen in der Wirtschaft keine grundsätzlich neuartige Problemstellung für die Wirtschaftswissenschaft enthält. Dafür lassen sich zwei Argumente anführen: Erstens werden die wechselseitigen Abhängigkeiten zwischen den institutionellen Regelungen im Bereich der Wirtschaft (Interdependenz der Regelordnungen) seit langem in der Wirtschaftstheorie im Bereich der Wirtschaftsordnungstheorie - oder moderner der Neuen Institutionenökonomik - behandelt. Zweitens ist die internationale Interdependenz, die von einzelnen Aktionen im ökonomischen Prozess eines Landes ausgelöst wird, beginnend mit der klassischen Theorie des internationalen Handels Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts von David Ricardo und John Stuart Mill für offene Volkswirtschaften erkannt und erklärt worden. Der heutige Globalisierungsprozess, der ökonomische, soziale und politische Dimensionen hat, schafft aus Sicht der Wirtschaftswissenschaft keine grundsätzlich neuartigen Problemstellungen. Allerdings sind die internationalen Abhängigkeiten infolge der steigenden Anzahl privater und staatlicher Wirtschaftsakteure aus immer mehr Ländern, die unterschiedliche institutionelle Spielregeln haben, und wegen der immer stärker differenzierten Güter- und Dienstleistungsmärkte in der Welt zweifellos komplexer geworden. Dies alles verändert aber nicht die Qualität oder Struktur des wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisproblems, sondern dessen Dimension. --Wirtschaftswissenschaften,Globalisierung,Neue Institutionenökonomik,Freiburger Schule

Comparison of standard exponential and linear techniques to amplify small cDNA samples for microarrays

BACKGROUND: The need to perform microarray experiments with small amounts of tissue has led to the development of several protocols for amplifying the target transcripts. The use of different amplification protocols could affect the comparability of microarray experiments. RESULTS: Here we compare expression data from Pinus taeda cDNA microarrays using transcripts amplified either exponentially by PCR or linearly by T7 transcription. The amplified transcripts vary significantly in estimated length, GC content and expression depending on amplification technique. Amplification by T7 RNA polymerase gives transcripts with a greater range of lengths, greater estimated mean length, and greater variation of expression levels, but lower average GC content, than those from PCR amplification. For genes with significantly higher expression after T7 transcription than after PCR, the transcripts were 27% longer and had about 2 percentage units lower GC content. The correlation of expression intensities between technical repeats was high for both methods (R(2 )= 0.98) whereas the correlation of expression intensities using the different methods was considerably lower (R(2 )= 0.52). Correlation of expression intensities between amplified and unamplified transcripts were intermediate (R(2 )= 0.68–0.77). CONCLUSION: Amplification with T7 transcription better reflects the variation of the unamplified transcriptome than PCR based methods owing to the better representation of long transcripts. If transcripts of particular interest are known to have high GC content and are of limited length, however, PCR-based methods may be preferable

Heterologous Array Analysis in Pinaceae: Hybridization of Pinus Taeda cDNA Arrays With cDNA From Needles and Embryogenic Cultures of P. Taeda, P. Sylvestris or Picea Abies

Hybridization of labelled cDNA from various cell types with high-density arrays of expressed sequence tags is a powerful technique for investigating gene expression. Few conifer cDNA libraries have been sequenced. Because of the high level of sequence conservation between Pinus and Picea we have investigated the use of arrays from one genus for studies of gene expression in the other. The partial cDNAs from 384 identifiable genes expressed in differentiating xylem of Pinus taeda were printed on nylon membranes in randomized replicates. These were hybridized with labelled cDNA from needles or embryogenic cultures of Pinus taeda, P. sylvestris and Picea abies, and with labelled cDNA from leaves of Nicotiana tabacum. The Spearman correlation of gene expression for pairs of conifer species was high for needles (r2 = 0.78 − 0.86), and somewhat lower for embryogenic cultures (r2 = 0.68 − 0.83). The correlation of gene expression for tobacco leaves and needles of each of the three conifer species was lower but sufficiently high (r2 = 0.52 − 0.63) to suggest that many partial gene sequences are conserved in angiosperms and gymnosperms. Heterologous probing was further used to identify tissue-specific gene expression over species boundaries. To evaluate the significance of differences in gene expression, conventional parametric tests were compared with permutation tests after four methods of normalization. Permutation tests after Z-normalization provide the highest degree of discrimination but may enhance the probability of type I errors. It is concluded that arrays of cDNA from loblolly pine are useful for studies of gene expression in other pines or spruces

The end of mass homeownership? Changes in labour markets and housing tenure opportunities across Europe

With continued economic growth and expanding mortgage markets, until recently the pattern across advanced economies was of growing homeownership sectors. The Great Financial Crisis (GFC) has however, undercut this growth resulting in the contraction of homeownership access in many countries and the revival of private renting. This paper argues that these tenure changes are not solely a consequence of the GFC, and therefore, reversible once long-term growth returns. Rather, they are the consequences of more fundamental changes especially in labour markets. The very financialisation that fuelled the growth of homeownership has also led to a hollowing out of well-paid, secure jobs—exactly those that fit best with the taking of housing loans. We examine longer-term declines in labour market security across Europe from before the GFC, identifying an underlying correlation between deteriorated labour market conditions and homeownership access for young adults. While variations exist across European countries, there is evidence of common trends. We argue that the GFC both accelerated pre-existing labour insecurity dynamics and brought an end to offsetting such dynamics through the expansion of credit access with the likelihood of a return to an era of widespread homeownership growth starkly decreased

Generation rent and the fallacy of choice

‘Generation Rent’ reflects the growing phenomenon in the UK of young people living in the private rental sector for longer periods of their lives. This is a significant change given the importance of leaving home in youth transitions to adulthood. It is further critical given the rapid expansion of the private rented sector in the UK in recent decades, and the more limited rights such private tenants have. This paper draws on qualitative evidence to highlight the impact this has on young peoples’ lives, and broader patterns of social-spatial inequality. Our research highlights that whilst young people maintain long-term preferences for homeownership they nonetheless deconstructed this normalized ideal as a ‘fallacy of choice’, for it was unachievable in reality. Influenced by the work of Foucault, Bourdieu and Bauman, we emphasize how these dominant norms of housing consumption are in tension with objective reality, for their ability to become ‘responsible homeowners’ is tempered by their material resources and the local housing opportunities available to them. Nonetheless, this does not exempt them from the ‘moral distinctions’ being made in which renting is problematized and constructed as ‘flawed consumption’. These conceptual arguments advance international scholarly debates about the governance of consumption, offering a novel theoretical lens through which to examine the difficulties facing ‘Generation Rent’

Country Concepts and the Rational Actor Trap: Limitations to Strategic Management of International NGOs

Growing criticism of inefficient development aid demanded new planning instruments of donors, including international NGOs (INGOs). A reorientation from isolated project-planning towards holistic country concepts and the increasing rationality of a result-orientated planning process were seen as answer. However, whether these country concepts - newly introduced by major INGOs too - have increased the efficiency of development cooperation is open to question. Firstly, there have been counteracting external factors, like the globalization of the aid business, that demanded structural changes in the composition of INGO portfolios towards growing short-term humanitarian aid; this was hardly compatible with the requirements of medium-term country planning. Secondly, the underlying vision of rationality as a remedy for the major ills of development aid was in itself a fallacy. A major change in the methodology of planning, closely connected with a shift of emphasis in the approach to development cooperation, away from project planning and service delivery, towards supporting the socio-cultural and political environment of the recipient communities, demands a reorientation of aid management: The most urgent change needed is by donors, away from the blinkers of result-orientated planning towards participative organizational cultures of learning.Des critiques croissantes de l'aide au développement inefficace exigent de nouveaux instruments de planification des bailleurs de fonds, y compris les ONG internationales (ONGI). Une réorientation de la planification des projets isolés vers des concepts holistiques de la planification de l’aide par pays ainsi que la rationalité croissante d'un processus de planification orientée vers les résultats ont été considérés comme réponse. Toutefois, si ces concepts de pays - nouvellement introduites par les grandes OING eux aussi - ont augmenté l'efficacité de la coopération au développement est ouvert à la question. Tout d'abord, il y a eu l’impact des facteurs externes, comme la mondialisation de l'entreprise de l'aide, qui a exigé des changements structurels dans la composition des portefeuilles des OING vers la croissance de l'aide humanitaire à court terme. Cela était difficilement compatible avec les exigences de l'aménagement du territoire à moyen terme. Deuxièmement, la vision sous-jacente de la rationalité accrue de la planification, concentré sur les resultats, comme un remède pour les grands maux de l'aide au développement était en soi une erreur. Un changement majeur dans la méthodologie de la planification, étroitement liée à un changement d'orientation dans l'approche de la coopération au développement, qui n’est pas concentrer sur planification du projet et la prestation de services, mais qui soutienne l'environnement socio-culturel et politique des communautés bénéficiaires, exige une réorientation de la gestion de l’aide: Le changement le plus urgent est un changement par les donateurs eux-mêmes, qui devrait implanter des cultures de collaboration étroit avec les partenaires et la population locale