Industrial clusters and economic integration : theoretic concepts and an application to the European Metropolitan Region Nuremberg

"Economic integration typically goes along with disintegration of production through outsourcing and offshoring (Feenstra 1998). As horizontal and vertical links between firms become more and more pronounced, value chains within regions are increasingly organized by production and innovation clusters. On the basis of a literature overview, we argue that in a world of economic integration clusters can be expected to play a prominent role. Therefore clusters can also be seen as a key element in the European Metropolitan Region concept. Within such an economic space, localisation economies according to the 'Marshallian trinity' (knowledge spillovers, input sharing and labour market pooling (Rosenthal/Strange 2003)) can be realized. The paper builds on a comprehensive company survey for the core of the European Metropolitan Region Nuremberg that includes customer-supplier relationships and various forms of cooperation. As indicated by numerous empirical studies, the characteristics of clusters differ substantially. In order to overcome the fuzziness of the concept we suggest a bottom-up methodology of cluster identification using a set of qualitative and quantitative indicators. Given that many kinds of barriers to interregional and international trade are becoming less and less important and transport cost are falling, modern production clusters tend to have a higher geographical extension than traditional ones. We therefore raise the question of whether clustering is relevant for economic integration on the regional, national and supra-national level." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Stadtregion, regionales Cluster, Standort, Industrieregion, Regionalökonomie, zwischenbetriebliche Kooperation, Zulieferer, Wirtschaftsstruktur, regionales Netzwerk, Nürnberg, Oberfranken, Mittelfranken, Franken, Bayern

The Creative Class, Bohemians and Local Labor Market Performance - A Micro-data Panel Study for Germany 1975-2004

The paper aims at testing Florida’s concept of the Creative Class using panel data for 323 West German regions for the time period 1975 – 2004. We apply two different estimation methods, a panel VAR for the complete data set and a dynamic system approach based on GMM for a modified data set collapsed to six five-year periods. We find that the local concentration of the Creative Class has predictive power for the economic development of a region and tends to outperform traditional indicators of human capital. However, our results do not support Florida’s assertion that the creative workers flock where the Bohemians are. According to our findings, the Creative Class is attracted by favorable economic conditions as indicated by employment growth or an increasing wage bill.Culture, Regional Development, Bohemians, Creative Class, Dynamic Panel Methods

Determinants of Lifetime Unemployment - A Micro Data Analysis with Censored Quantile Regressions

Building on a large administrative micro data set for the time span 1975 - 2004 we look at lifetime unemployment for West German birth cohorts 1950 to 1954. Descriptive evidence shows a highly uneven distribution of unemployment in West Germany - more than 60% of the individuals in our sample were not unemployed for a single day over the better part of their professional career while almost half of the total amount of unemployment fell upon 5% of the individuals covered. We employ censored quantile regressions to explain the amount of individual lifetime unemployment. Explanatory variables are either characteristics of the individual (like education), or of the job (like the wage) or the employer (like the size of the firm) early in the professional career. A particular emphasis is placed on the importance of the occupation: we find that for men working in a disadvantageous occupation at age 25 ceteris paribus leads to a signicantly higher amount of lifetime unemployment. Educational attainment or the wage earned at age 25 are also related to the amount of men's lifetime unemployment, amongst others. Some of these variables show very interesting patterns when looking at dierent quantiles. For women results are in general less clear-cut.Lifetime unemployment, Censored-Quantile Regressions, Occupations specific human capital

The Creative Class, Bohemians and Local Labor Market Performance: A Micro-data Panel Study for Germany 1975-2004

The paper aims at testing Florida's concept of the Creative Class using panel data for 323 West German regions for the time period 1975 2004. Applying a dynamic system approach based on GMM, we find that the local concentration of the Creative Class has predictive power for the economic development of a region and tends to outperform traditional indicators of human capital. However, our results do not support Florida's assertion that the creative workers flock where the Bohemians are. According to our findings, the Creative Class is attracted by favorable economic conditions as indicated by employment growth or an increasing wage bill. --Culture,Regional Development,Bohemians,Creative Class,Dynamic Panel Methods

The agglomeration wage differential reconsidered - an investigation with German micro data 1984-1997

The paper analyzes the agglomeration wage differerential using panel micro data with regional information for the time period 1984-1997. Referring to new contributions to regional economics, several theoretical explanations for spatial wage differentials are discussed. The empirical approach differentiates between two sectors of the economy (Manufacturing and Services), three skill groups and the position in the wage hierarchy. After presenting some descriptive evidence we use Chamberlain´s (1996) method of quantile regressons for the estimatons. According to our findings an agglomeration differential does exist except for low-skilled service workers. The agglomeration wage differential depends positively on the skill level, is typically higher in the manufacturing than in the service sector and tends to increase with the decile of the wage distribution. Our results indicate that a doubling of employment density leads to gross wage increase of 2.5 percent in the average.

Determinants of Lifetime Unemployment: A Micro Data Analysis with Censored Quantile Regressions

The empirical literature on unemployment almost exclusively focuses on the duration of distinct unemployment spells. In contrast, we use a large German administrative micro data set for the time span 1975-2004 to investigate individual lifetime unemployment (defined as the total length of all unemployment spells over a 25-year period). This new perspective enables us to answer questions regarding the long-term distribution and determinants of unemployment for West German birth cohorts 1950-1954. We find that lifetime unemployment is highly unevenly distributed and employ censored quantile regressions to show that, for men, pursuing a disadvantageous occupation early in the professional career leads to a significantly higher amount of lifetime unemployment.lifetime unemployment, censored quantile regressions, occupation-specific human capital

Labor Market I. Data from the German Federal Employment Services

This contribution shows the increasing supply on German micro data over the last years for labor market research. We focus on the research data centre movement, the development of new anonymisation techniques for establishment data, the new challenges of the social code II and the fundamental change to evaluate labor market programmes actively with administrative data. Although a lot of ongoing developments like combining different data sets are happening, we make three recommendations for future developments in this area: (1) Demand to have an influence an the data production. (2) The need to combine data sets (especially across national borders) (3) Importance to establish an international infrastructure for data access.labor market, data access, administrative data, linked employer employee data, research data center, social code II, evaluation

Verheißung oder Bedrohung? Die Arbeitsmarktwirkungen einer vierten industriellen Revolution

Infolge der anstehenden Veränderungen durch die vierte industrielle Revolution herrscht eine angeregte Diskussion über mögliche Strukturveränderungen in Wirtschafts- und Arbeitswelt. Neben den Chancen, die die Industrie 4.0 mit sich bringt, stehen vor allem potenzielle negative Arbeitsmarkteffekte im Mittelpunkt der Debatte. Die vorliegende Arbeit betrachtet die Auswirkungen des technischen Fortschritts aus historischer Sicht und beleuchtet mögliche Konsequenzen für die Arbeitswelt im Allgemeinen sowie Berufe und unterschiedliche Qualifikationsgruppen im Speziellen. Untersuchungen der letzten Jahre sehen gerade für den angelsächsischen Raum Hochqualifizierte als Gewinner und die Mittelschicht als Verlierer der technologischen Revolution. Jüngste Studien beurteilen jedoch die Entwicklung künstlicher Intelligenz als größte Herausforderung für den Arbeitsmarkt. Demnach sind Tätigkeiten, die Komplexität, Kreativität oder soziale Intelligenz erfordern, am ehesten gesichert. Bezogen auf das deutsche Modell eröffnen sich durch die Industrie 4.0 gerade in den Bereichen hochwertiger Konsumgüter, Chemieprodukte sowie Maschinen- und Anlagegüter große Potentiale. Allerdings bedarf es hierfür der richtigen Rahmenbedingungen in Form eines guten "Betriebssystems", das sich im Ausbau der Infrastruktur, des Bildungssystems sowie der Rechts- und Datensicherheit äußern kann. Zudem wird zukünftig verstärkt Flexibilitätsbereitschaft seitens der Beschäftigten gefordert werden. Eine humanere Arbeitswelt erscheint mithilfe eines guten Betriebsklimas dennoch möglich. Betriebliche Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten, Mitbestimmung sowie eine funktionierende Sozialpartnerschaft können den Unsicherheiten der Arbeitswelt 4.0 entgegenwirken.The upcoming changes caused by the forth industrial revolution provoke discussions about potential shifts in the structures of the economy and the working environment. The so called "Industrie 4.0" implicates chances as well as negative effects on the labour market. This paper takes a look at the consequences of technological change in history and at possible impacts on future occupations and qualifications. Studies from Anglo-Saxon countries identify highly qualified persons as the winners of the new industrial revolution and the middle class as the loser. According to more recent studies, one of the main challenges will be artificial intelligence. Hence, complex occupations requiring creativity and social intelligence will be needed. In the German economy, high-quality consumer goods, chemical products as well as machinery and equipment will offer great potentials. The main precondition for success will be a good "operating system" containing infrastructure, education, and legal security as well as data security, while employees will need to be more flexible. To achieve a secure and humane working environment employee participation, creative leeway and social partnership are crucial

Regional adjustment dynamics

The aim of the paper is to develop a theoretical framework for analyzing regional adjustment processes after idiosyncratic shocks. The model builds on the macroeconomic approach with monopolistic competition on goods and labor markets. It is shown how interregional factor mobility affects wage-setting behavior and labor supply. The dynamics of this extended model are explicitly taken into account. For a special case we can derive the characteristics of the adjustment process analytically. Under certain conditions the model exhibits hysteresis, i.e. temporary shocks on the price level or the unemployment rate can have a permanent effect on production and potential labor supply. It is argued that a suitable method for investigating regional adjustment processes empirically would be a panel VAR approach with integrated and co-integrated variables

Industrierenten und Lohnsetzungsverhalten: gibt es Indizien für die Insider-Outsider Hypothese?

The insider-outsider theory is one of the approaches with which the persistence of unemployment can be accounted for. The central hypothesis says that the insiders, in other words the 'job holders', drive the wage level above the market-clearing level, thus creating a barrier that prevents new hirings. Due to the existence of hiring costs, e.g. search costs, training costs and the costs for lay-offs e.g. redundancy payments, insiders possess market power. According to the insider-outsider theory, insiders exploit this market power in order to expropriate rents. This paper first examines whether there is evidence of the existence of such rents. Following more recent articles in the literature, we measure the size and temporal course of the rents on the basis of inter-industry wage differentials. These are estimated and analysed using data from the IAB employment sample. Furthermore we look into the hypothesis derived from the insider-outsider theory which says that industries with comparatively high rents demonstrate a high average employment duration. Finally we test a specific wage formation pattern that is expected in the case of insider behaviour (comparatively high wage increases during periods of economic recovery). The results show that there is indeed some evidence that 'job holders' cream off rents to a certain extent. In the industries with high rents there are indications of overly high wage increases particularly during periods of expansion. However, the results of some of the estimates are only weakly statistically firm. Further research is therefore needed in order to substantiate (or refute) the empirical evidence of the insider-outsider hypothesis