Search

In this collection of papers, we, the Research Group Critical Information Infrastructures (cii) from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, present eight selected student research articles contributing to the design, development, and evaluation of critical information infrastructures. During our courses, students mostly work in groups and deal with problems and issues related to sociotechnical challenges in the realm of (critical) information systems. Student papers came from five different cii courses, namely Emerging Trends in Internet Technologies, Emerging Trends in Digital Health, Digital Health, Critical Information Infrastructures, and Selected Issues on Critical Information Infrastructures: Collaborative Development of Innovative Teaching Concepts in summer term of 2021 and the winter term of 2021/2022.

In this collection of papers, we, the Research Group Critical Information Infrastructures (cii) from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, present nine selected student research articles contributing to the design, development, and evaluation of critical information infrastructures. During our courses, students mostly work in groups and deal with problems and issues related to sociotechnical challenges in the realm of (critical) information systems. Student papers came from four different cii courses, namely Emerging Trends in Digital Health, Emerging Trends in Internet Technologies, Critical Information Infrastructures, and Digital Health in the winter term of 2020 and summer term of 2021.

Eine Untersuchung von rund 3 000 Artikeln, die zwischen 2000 und 2010 in den Top-5-Zeitschriften der Volkswirtschaftslehre veröffentlicht wurden, zeigt, dass Artikel, die vorher als Working Paper in der Öffentlichkeit zirkulierten, im Durchschnitt 25% mehr Zitierungen erhalten als solche, für die dies nicht gilt.

Von etwa 28 000 Working Papers aus vier renommierten Working-Paper-Reihen wurden 66,5% in einer Fachzeitschrift publiziert. Rund 8% sind als Buchkapitel erschienen. Für die verbleibenden 25% gab es keine Hinweise über ihren weiteren Verbleib.

[Einleitung] Die COVID-19-Pandemie hat weitreichende Auswirkungen für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, die unter anderem am Arbeitsmarkt deutlich zu spüren sind. Maßnahmen zur Eindämmung der Pandemie wie Kontaktbeschränkungen wirken sich nicht nur auf die Wirtschaftstätigkeit und damit auf die Arbeitsnachfrage von Unternehmen aus, sondern sie erschweren auch die Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie und beeinflussen somit das Arbeitsangebot. Die Folgen der COVID- 19-Pandemie betreffen Männer und Frauen in unterschiedlicher Hinsicht und in unterschiedlichem Ausmaß. Wie sich die Corona-Krise tatsächlich kurz- und mittelfristig auf Frauen und Männer ausgewirkt hat, wird erst abschließend festzustellen sein, wenn ausreichend Daten der amtlichen Statistik sowie repräsentative Befragungsdaten aus dieser Zeit zur Verfügung stehen. Erste bisherige Erkenntnisse deuten darauf hin, dass sich bestehende Gender Gaps am Arbeitsmarkt nicht wesentlich verändert haben. Im Vergleich zu vergangenen Wirtschaftskrisen sind Frauen diesmal jedoch stärker betroffen. Insbesondere vom Rückgang der geringfügigen Beschäftigung sind Frauen stärker betroffen als Männer, während Kurzarbeit und Arbeitslosigkeit Frauen und Männer nach bisherigen Erkenntnissen etwa gleichermaßen betrifft. Schul- und Kitaschließungen bzw. deren stark eingeschränkter Betrieb haben den zeitlichen Aufwand für Kinderbetreuung und weitere Bereiche der Sorgearbeit deutlich erhöht. Der Gender Care Gap, also der unterschiedliche Zeitaufwand, den Frauen und Männer für unbezahlte Sorgearbeit aufbringen, war vor der Corona-Krise sehr stark ausgeprägt und hat sich seither vermutlich nicht stark verändert. Es deutet zwar einiges darauf hin, dass auch Männer einen Teil der zusätzlichen Betreuungsarbeit übernommen haben, insgesamt leisten aber Frauen nach wie vor den deutlich höheren Anteil an der Sorgearbeit. In diesem Policy Paper werden zunächst in Abschnitt 2 die bisherigen Erkenntnisse über die unterschiedlichen Arbeitsmarktwirkungen der COVID-19-Pandemie für Frauen und Männer zusammenfassend dargestellt. In Abschnitt 3 werden wesentliche bisher von der Politik ergriffene Maßnahmen zur Abfederung der Auswirkungen der Corona-Krise zusammengefasst und aus gleichstellungspolitischer Sicht bewertet. Schließlich wird in Abschnitt 4 skizziert, welche kurzund langfristigen Schritte nötig wären, um die Gleichstellung der Geschlechter am Arbeitsmarkt angesichts der COVID-19-Pandemie nachhaltig zu verbessern.

Die Möbelindustrie – zwischen schleichendem Niedergang oder zukunftsgewandter Erneuerung? Diese Frage stellt sich für eine Branche in der Konsolidierung, die im Verlauf der letzten Jahre rund 10 Prozent ihrer Betriebe und Beschäftigten in Deutschland verloren hat. ..Um Chancen für Wachstum zu identifizieren, ist es notwendig, hinter diese Symptombeschreibung zu blicken. Hierfür wurden neben vielen statistischen Auswertungen zahlreiche Akteure aus der Branche, Betriebsräte und Geschäftsführungen interviewt. Es zeigt sich, dass zahlreiche Wachstumschancen durch die Einführung von neuen Technologien und Innovationen bestehen. Ein zentraler Erfolgsfaktor sind hierbei gut qualifizierte und motivierte Beschäftigte.

Im April 2016 veröffentlichte das »International Consortium of Investigative Journalists« die sogenannten »Panama Papers«, die Einblicke in ein System von Steueroasen und Briefkastenfirmen boten. Alfons J. Weichenrieder, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, sieht den politischen Druck auf die internationalen Steueroasen erhöht. Im Vordergrund stünden dabei bi- und multilaterale Abkommen zum Informationsaustausch. Es bleibe abzuwarten, ob die ausgetauschten Informationen tatsächlich verwertbar seien. Friedrich Schneider, Universität Linz, betont, dass die Gründung einer Briefkastenfirma zwar grundsätzlich legal sei, sie aber häufig zum Steuerbetrug oder zur Geldwäsche benutzt werden. Wichtig wäre unter anderem, dass Länder wie Panama den internationalen Standard zum automatischen Informationsaustausch über Finanzkonten und die Geldwäscherichtlinie, die in Europa entwickelt wurde, verabschieden. Für Norbert Walter-Borjans, Finanzminister des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, gilt es, international für einen Transparenzstandard einzutreten und die Verhandlungspartner, bei denen Vorbehalte bestehen, zu überzeugen. Auch Michael Meister, Staatssekretär beim Bundesministerium der Finanzen, sieht in einer erhöhten Transparenz einen Schlüssel zur Lösung des Problems einer ausufernden Nutzung von Briefkastenfirmen zur Verschleierung von Vermögensverhältnissen. Lukas Hakelberg, Europäisches Hochschulinstitut, Florenz, und Thomas Rixen, Universität Bamberg, sehen in der Beschränkung des Marktzugangs ein Instrument zur Bekämpfung finanzieller Intransparenz. So sollten die Regierungen der großen Industrieländer den Zugang zu ihren Finanzmärkten von der Teilnahme an den Transparenzinitiativen abhängig machen. Für Jörg R. Werner, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, liegt eine Gefahr der Reformbemühungen darin, dass die Sanktionierung von Steuersparmodellen nicht mehr nur auf illegale Steuerhinterziehung, sondern auch auf legale Steuervermeidung abzielt.

Die schnellen und kräftigen Mietpreissteigerungen in den deutschen Großstädten sind die Folge eines zu knappen Wohnungsangebots, was wiederum auf stark steigende Baukosten zurückgeführt werden kann. Diese kann die Politik beeinflussen und damit den Wohnungsbau stimulieren. Die folgende Tabelle fasst noch einmal die wichtigsten Maßnahmen und deren Wirkung zusammen. Die Übersicht zeigt, dass die Sicherstellung von genügend Wohnraum und damit auch die Gewährleistung einer günstigen Wohnraumversorgung eine Gemeinschaftsaufgabe ist. Der Bund, die Länder als auch die Kommunen sind gefordert gemeinsam den Rahmen für den Wohnungsbau in den derzeit wachsenden Metropolen zu verbessern. Daher ist es besonders wichtig, dass allen Beteiligten die Bedeutung des Wohnungsbaus bewusst ist, denn viel zu oft wurden in der Vergangenheit Bauprojekte aus verschiedensten Gründen verhindert und behindert. Angesichts der Bedeutung des Wohnens und der Wohnkosten ist es aber wichtig dem Wohnungsbau eine Vorfahrtsrolle zu gewähren. Dies schließt nicht aus, dass Bauvorhaben aus guten Gründen abgelehnt werden, doch dies sollte die Ausnahme und nicht die Regel darstellen.

Die ost- und westdeutschen Wohnungsmärkte haben sich in den letzten 25 Jahren seit der Wiedervereinigung enorm gewandelt. Insbesondere Ostdeutschland erlebte einen deutlichen Aufholprozess, der sich in zentralen immobilienökonomischen Kennzahlen wie den Mieten, den Immobilienpreisen, dem Leerstand oder den Eigentumsquoten zeigt. Die vorliegende Kurzstudie zeigt auf, dass sich dieser Aufholprozess jedoch langsamer als erwartet vollzogen hat. So folgte einem überbordenden Immobilienboom in den neuen Ländern in den 1990er Jahren eine lang anhaltende Baisse mit sehr geringen Investitionen in den Bestand und in den Neubau von Wohnungen. Auch heute noch bestehen daher große Unterschiede zwischen Ost und West, die sich aufgrund des demografischen Wandels und der unterschiedlichen wirtschaftlichen Dynamiken auch zukünftig nicht vollständig abbauen werden. Sowohl der ost- als auch der westdeutsche Wohnungsmarkt ist derzeit geprägt von einer starken Binnenwanderung von den ländlichen Regionen hin zu den dynamischen Ballungszentren. Ost und West sind hierbei vereint in ihrer Unterschiedlichkeit mit wachsenden und schrumpfenden Regionen. Dieser Trend wird auch in Zukunft beide Märkte dominieren, sodass die noch bestehenden ost- und westdeutschen Differenzen weiter an Bedeutung verlieren werden.

This paper focuses on the implications of asset return predictability on long-term portfolio choice when return forecasting variables exhibit long memory. Recent research in empirical finance argues that expected asset returns are time-varying and relates them to various predicting variables that historically reveal very gradual movements in time; hence, we aim at careful modelling of their persistence properties. For that purpose, we exploit the class of fractionally integrated processes. Our theoretical derivations indicate profound impact of the long-memory component on optimal long-term portfolio weights. We illustrate our approach to the modelling of asset return dynamics on post-war US data for equities, Treasury bonds, and cash.

Das Institut für Organisationsökonomik (IO) an der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster wurde am 1. Oktober 2023 zwölf Jahre alt. Dieser 12. Jahresbericht informiert über das zwölfte Jahr, d. h. über das Wintersemester 2021/22 und das Sommersemester 2022. Wie in den Vorjahren werden das Institut und seine Angehörigen vorgestellt. Danach wird über die Forschung und Lehre sowie weitere Aktivitäten des Instituts berichtet., The Institute for Organisational Economics at the University of Münster became twelve years old on October 1st, 2022. This twelfth annual report informs about the twelfth year, the winter semester 2021/22 and the summer semester 2022. As in the previous years, the institute and its members are presented, followed by reports on research, teaching and further activities of the institute., Vorwort ..... 2 1. Organisation ..... 3 1.1. Institut ..... 3 1.2. Professoren ..... 3 1.3. Wissenschaftliches Personal ..... 5 1.4. Lehrbeauftragte ..... 7 1.5. Sekretärinnen ..... 8 2. Forschung ..... 11 2.1. Publikationen ..... 11 2.2. Zur Publikation angenommen ..... 14 2.3. Diskussionspapiere des Instituts ..... 14 2.4. Konferenzbeiträge ..... 18 2.5. Promotion ..... 20 3. Lehre ..... 20 3.1. Lehrveranstaltungen im Wintersemester 2021/22 ..... 20 3.2. Lehrveranstaltungen im Sommersemester 2022 ..... 21 3.3. Abschlussarbeiten ..... 23 4. Weiteres ..... 24 4.1. Best Reviewer Award ..... 24 4.2. Best Paper Award ..... 24

This paper investigates the intergenerational mobility with regard to people’s decision to work in the U.S. financial industry over the last 47 years. I present evidence that children of fathers who worked in the financial industry during their childhood are about 8 percentage points more likely to work in finance themselves. This increase in likelihood is greater than in most other industries and is driven solely by wealthier families. In addition, I document that second-generation finance industry employees whose fathers already worked in finance enjoy a substantial income surplus compared to their industry peers. JEL Classification : G20, J24, J30, J62, L14

E-health interventions are considered an important success factor in the continuous improvement of health care both nationally and internationally. Particularly in integrated care arrangements, they are an important infrastructural element. Of course, when developing new interventions and introducing them into the healthcare system, health economic evaluations (HEEs) are mandatory. From a healthcare organizational as well as governmental view, it is especially important that interventions are cost-effective and affordable. Consequently, there is a growing interest in studying digital intervention’s implications on healthcare costs. In order to enable a standardized procedure, the working group "E-Health" of the German Society for Health Economics has begun to develop a roadmap for the health economic evaluation of e-health interventions, which complements current recommendations that exist for Germany.

Referring to Isreal M. Kirzner (1973) and Joseph A. Schumpeter (1934), who emphasized the competitive nature of entrepreneurship, this study investigates whether potential and revealed entrepreneurs are more likely to seek competition than non-entrepreneurs. We provide a conceptual framework that links entrepreneurship to three facets of individual competitiveness drawn from economic, entrepreneurship, and psychological research: a desire to win, striving for personal development, and an enjoyment of competition. Following economic research linking competitive behavior in experiments to career choices, we conduct a lab-in-the-field study and demonstrate that entrepreneurs are more likely to enter competitions than non-entrepreneurs. Accounting for individual desires to win and mastery-related achievement motivations, our results indicate that entrepreneurs tend to enter competition for the sake of competition itself rather than for the prospect of winning it or personal development. Our results suggest that enjoyment of competition might be an additional factor driving entrepreneurs’ market entry decisions beyond well-known factors like overconfidence and risk taking. JEL Classification : L26; C9; D9

Wuppertal : Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal 2016, 24 S. - (Schumpeter Discussion Papers; SDP 16001), Der Beitrag gibt Auskunft über den Stand der Erfassung von Migration in den amtlichen Schulstatistiken der Bundesländer. Hierauf aufbauend werden die Anteile von Schülerinnen und Schülern mit nichtdeutscher Staatsangehörigkeit sowie von Schülerinnen und Schülern mit Migrationshintergrund nach der jeweiligen landesspezifischen Migrationsdefinition dargestellt und hinsichtlich Validität, Vergleichbarkeit und Zusammenführbarkeit in eine Bundesstatistik diskutiert. Anhand der verfügbaren Migrationsmerkmale wird weiter die Bildungsbeteiligung von Schülerinnen und Schülern mit Migrationshintergrund insbesondere hinsichtlich des Gymnasialbesuchs analysiert. (DIPF/Orig.), The paper provides information on the status of the collection of migrational data in official school statistics of the federal states in Germany. Based on this, the proportion of students without a German citizenship as well as students with migration background will be presented and differentiated by the specific definition of migration background in the federal states. Furthermore, the validity and comparability of the definitions will be discussed as well as the merging of the federal school statistics into a national school statistic. Based on the available migration attributes the educational participation of students with migration background will be analyzed – with a special focus on the attendance of secondary schools. (DIPF/Orig.)

Behavioral economics, the analysis of economic decisions, has made enormous progress over the last decades and become accepted as a major field in economics. How is behavioral economics to be compared to the neoclassical model? As a revision of the neoclassical model enhancing the set of variables for motivation such as fairness in the utility function which is then to be maximized? Or is behavioral economics a revolution, a departure from the neoclassical axioms, a new model? This paper argues that many of the findings in behavioral economics are incompatible with the neoclassical model and have paved the way for a revolution in economics.

Arbeitslosigkeit durch rapide technische Neuerungen wird von vielen in der nahen Zukunft befürchtet. Auch die Einkommensverteilung und damit der gesellschaftliche Zusammenhalt können noch stärker in Schieflage geraten. Worin liegen die Gefahren der sogenannten „Vierten Industriellen Revolution“ und wo ihre Chancen? Der Autor gibt einen Überblick über die Zusammenhänge und empfiehlt wirtschaftspolitische Maßnahmen zur Bewältigung potenzieller Probleme. The paper discusses some of the probable effects of what is sometimes called the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’, based on cyber-physical systems and the internet of things. The attention focuses on their impact on the volume and composition of employment and the distribution of income. Some measures to ward off or mitigate socially harmful consequences of the new waves of technological change are discussed.

Urbane Produktion wird als Baustein einer zukünftigen Stadtentwicklung diskutiert und dabei oftmals mit dem neuen Hoffnungsträger „Industrie 4.0“ gleichgesetzt. Aber, was genau ist Urbane Produktion und wie kann sie gemessen werden? Diese Arbeit liefert eine praxistaugliche Definition von Urbaner Produktion und ein geeignetes Werkzeug zu derer statistischen Messung. Dabei zeigen wir, dass Städte bereits heute über einen erheblichen Anteil stadtaffiner Branchen verfügen. Dieser Pool an Branchen, den wir als „Humus für die Urbane Produktion“ sehen, erlaubt unterschiedliche Blickwinkel auf das Forschungsdesiderat. JEL Code: L6; R1 Urban manufacturing is discussed as a crucial element of sustainable development of cities. Thereby, the terms ‘urban manufacturing’ and ‘industry 4.0’ are widely used as synonyms. But, what does it mean, ‘urban manufacturing’? This article provides a practical definition of urban manufacturing and the appropriate measurement. We argue that there is already a significant number of production in cities today, that is affine to urban areas. This pool of industries, which we call ‘humus of urban manufacturing’ allows for different views on urban manufacturing. JEL Code: L6; R1

This paper investigates how much of the difference in wage distributions is related to differences in skill distributions and whether a compressed wage distribution is associated with high unemployment across core OECD countries. Some countries that have more compressed (dispersed) wage structures simultaneously have more compressed (dispersed) skill structures as well, and according to many economists, variations in skill inequality can explain variations in wage inequality across different countries. Firstly, this paper examines the relationship between skill compression and wage compression; secondly, wage compression is linked to labor market outcomes in terms of employment. Compressed wage structure (usually caused by labor market institutions) is often seen as a cause for high unemployment in the low-skill sector. Does the wage compression hypothesis hold? Based on the PIAAC survey of adult skills for seventeen OECD countries, this paper seeks to shed light on these two important topics. JEL Code: J31, J24, E24

The publication of results of an empirical analysis often includes graphical representations. One of the particular strengths of the statistical computing language and environmentR are the graphical capabilities. Beside the relatively simple base graphic system a number of more sophisticated alternative graphic systems are available within R. Compared to these the base graphic system is easy to use but nevertheless highly customizable and therefore advantageous for many research projects. However, even in the base graphic system the number of graphical functions and parameters is large. Due to this it can be hard to find the functions and parameters which must be used to customize a graphic for publication purposes. This paper provides a brief tutorial for this along with a set of simple rules how to structure the code to achieve a sucient level of reproducibility for a data analysis in general and for associate graphical results in specic. The paper summarizes experiences from a R tutorial hold at the University of Wuppertal for a number of times. The code snippets in the text and the code to reproduce the given examples in the appendix is copy-and-paste-ready and can easily be adopted for own tasks.

Dieser Aufsatz ist ein Nachruf auf Reginald Hansen (1919-2016). Er berichtet über die Studien, die Hansen seit den 1960er Jahren zu Gustav Schmoller, dem prominentesten Vertreter der jüngeren historischen Schule der Nationalökonomie, anstellte. Diese Studien rücken die damals gängige Sicht zurecht, der bloß faktensammelnde, theorielose Schmoller habe die deutsche Nationalökonomie um Jahrzehnte zurückgeworfen. Schmoller fasste vielmehr, ähnlich wie heute der sogenannte Kritische Rationalismus, die Nationalökonomie als eine Wissenschaft auf, die nach empirisch prüfbaren Gesetzmäßigkeiten sucht und sich dabei an naturwissenschaftliche Methoden anlehnt; die diese Gesetzmäßigkeiten „aktivistisch“ nutzt, um verändernd in den Wirtschaftsablauf einzugreifen; und die Werturteile in ihren Aussagen im Prinzip vermeidet, aber „metaphysische“ Konstruktionen als erste Orientierungen erlaubt. Schmoller empfahl auf der Grundlage dieser Erkenntnistheorie eine Sozialpolitik, die undogmatisch und nachhaltig vor allem Eigenverantwortung und Selbsthilfe der Betroffenen ermöglichen sollte; Hansen sieht dieses Konzept im Kern in der Sozialen Marktwirtschaft der Bundesrepublik verwirklicht. Außerdem schlug Schmoller, von einer „nominalistischen“ Begriffsverwendung ausgehend, eine Einkommensbesteuerung nach den Verbrauchsmöglichkeiten vor, ein Konzept das sich in Deutschland letztlich aber nicht durchsetzte. Die umfangreiche Schmollerforschung der letzten dreißig Jahre („Schmoller-Renaissance“) ist der Interpretation Hansens, wie der Aufsatz weiter zeigt, nur bedingt gefolgt, besonders wenig in der Verknüpfung von erkenntnistheoretischen und politischen Vorstellungen. Hansens Interpretation hat aber Bestand. Einige Schlussbemerkungen deuten an, wie aktuell Schmoller in dieser Interpretation ist.

Keynes‘ General Theory (GT) ist in zweierlei Hinsicht umfassender als das (neo-) klassische Modell: (1) sie schließt das Vollbeschäftigungsgleichgewicht als Sonderfall ein und (2) sie basiert auf realistischem mikroökonomischem Verhalten, dessen sozial isolierter, den Eigennutz maximierender homo oeconomicus der neoklassischen Ökonomie allenfalls ein ganz spezieller Fall ist. Keynes‘ Mikro basiert auf verhaltensökonomischen Grundlagen, die durch die Neurowissenschaften und die Experimente der Behavioral Economics eindrucksvoll bestätigt werden. JEL classification: A1, A13, B21, B22, B31, D01, D81, D84, D9, E12, E14, E7 Keynes’s General Theory (GT) is more comprehensive than the (neo-) classical model: (1) is comprises the full-employment equilibrium as a special case and (2) it is based on realistic microeconomic behavior of which the selfish, utility maximizing homo oeconomicus is at best a very special case. Keynes’s microeconomic is based on behavioral foundations, which are verified by the neurosciences and the experiments of Behavioral Economics. JEL classification: A1, A13, B21, B22, B31, D01, D81, D84, D9, E12, E14, E7

After the publication of Keynes’ “General Theory,” economics was frequently described as schizophrenia: (neo-) classical at the micro-level, but Keynesian at the macro-level. In actuality, Keynes’ revolution was, to a substantial part, based on the behavioral micro-foundations of the world we live in, which has been dismissed as ad hocery, or simply ignored or reclassified in the neoclassical synthesis. Keynes’ General Theory is truly general. It includes the full-employment equilibrium as a special case. In addition, its microeconomic foundations are broader than the extremely narrow behavioral assumption of the neoclassical model. Consequently, we argue that Keynes’ microeconomics – although not fully worked out - is actually revolutionary. This may be difficult for (neo-) classical economists to accept, but it is strongly confirmed by the recent results in behavioral economics. Keynes’ macroeconomics is the result of his microeconomics. Keynes’ theory is a criticism of (neo-) classical economics, where he offers alternatives from micro to macro. It is truly a general theory, micro and macro. JEL COde: A1, A13, B21, B22, B31, D01, D81, D84, D9, E12, E14, E7

Muhammad Yunus is one of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs, having been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. This microfinance institution is the largest one until today, counting eight million borrowers. We conducted research on Grameen Bank, related organisations and the concept of social business over the past years and asked Yunus questions which arose as a result of the research.

Expansionary macroeconomic policy is ineffective because, according to the policy ineffectiveness hypothesis (PIH), which is based on the rational expectations hypothesis (REH), it does not affect the real economy. This conclusion is false for several reasons. In their critique on Keynes’ theory, Lucas and Sargent (1978) argue that economic agents erroneously react with positive output and labor supply responses to expansionary macroeconomic policy. But they learn the long-run solution of the Lucas/Sargent model, which involves price reactions only, and do not repeat their mistakes when again confronted with expansionary macroeconomic policy. Thus, learning makes expansionary macroeconomic policy in the Lucas/Sargent model ineffective. The PIH is derived from models based on neoclassical micro-foundations where economic agents optimize in a stationary environment in ‘logical time.’ Experiencing and learning in ‘logical time’? In this paper, we take historical time seriously; that is, we investigate what economic agents actually experience regarding the effectiveness of expansionary macroeconomic policy in ‘historical time.’ We conclude that even if neoclassical micro-foundations are rigorously applied, if economic agents behave as assumed in the Lucas/Sargent model but that they move through time, the economy will not settle at the predicted long run equilibrium. Instead expansionary macroeconomic policy will be perceived as a virtue.

We investigate sources of educational differences in smoking. Using a large German data set containing retrospective information on the age at smoking onset, we compare age-specific hazard rates of starting smoking between (future) low and high educated individuals. We find that up to 90% of the educational differences in smoking develop before the age of 16, i.e. before compulsory schooling is completed. This education gap persists into adulthood. Further, we examine the role of health-related knowledge (proxied by working in health-related occupations) and find it hardly explains smoking decisions. Our findings suggest that (unobserved) factors determining both the selection into smoking and education are almost exclusively responsible for educational differences in smoking. Only small parts of the education gap seem to be caused by general or health-specific education. The effectiveness of education policy to combat smoking is thus likely limited. JEL-Classification : I12, J22, J13

A change in the index selection rules of Deutsche Börse provides a unique opportunity to investigate the drivers behind the decision to abolish dual-class shares. As of June 2002, selection is based on the market capitalization of the free-float of the more liquid share class rather than the overall market capitalization. Hence, firms have had to reassess the benefits from their dual-class shares by weighing them against the cost from foregone index weight associated with having two share classes. Our findings suggest that index membership significantly affects the controlling shareholder’s motivation to unify preferred and common stock. JEL Classification : G30, G32

This study documents a positive, economically meaningful impact of executives’ general managerial skills on shareholder value. Examining 171 sudden executive deaths over thirty years, we find that a one-standarddeviation increase in the general ability index corresponds to at least a 1.5 percentage point decrease in abnormal stock returns to death announcements. Generalists are found to be significantly more valuable for firms with fewer growth prospects where difficult tasks (e.g., restructurings) need to be performed and adaptations to changing business environments become necessary. Our results provide a market-based explanation for the documented generalist hiring premium and the increasing share of generalists. JEL Classification : G30, G34, J24

Seit dem Ausbruch der Finanzkrise im Jahre 2007 gewinnen in den Wirtschaftswissenschaften theoretische Ansätze an Bedeutung, die finanz- und realwirtschaftliche Analysen miteinander verbinden. Für diese Richtung hat sich der Begriff Makrofinanz etabliert. Wir zeigen, dass sich wichtige Bestandteile moderner makrofinanzieller Betrachtungen bereits im Werk Joseph A. Schumpeters finden. Schumpeter hat nicht nur früher als viele andere Ökonomen die Bedeutung dynamischer Prozesse in Volkswirtschaften erkannt, die in einer Krise von der Finanzwirtschaft ausgehende Selbstverstärkungseffekte generieren können. In seinem Modell des Konjunkturzyklus ist eine enge Interaktion von Geld- und Realwirtschaft zu beobachten: Banken und Unternehmen sorgen gemeinsam für eine dynamische wirtschaftliche Entwicklung. Doch während die Banken wesentliche Verantwortung für krisenhafte Prozesse tragen, gehen von Unternehmen Impulse für eine anschließende wirtschaftliche Erholung aus. Aus heutiger Sicht hochinteressant ist auch Schumpeters Analyse der Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Geldpolitik, in der er sich mit der Rolle der Geldpolitik als Systemstabilisierer und Konjunkturstimulator befasst. Die Rolle der Geldpolitik als Retter in Krisen wird kritisch hinterfragt. JEL-Classification : B10, B13, B20, B22, E30, E44 Since the outbreak of the Great Financial Crisis in 2007, „Macrofinance“ has evolved as an exciting field for economists. The idea of marrying macroeconomics and financial economics has a long tradition, however, which should not remain buried in almost forgotten books. A couple of seemingly new ideas can be traced back to the work of the eminent economist Joseph A. Schumpeter. His dynamic model of the business cycle is built upon a close interaction between entrepreneurs and banks. Fire-sales of assets, liquidity spirals and feedback loops can turn a mild recession into a devastating depression. Schumpeter’s analysis of the role of monetary policy bears a striking resemblance to contemporary discussions JEL-Classification : B10, B13, B20, B22, E30, E44

This paper empirically studies the relationship between different compliance strategies concerning environmental legislation and intentions of entrepreneurs to increase their firms’ material and energy efficiency in the next two years. Moreover, I examine the relationship between such intentions and the extent to which entrepreneurs are satisfied with past investments in resource efficiency improvements. Using data covering small and medium-sized enterprises from 36 countries from 2013, this study also explores the institutional framework regarding the stringency and enforcement of national environmental regulations. The results based on the total sample indicate that entrepreneurs who are more satisfied with past resource efficiency investments and who follow a strategy which goes beyond compliance are more likely to intend material and energy efficiency improvements in the future. The results further suggest that entrepreneurs translate their pro-environmental attitudes into intentions to reduce their demand for energy but not their demand for materials. Furthermore, the results based on subgroup analyses also point to decreasing marginal productivities of resource efficiency investments.

Concepts of new school governance did considerably change the role and responsibilities of school principals. Due to the shift in their role from administrator to manager, recent research tends to focus on management activity, but little is still known about the interrelation between changing contexts and management activities. In the present paper we propose to expand the school context to embrace the school-related environment, and we examine this broader context with respect to its impact on leadership activities. We illustrate our approach by combining German survey and administrative data to analyze the social composition of schools and their environment. Our results suggest that using administrative data to identify objective challenges to leadership improves the measurement of contextual conditions at school. JEL Classification: I20; I21; I28

This paper provides an overview on the state of art of research on social entrepreneurship and the establishment of this topic in the academic world. It uses scientometric methods, especially bibliometrics, in measuring the maturity of social entrepreneurship research. The empirical part reveals the increasing number of literature, the institutionalization of social entrepreneurship in seven dimensions, the emergence of thematic clusters, and methodological issue. The paper makes concrete suggestions on how to overcome methodological challenges at the boarder of advanced qualitative and early quantitative research designs. Using Harzing’s “Publish or Perish” software this article furthermore provides a ranking of the 20 most cited academic contributions in social entrepreneurship. Surprisingly, almost half of the most cited papers have not been published in journals but in books, rising doubts on the current (over-)rating of journal publications.

Demographic change is expected to affect labour markets in very different ways on a regional scale. The objective of this paper is to explore the spatio-temporal patterns of recent distributional changes in the workers age structure, innovation output and skill composition for German regions by conducting an Exploratory Space-Time Data Analysis (ESTDA). Beside commonly used tools, we apply newly developed approaches which allow investigating the space-time dynamics of the spatial distributions. We include an analysis of the joint distributional dynamics of the patenting variable with the remaining interest variables. Overall, we find strong clustering tendencies for the demographic variables and innovation that constitute a great divide across German regions. The detected clusters partly evolve over time and suggest a demographic polarization trend among regions that may further reinforce the observed innovation divide in the future.

The paper reviews the sources of «Upward bias» and «Downward bias» in the USConsumer Price Index (CPI) and discusses the changes the Bureau of Labor Statistics has introduced in order to eliminate them. The remaining biases are quantified. Also, the question is raised how much the changes to the CPI have lifted the growth rates of «real» US-GDP upward. It is shown that the divergence in growth rates between the US and the European Union since 1997 can be explained almost entirely in terms of differing statistical methods., KOF Working Papers, 94

The current crisis is like an earthquake for the theoretical foundations of economic policies, which have guided governments and central banks for the last few decades. The efficient market hypothesis and its application to labor markets –“natural rate theory”- dominated interpretations of economic trends and policy prescriptions since the 1970s. Public policy, public institutions, and regulations were generally regarded as distortions of the otherwise well functioning markets. Economic trends were filtered through the lens of the “natural rate theory,” focusing on labor market institutions only and putting blinds on macroeconomic influences. Therefore, the recipe was a reshaping of institutional arrangements intended to allow markets to operate more freely, i.e. to bring the real world closer to the idealized theoretical model. This paper confronts the economic trends with the interpretations of the “natural rate theory” and argues that they hardly fitting the facts. The paper argues that monetary policy gained importance in the 1970s and enforced deflationary policies – which, in turn reduced growth, especially in upswings – and allowed employment to recover to its initial pre-recession levels. Deflationary bias was also guiding the design of major EU institutions, reducing potential and actual growth. JEL Classification : E00, E24, E58, E6, J3

Economists and psychologists follow different approaches to measure individual competitiveness. While psychologists typically use self-reported psychometric scales, economists tend to use incentivized behavioral experiments, where subjects confronted with a specific task self-select into a competitive versus a piece-rate payment scheme. So far, both measurement approaches have remained largely isolated from one another. We discuss how these approaches are linked and based on a classroom experiment with 186 students we empirically examine the relationship between a behavioral competitiveness measure and a self-reported competitiveness scale. We find a stable positive relationship between these measures suggesting that both measures are indicators of the same underlying latent variable, which might be interpreted as a general preference to enter competitive situations. Moreover, our results suggest that the self-reported scale partly rests on motives related to personal development, whereas the behavioral measure does not reflect competitiveness motivated by personal development. Our study demonstrates how comparative studies such as ours can open up new avenues for the further development of both behavioral experiments and psychometric scales that aim at measuring individual competitiveness. JEL-Classification : C91, D03, M52 PSYCInfo: 2223, 2260

This paper provides new empirical evidence on gender differences in competitive preferences using a representative data set of more than 25000 individuals from 36 countries. The empirical results show that the gender differences in competitive preferences are statistically significant in almost all countries with women having, on average, a lower preference for competitive situations than men. Although relatively substantial in most countries, the magnitude of gender differences varies considerably between countries. Results of a regression analysis suggest that the gender differences persist even when controlling for a number of potentially relevant variables. Furthermore, gender differences among adult men and women are hardly affected by the stage of life cycle.

Set in the context of the neoclassical growth model this study revisits the discussion of economic convergence in the context of the Russian Federation. Compared to previous similar studies, here a larger more comprehensive data set is implemented (1994-2013) allowing in particular to check for differences in convergence during different time periods. Using a panel approach more reliable results are achieved which point to absolute convergence occurring across the regions of the Russian Federation. The stability of these results is strengthened by estimating Kernel density to test for the presence of potential groups of regions with different steady states, on the one hand, and Markov transition matrices to test for the temporal stability of the regions on the other. Finally, a quantile regression approach is used to assure overall stability of the convergence speed. All results show that Russia reports absolute convergence up to Vladimir Putin's the second term as president and occurring again during his third term in office and conditional convergence in all time periods. All results remain stable even when including spatial effects or when testing for temporal stability. Quantile regression analysis also reports a more or less stable speed of convergence across the whole time horizon which is significantly higher than comparable results for the US or the regions of the European Union. JEL Classification : C21, P25, O47, R11

The present study picks up on the aspect of knowledge generation - a key part of every national innovation system - in the context of the USA and the Russian Federation. Following Fritsch and Slavtchev (2006) a knowledge production function can be used to account for the efficiency of an innovation systems. In detail this study provides a quantile regression estimation of the knowledge production function to account for a possible non-linear relationship between knowledge inputs and knowledge output. Using regional data for researchers, expenditures on R\& D and patent grants for the USA and the Russian Federation - motivated by the results of a kernel density estimation and transition matrices - a quantile regression is performed for a basic knowledge production function design; for Russia as well for an extended design. The results show that in both countries there exist groups of regions with smaller sized research systems that report significantly different dynamics and thus knowledge production functions than regions with larger sized research systems. JEL Classification : P25, O31, O57

About 20% of German workers retire on disability pensions. Disability pensions provide fairly generous benefits for those who are not already age-eligible for an old-age pension and who are deemed unable to work for health reasons. In this paper, we use two sets of individual survey data to study the role of health and financial incentives in early retirement decisions in Germany, in particular disability benefit uptake. We show that financial incentives to retire do affect sick individuals at least as much as healthy individuals. Based on 25 years of individual survey data and empirical models of retirement behavior, we then simulate changes in the generosity of disability pensions to understand how these changes would affect retirement behavior. Our results show that making the disability benefit award process more stringent without closing other early retirement routes would not greatly increase labor force participation in old age. JEL Classification : H55, J14, J26

Drawing on German household data from 1992 to 2011, this paper analyzes how couples allocate housework against the backdrop of three questions: (1) Does an individual’s contribution to household income - both in absolute and relative terms - influence his or her contribution to housework? (2) If so, does the magnitude of this influence differ by gender? and (3) How important are traditional gender roles on housework allocation? We address these issues by applying a panel quantile regression model and find that as both the share and absolute level of income increase, the amount of housework undertaken decreases, with the latter effect being roughly equal across genders. Nevertheless, traditional gender roles also appear to dictate housework allocation, which is evidenced by women increasing their housework if they earn more than their partner.

Steueroasen besitzen drei wichtige Merkmale, die aus der Sicht von Steuerhinterziehern und Steuervermeidern anderer Länder besondere Anziehungskraft haben. Sie bieten niedrige Steuersätze für alle oder für bestimmte Kapitaleinkommen. Sie weisen eine hohe politische Stabilität und funktionierende Institutionen auf. Schließlich verbinden sie dies mit einem hohen Maß an faktischer Intransparenz in den Besitzstrukturen von Briefkastenfirmen sowie, zumindest in der Vergangenheit, einer ausgeprägten Vertraulichkeit von Bankdaten. Mit diesen Charakteristika wird unterschiedlichen Problemen Vorschub geleistet. Dazu zählen beispielsweise Steuerhinterziehungen von wohlbetuchten Privatpersonen und Geschäftsleuten aus westlichen Ländern sowie Geldwäsche aus illegalen Geschäften. Darüber hinaus spielen Briefkastenfirmen in Steueroasen eine wichtige Rolle bei der Vertuschung von Geschäftsstrukturen. Unter Führung der OECD hat sich in den letzten Jahren der politische Druck auf die internationalen Steueroasen erhöht. Im Vordergrund stehen dabei bilaterale und multilaterale Abkommen zum Informationsaustausch.

This paper reviews the impact of legitimacy on new ventures and explores the overlap between two similar constructs, legitimacy and reputation. A positive organizational reputation can be crucial to successful venture development. Building on the idea that reputation is socially constructed, this paper depicts reputation as the outcome of the process of legitimation. In this context the study investigates the influence of venture capital and the relationship among venture capital finance and venture’s reputation. Results of the empirical study reveal a correlation between venture capital finance and the organizational reputation and legitimation of start-ups. Die Gründer junger innovativer Unternehmen sind die Initiatoren eines unternehmerischen Prozesses, der in die Entwicklung bedeutender Innovationen, Wachstumsimpulse und in die Schaffung neuer Arbeitsplätze münden kann. Zugleich wird die Sterblichkeit dieser jungen Unternehmen in den ersten Jahren als überaus hoch eingeschätzt. Timmons/Bygrave (1986) konstatieren jedoch, dass die Finanzierung eines jungen Unternehmens mit Venture Capital zur Reduktion der Mortalitätswahrscheinlichkeit auf 20% bis 30% beitragen kann. Vor diesem Hintergrund wird hier im Rahmen einer Online-Befragung untersucht, welche Bedeutung eine Venture Capital-Finanzierung für die Entwicklung der Reputation junger Unternehmen im Rahmen der unternehmerischen Legitimierung hat. Es zeigt sich, dass eine frühe Finanzierung mit Venture Capital die organisationale Reputation junger Unternehmen positiv beeinflusst und damit zur Legitimierung dieser Unternehmen beitragen kann.

This paper investigates whether the ‘big tradeoff’ between efficiency and inequality exists, and analyzes empirically the relationship between inequality, redistribution, and employment/unemployment. The analysis is based on a cross-country longitudinal data set (panel data) of 21 OECD countries in the period 1980 to 2010. We use inequality and redistribution measures (output indicators) rather than institutional variables (input indicators) as independent variables. We do not find a significant effect of income and wage distribution on labor market performance and cannot confirm the hypothesized ‘big tradeoff’.

The rational expectations hypothesis (REH) is based on two assumptions. The first is that, economic agents learn through experience how to avoid systematic errors. The second is that these errors are identified with reference to a model. Imperfect information may lead economic agents to misperceive changes in nominal economic variables as real but they learn from their mistake, change their behavior and will not make the same mistake again. Therefore, relations estimated from historical data may not hold after economic agents learned about the effects of, say, expansionary macroeconomic policies (the Lucas critique). Repeating the policy will affect nominal variables (prices) but not the real economy (policy ineffectiveness hypothesis). Policy ineffectiveness is derived from models based on neoclassical micro-foundations, claimed to be the basis for rigorous science. In this paper we investigate the learning process rigorously. When pulled into employment by misperceived expansionary macroeconomic policy, what do workers actually learn? Do they actually experience the long-run solution of the neoclassical model? After the introduction we discuss learning in the context of rational expectations. We then analyze the workers’ experience and the learning process, strictly applying neoclassical micro-foundations. We focus on two inconsistencies. First, unless unearned income is indexed, inflation will unambiguously cause labor supply to expand. Second, employers will respond to the macroeconomic impulse –misperceived or not-- with capacity expansion rather than pure price reactions. We conclude that the predictions of the REH do not hold if neoclassical micro foundations are rigorously applied.

A widespread finding among studies from the US and the UK is that maternal employment is correlated with an increased risk of child overweight, even in a causal manner, whereas studies from European countries obtain less conclusive results. As evidence for Germany is still scarce, the purpose of this study is to identify the effect of maternal employment on childhood overweight in Germany using two sets of representative micro data. Moreover, we explore potential underlying mechanisms that might explain this relationship. In order to address the selection into maternal full-time employment, we use an instrumental variable strategy exploiting the number of younger siblings in the household as an instrument. While the OLS model suggests that maternal full-time employment is related to a 5 percentage point higher probability of the child to be overweight, IV estimates indicate a 25 percentage points higher overweight probability due to maternal full-time employment. Exploring various possible pathways, we find that maternal employment is associated with unhealthy dietary and activity habits which might explain the positive effect of maternal employment on child overweight to some extent. Several sensitivity analyses confirm the robustness of our findings. JEL-classification: I12, J22, J13

This paper empirically investigates the relationship between individual trust in financial institutions and individual access to these institutions. Based on a large-scale survey of savings patterns of Indians, we find that individuals reporting that they do not have access to certain financial institutions within a commutable distance of one day are less likely to trust these institutions with their money. Moreover, we find that this relationship holds for different banks and financial institutions offering services in low-income areas and that differences in trust can be explained to some extent by differences in individual access. JEL classification: D1, G11, G21, R2