Data collection template and questionnaire

DATA COLLECTION TEMPLATE AND QUESTIONNAIRE
Country : Germany
Gaby Umbach

Contents

Part A: General information on cohesion

1 Literature review

2 Regional profiles

Part B: Specific policies and their effect on cohesion
1 Macroeconomic policy

2 Public expenditure

3 Territorial policies

4 Public sector transfers

5 State aid

6 Employment policies

7 Technology policies

8 Inward direct investment

Part A: General information on cohesion
1 Literature review
Ackermann, Michael B.E. (1998): „Die optimale Angleichung der neuen Bundesländer und die Lebensverhältnisse in Westdeutschland“, Frankfurt et al.

Based on different economic models (Cobb-Douglas, Slow-Swan) the author analysis the optimal allocation of resources fort he different regions and their effect on the alignment of living conditions in the Eastern German Länder.

Accordino, John/Elsner, Wolfram (2000): Conversion Planning in Two Military Shipbuilding Regions: Hampton Roads, Virginia, and Bremen, Germany, in: International Regional Science Review; Jan2000, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p48.

Analysis of the responses of Bremen and Hampton Roads to cutbacks in military spending illustrates how conversion planning--and economic development planning generally-are embedded within a sociopolitical context. This context is largely determined by the regions' industrial structure, but it is strongly influenced by the structure and power of local government and the region's social cohesion. National and international economic conversion policies should be flexible enough not only to rapidly respond to severe regional adjustment problems to maintain qualified technological and human potentials, but also to be useful to regions with diverse sociopolitical structures.

Biewen, Martin (2002): The Covariance Structure of East and West German Incomes and its Implications for the Persistence of Poverty and Inequality, Berlin, DIW Discussion papers 292.

Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel the paper analyses the dynamics of equal income in Germany. Special attention is given to the separation of permanent and transitory components, the persistence of transitory shocks and their implications for the persistence of poverty and income inequality.

Blancke, Susanne / Schmid, Josef (2000): Die Bundesländer in der aktiven Arbeitsmarkt-Politik. Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse des Forschungsprojekts "Die aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik der Bundesländer. Chancen und Restriktionen einer Arbeitsmarkt- und Strukturpolitik im Föderalismus", Tübingen.

The book describes and analyses the active labour market measures of the German Länder.

Bruneau, Catherine / De Bandt, Olivier (2003): Monetary and fiscal policy in the transition to EMU: what do SVAR models tell us? In: Economic Modelling; Sep2003, Vol. 20 Issue 5, p959, 27p

On the basis of SVAR models of monetary and fiscal policy in France, Germany and the euro area for the period 1979:1–2000:2, it appears that, during these two decades, monetary shocks exhibit significant correlation while fiscal shocks—which are closely linked to standard measures of structural deficits—are uncorrelated between France and Germany. At the same time, euro area fiscal shocks, especially in the 1990s, are largely impulsed by Germany. It is difficult, however, to conclude that the latter shocks reflect purely idiosyncratic shocks, as they often reveal differences in the timing of fiscal adjustments. The macroeconomic effects of monetary and fiscal policy are shown to be consistent with the ISLM model, but, from a statistical point of view, they are usually more significant for monetary policy than for fiscal policy shocks. [Copyright 2003 Elsevier]

Breyer, Friedrich and Kifmann, Mathias (2003): The German Retirement Benefit Formula: Drawbacks and Alternatives, Berlin, DIW Discussion papers 326.

In this paper a number of objectionable features of the German retirement benefit formula are identified. The authors show that groups of insured with higher than average life expectancy, in particular high-income groups, are subsidized by the rest of the membership because the formula neglects differences in group-specific life expectancy. Furthermore, the current formula leads to undesirable long-run effects if the earnings ceilings are raised, mandatory membership is extended, life expectancy rises or the rate of population growth declines. The authors present two alter-native formulas which take group-specific life expectancy into account. In particular, a return-rate formula which rewards each Euro of contributions with the internal rate of return of the pay-as-you-go pension system proves to be superior to the current formula.

Dohse, Dirk (2001): Deutsche Technologiepolitik auf neuen Pfaden: einige Anmerkungen zur regionenorientierten Innovationspolitik der Bundesregierung = German technology policy strikes new paths, in: Raumforschung und Raumordnung : RuR. - Koeln. - Berlin. - Bonn. - Muenchen. - Heidelberg : Heymann, Bd. 59 (2001), 5/6, S. 446-455
Dohse, Dirk (2000): Regionen als Innovationsmotoren: zur Neuorientierung in der deutschen Technologiepolitik, Kiel.

The author analyses the German R+D policy as well as the technology policy and focuses on the new apporaches coming up in these policy areas.

Dohse, Dirk (2000): Technology policy and the regions - the case of the BioRegio contest, in: Research Policy, Dec 2000 Vol 29 No 9, pp. 1111-1134.

The paper explicates the German government's BioRegio contest (BRC), created in 1995 to support biotechnological development at regional level through intraregional organizations co-operating, to yield consequential national benefits as to biotechnology capability and technological innovation through region-promoted diffusion and knowledge creation. Discusses 'regional innovation systems' and outlines main aspects associated with the BRC i.e. regional funding for winners, jury judgement of presentations, regions participating and winning (first contest), and place in German technical policy. Lists a 'model' region's biotech credentials, and compares the German biotech industry pre- and post-BRC. The article identifies clustering of biotech industries as support for BRC going in the right direction. Notes other positive factors, but counters these with why the BRC might go wrong, e.g. lagging regions, criteria factors, and economic distortions. It concludes with an e-mail survey of 100 firms in the 17 BRC regions as to obstacles to German biotech innovation, problems, advantages and overall assessment of the BRC.

Eickelpasch, Alexander/ Kauffeld; Martina/ Pfeiffer, Ingo (2002): Das InnoRegio-Programm : Umsetzung der Foerderung und Entwicklung der Netzwerke, in: Wochenbericht : Wirtschaft, Politik, Wissenschaft / DIW Berlin / Deutsches Institut fuer Wirtschaftsforschung (Berlin), Bd. 69 (2002), 21, S. 329-338.
Eltges, Markus (2000): Foerderpolitik fuer die neuen Laender, in: Bundesamt fuer Bauwesen und Raumordnung (Ed.): Regionale Aspekte des wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Wandels in den neuen Ländern, Bonn, pp. 67-80.

The article focuses on regional policy as well as on infrastructural change and the influence of the German financial equalisation system on the support of the economic development of the new Länder.

Falkenkötter, Thomas (2001): Die Auswirkungen der Kohäsionspolitik der Europäischen Gemeinschaft auf die Gemeinschaftsaufgabe "Verbesserung der regionalen Wirtschaftsstruktur" nach Art. 91a Abs. 1 Nr. 2 GG, München.

The author investigates on the impact of European regional funding and state aid control on the common tasks of the GA of the development of the regional economic structure (‘Verbesserung der regionalen Wirtschaftsstruktur’). The analysis includes:

• 
  Analysis of the interrelatedness of to systems of support
  
• 
  Legal provisions for national financial support
  
• 
  Legal limits for European structural support
  
• 
  Impact of European state aid control on national economic development and support instruments.
  

Fic, Tatiana (2003): Identifying Determinants of German Inflation: An Eclectic Approach, Berlin, DIW Discussion papers 334.

The paper applies an equilibrium correction model to discuss impacts of monetary, labour and external factors on the German inflation. The approach presented is of eclectic character and allows for examination which variables representative for various inflation theories matter empirically when analysing inflation processes in Germany. The results obtained suggest that inflation in Germany is determined by adjustment processes on the market of production factors, external shocks embodied in import prices, level of capacity utilisation and monetary policy actions.

Fritsche, Ulrich / Logeay, Camille (2002): Structural Unemployment and the Output Gap in Germany: Evidence from an SVAR Analysis within a Hysteresis Framework, DIW Discussion papers 312.

The German unemployment rate shows strong signs if non-stationarity over the course of the previous decades. This is in line with an insider-outsider model under full hysteresis. We applied a "theory-guided view" to the data using the structural VAR model as developed by Balmaseda, Dolado and López-Salido (2000) allowing for full hysteresis on the labour market. Our identification of the model implies long-lasting output gaps for Germany – especially for the disinflation period of the 1980s.

Geishecker, Ingo (2002): Outsourcing and the Demand for Low-skilled Labour in German Manufacturing: New Evidence, DIW Discussion papers 313.

This paper analyses how international outsourcing has affected the relative demand for low skilled workers in Germany during the 1990s. In contrast to previous empirical work, the single elements of the input-output-matrix are used to disentangle international outsourcing and trade in final goods more accurately. The main finding is that during the 1990s international outsourcing had a significant negative impact on the relative demand for low-skilled workers, explaining between 19% and 24% of the overall decline in the relative demand for low-skilled labour.

Goertz, Henning (2001): Eignung von sektoral und regional orientierter Technologiepolitik zur Entwicklung strukturschwacher Regionen in Ostdeutschland, Aachen.

The book analyses the regional economic development in German and the interrelatedness of German regional and technology policy.

Grande, E. (2001): The erosion of state capacity and the European innovation policy dilemma: a comparison of German and EU information technology policies, in: Research Policy, Jun 2001 Vol 30 No 6, pp. 905-922

Draws from neo-institutionalist research to link the ability of a nation state to achieve its strategic aims, i.e. 'state capacity', to three variables - political and administrative structure and resources, societal sub-sectors' organization, and state-society relationships. Examines state capacity in Germany and Europe in respect to information technology (IT) to determine the effects on Germany's state capacity of that of a supranational, i.e. the European Union (EU). Discusses political factors influencing Germany's technology policy, i.e. fragmentation through federation, highly differentiated R&D, large public research infrastructure, high degree of science and economic autonomy. Notes many of Germany's IT goals failed because policies were either inadequate or too complex to be operationalized effectively. The article identifies erosion of Germany's state capacity in IT from globalization, and 'Europeanization' of IT policy. It considers the EU's IT technology policy performance to be poor also through lack of a proper multilevel framework of governance and co-operation. Recommends improving that via forecasting exercises, proper framework creation, policy activation, mediation by intermediary organizations and networks, and R&D financing.

Haake, S. (2002): National business systems and industry-specific competitiveness, in: Organization Studies, 2002 Vol 23 No 5, pp. 711-737.

Discusses the way that countries are only more or less competitive with regard to specific industries; examines the industrial profiles of the USA, UK, Germany and Japan; outlines their focus on particular industrial sectors; relates the differences observed, in these four countries, to their adoption of different 'models of capitalism'. Extends on the relevant studies on this issue by proposing the existence of a relationship based on a distinction between communitarian and individualistic business systems, and explores the link between these and developing an industry-specific competitive advantage. Presents a literature review that provides a number of theoretical contributions relating to this concept; contrasts communitarian business systems (closer, long-term relationships) with individualistic business systems (fixed short term relationships). It draws out the implications that these two different types of business system has for knowledge accumulation (high organizational-specificity of knowledge versus low organization-specificity of knowledge). Furthermore the article puts forward that industrial competitiveness arises out of a fit between patterns of national business systems and patterns of industrial task environments.

Harding, R. (2002): Competition and collaboration in German technology transfer, in: European Management Journal, Oct 2002 Vol 20 No 5, pp. 470-486

Examines Germany's national innovation and technology transfer system, contends that the system remains effective despite recent decline in national R&D expenditure, and assesses policy changes supporting high-technology sectors. Describes and illustrates the German R&D system, emphasizes the range of funding sources, the rigid, though inter-related funding system, and reveals the existence of a research cartel. Recounts criticism of the cascade system, maintains that the system is resilient, and points out that the system is market-based, distributes risk, is collaborative, and is networked through the Steinbeis Foundation, arguing that these factors support adaptability. Details the role of the Fraunhofer Society, explains that the Society is a network of 48 technology transfer institutes, graphs the Society's funding structure, and illustrates operation of the Fraunhofer system by case study of three institutes, one concerned with systems and innovation research, the second with production and automation, the third with technology development.

Jungnickel, Rolf (2003): Foreign-Owned Firms. Are They Different? Palgrave.

Foreign-owned firms (FoFs) can have significant implications in terms of employment, income and technology for the national economies involved. This book compares the efficiency of domestic and FoFs, and also looks at the performance of FoFs in several different countries. Contributors take a broad variety of research approaches with a focus on the use of firm-specific data from France, Germany, Austria, and Sweden. They conclude that foreign ownership matters but the real difference is not between FoFs and national firms but between multinational and domestic firms.

Klaphake, Axel (2000): Europaeische und nationale Regionalpolitik fuer Ostdeutschland: neuere regionaloekonomische Theorien und praktische Erfahrungen, Wiesbaden.
Karl, H./Ranné, O. (2001): Regional policy and the environment - the case of Germany, in: European Environment, Mar-Apr 2001 Vol 11 No 2, pp. 103-112.

The article points out that environmental requirements in regional planning policy do not include financial incentives. Looks at Germany's 'Improvement of Regional Economic Structures' (GRW) initiative, maintains that this initiative often conflicts with environmental aims. Highlights a lack of co-ordination procedures within GRW for aligning economic and environmental goals, criticizes GRW for focusing on negative external effects, and suggests reform of GRW by including modulated grant award rates in funding approval. It contends that environmental gain should be incorporated within regional development programmes with the objective of achieving an economic/environmental win/win situation. Asks how this can be achieved, quotes prior research that reported product and price-offsets that can potentially give a region's industry 'early mover' advantage and increase their competitiveness. Finally it discusses development of new technologies, change of environmental measures, e.g. upgrade of sewage plants, and human resource measures such as environmental training.

Kooi, J. (2001) German tax reform paves way for restructuring, in: The Treasurer, Mar 2001, pp. 60-63.

The paper outlines the main points of the new tax rules in Germany from 1 January 2002: (1) abolition of dual rates; (2) domestic dividend participation exemption; (3) tax consolidation opportunities; and (4) limitations in the safe harbour rules. Explains that the system will be closer to other countries' systems, but warns that costs related to dividends cannot be deducted. Welcomes the consolidation and simplification brought by the new rules, and expects greater numbers of firms to become multinationals, as they sell domestic subsidiaries and buy foreign ones. It concludes that German companies will be increasingly holding companies.

Kuhlmann, Stefan (2003): Evaluation of research and innovation policies: a discussion of trends with examples from German, in: International Journal of Technology Management; 2003, Vol. 26 Issue 2-4, p131, 19p.

Recent changes in the field of evaluation refer to new demands by politics, economies and society to extend the subject of evaluation processes to cross-sectoral research promotion programs and research institutions, and new developments within the research of evaluation itself. The paper presents an overview of these trends and consequences for the function and methods of evaluation of research and innovation policies against the background of recent German experiences.

Lammers, Konrad (2001): Eine neue Förderpolitik für Ostdeutschland. In: Wirtschaftsdienst, Bd. 81 (2001), 3, S. 130-131.
Lechner, M, (2000): An evaluation of public-sector-sponsored continuous vocational training programmes in east Germany, in: Journal of Human Resources, Spring 2000 Vol 35 No 2, pp. 347-376.

The paper examines the effectiveness of the continuous vocational training programmes introduced in east Germany in the 1990s, after reunification. Describes the east German labour market after reunification and the training programmes set up to counter unemployment. It uses a balanced sample of individuals younger than 53, taken from the German Socio-Economic Panel, to identify those who took part in the training programmes and to analyse the effectiveness of the training. It finds, in general, that there were no positive earnings or employment effects arising from the continuous vocational training and retraining programmes. Finally it suggests that the programmes may have been a waste of money.

Lenk, Thomas (2001): Aspekte des Länderfinanzausgleichs.

The author describes and analyses the current German financial equalisation system and presents criteria and reform proposal. He integrates the financial power of the districts and also the funds ‘German unification’ into his analysis. Inspired by the 1999 constitutional court ruling on the financial equalisation system he analyses the advantages and disadvantages of this joint system.

Niedersaechsisches Institut fuer Wirtschaftsforschung (2002): Entwicklungsprobleme und -perspektiven der ehemaligen innerdeutschen Grenzregionen: Analysen, Handlungsnotwendigkeiten, wirtschaftspolitische Konsequenzen, NIW-Workshop 2001, Hannover.
Parikh, A./van Leuvensteijn, M. (2003): Inter-regional labour mobility, inequality and wage convergence, in: Applied Economics, (UK), 20 May 2003 Vol 35 No 8, p. 931-942.

The article identifies a U-shaped relationship between white collar workers' wage differentials between region of origin and host region (between East and West Germany) and migration. Furthermore it contrasts this with an inverse-U for blue collar workers. Takes 720 observations of flows into 16 immigrating regions between 1992 and 1995, and quantifies a model of migration, house ownership and status, as well as wages and unemployment differences. Regresses the variables, and includes inequality variables. Finds that wage inequality is lower in the East, so white collar workers will emigrate to regions with high wage inequality, but blue collar workers will not. It concludes that where wages are converging rapidly between East and West immigrants tend to wait because the opportunity cost of migration rises.

Jan Priewe (2002): Zwischen Abkopplung und Aufholen : das schwache ostdeutsche Wachstumspotenzia, in: lWSI-Mitteilungen : Monatszeitschrift des Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Instituts in der Hans-Boeckler-Stiftung / Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut (Duesseldorf), Bd. 55 (2002), 12, S. 706-713.
Ragnitz,/Dreger/Komar/Müller (2000): „Simulationsrechnungen zu den Auswirkungen einer Kürzung von Transferleistungen für die neuen Bundesländer“, Halle (Saale).

In the framework of a simulation game the authors test the impact of different options of the reduction of infrastructure investments on the economic development and performance in the East German Länder. From their results they come to the conclusion, that the support of investments had a general positive impact n the investments carried out by companies and firms in the East German Länder.

Roehl, Klaus-Heiner (2002): Regionalfoerderung in Deutschland: was hat der Ostdeutsche Mittelstand davon? in: IW-Trends : Quartalshefte zur empirischen Wirtschaftsforschung / Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft, d. 29 (2002), 3, S. 34-40.
Rosenfeld, Martin/Heimpold, Gerhard (2002) Gefaelle zwischen vergleichbaren Regionen in Ost und West: Ostdeutsche Ballungsraeume haben es schwer! / in: Wirtschaft im Wandel. - Halle, Bd. 8 (2002), 15, S. 480-489.
Scherf, Wolfgang (2000): Der Länderfinanzausgleich in Deutschland (Gutachten im Auftrag der hessischen Landesregierung)

The author presents an in depth analysis of the German financial equalisation system and critically evaluates the system as well as reform proposals.

Solga, H./Diewald, M. (2001): The East German labour market after German unification: a study of structural change and occupational matching, in: Work Employment & Society, Mar 2001 Vol 15 No 1, pp. 95-127.

The paper points out that the interplay between the economy and the political structure of a country is such that political change will change economic structures and, consequently, employment structures. Examines how employment structures in East Germany changed after unification and the shift to a market economy, focusing on the way that intergenerational occupational mobility supported this structural change. Within this analysis, discusses the role of educational and vocational training credentials in structuring this intergenerational mobility. It furthermore describes the changes that took place in the East German employment structure after 1989 and assesses the role of vocational qualifications in structuring the labour market by enabling skills to be matched to jobs. Uses data on the employment and training of East German men and women, collected in the longitudinal study, the German Life History Study, looking at educational qualifications, vocational certificates and employment status to assess levels of status and skills mismatch. Also looks at the determinants of unemployment. The article concludes that vocational certificates determined occupational careers of East Germans before 1989 and continue to do so. It argues that this indicates that the German restructuring was not a chaotic process but based on occupational credentials, with job matches based on these occupational credentials being one of the underlying principles that regulated the change.

Wagner, J. (2001): The full Monti (German savings banks), in: The Banker, (UK), Sep 2001 Vol 151 No 907, pp. 109.111.

The article explains the regulatory problems surrounding the 12 German Landesbanken, or state-owned regional banks, rather than the 562 Sparkassen, or savings banks. Reports the removal of their state guarantee under EU competition law and their loss of triple A ratings in 2005. It notes the ambition of private banks to take over the Sparkassen, and the growing threat from co-operative banks, while asserting that customer loyalty is intense both from individual savers and from small businesses. Points out that Landesbanken will suffer from having to pay more for capital, and that they are beginning to split to create private law holding companies. The paper thus focuses on the debt problems of Bankgeselschaft Berlin, which incorporates a Landesbank, a Sparbank and a mortgage bank.

Wilson, D./Souitaris, V. (2002): Do Germany's federal and land governments (still) co-ordinate their innovation policies?, in: Research Policy, Sep 2002 Vol 31 No 7, pp. 1123-1141.

The article whether the assumption that Germany's Federal and Länder co-ordinate their innovation policies is true via an empirical study undertaken in 2000 comprising 20 interviews with academics, public officials, and others, and two case studies (establishment of the Dresden Infineon semiconductor plant, and federal inception of the InnoRegio competitions). It overviews related Länder research, and development of the German innovation system. It tables various Länder interactions identified by participants and elicits views as to their effectiveness. Identifies co-ordination present within interactions regarding innovation infrastructure and individual projects, but is uncertain regarding promotional programmes. Comments, inter alia, that: a trend towards network-related mechanisms is emerging; there is more voluntary collaboration; effectiveness depends on harnessing national, federal, and regional innovation systems' resources/expertise; and, experimental federalism operates (Sabel, 1996). It concludes with arising implications.

Zablowsky, Udo (2003): Strukturpolitik. Neue Perspektiven für die regionalen Förderinstitute im öffentlichen Auftrag. Sparkasse, März 2003, Nr. 03, S. 118

Scarce public budgets and new economic targets have force the German Länder in recent years to change the room for manoeuvre for their financial support instruments. The book thus presents an overview over new support instruments at the Länder level.

2 Regional profiles