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DIW Discussion Papers 917 / 2009
We assess the differences that emerge in Taylor rule estimations for the ECB when using ex-post data instead of real time forecasts and vice versa. We argue that previous comparative studies in this field mixed up two separate effects. First, the differences resulting from the use of ex-post and real time data per se and, second, the differences emerging from the use of non-modified real time data ...
2009| Ansgar Belke, Jens Klose
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DIW Discussion Papers 916 / 2009
Using representative survey data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) for 2006, we show that the magnitude of such health inequality measures as the concentration index (CI) depends crucially on the underlying health measure. The highest degree of inequality is found when dichotomized subjective health measures like health satisfaction or self-assessed health (SAH) are employed. Measures ...
2009| Nicolas R. Ziebarth
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DIW Discussion Papers 915 / 2009
This paper quantifies the impact of incentives related to potential membership on institutional change as measured by the World Bank Governance Indicators (WBGI). Based on a panel of 25 transition countries for the period from 1996 to 2008 we show that pre-accession incentives provided by EU and NATO clearly matter for institutional development. In addition, path-dependency determined by cultural norms ...
2009| Ansgar Belke, Ingo Bordon, Inna Melnykovska, Rainer Schweickert
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DIW Discussion Papers 914 / 2009
This paper simulates the increase in the average annual loss from tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic for the years 2015 and 2050. The simulation is based on assumptions concerning wealth trends in the regions affected by the storms, considered by the change in material assets (capital stock). Further assumptions are made about the trend in storm intensity resulting from anthropogenic climate change. ...
2009| Silvio Schmidt, Claudia Kemfert, Eberhard Faust
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DIW Discussion Papers 913 / 2009
In this paper, we use a computable general equilibrium model (WIATEC) to study the potential impact of implementing Europe's 20-20-20 climate policy. The results show that the economic costs of implementing the policy are only moderate and within the range of recent empirical evidence. Furthermore, they also indicate that there is a possibility that the existing allocations to the Europena sectors ...
2009| Claudia Kemfert, Hans Kremers, Truong Truong
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DIW Discussion Papers 912 / 2009
The effects of inter-government fiscal arrangements on variation in regional economic growth are analyzed for Russia, a country with large cross-regional differences and considerable fiscal redistribution. Moreover, fiscal reforms implemented in the first half of 2000s, which followed to some extent scientific advice, make analysis of this case particularly interesting. We observe that post-reform ...
2009| Lev Freinkman, Konstantin A. Kholodilin, Ulrich Thießen
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DIW Discussion Papers 911 / 2009
The purpose of this contribution is to illustrate the mechanism by which higher oil prices might lead to lower interest rates in the context of a simple model that takes into account the global external savings equilibrium. The simple model has interesting implications for how one views the huge US current account deficit and how the emergence of China's savings surplus and oil supply shocks impact ...
2009| Ansgar Belke, Daniel Gros
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DIW Discussion Papers 910 / 2009
This study is the first to estimate the price elasticities of demand for both medical rehabilitation programs and treatment at health spas. In Germany, the Statutory Health Insurance (SHI) covers both forms of therapy if administered in authorized medical facilities on referral from a physician. While health resort stays are prescribed to recover from general symptoms of poor health and are preventive ...
2009| Nicolas R. Ziebarth
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DIW Discussion Papers 909 / 2009
This paper estimates a time-varying AR-GARCH model of inflation producing measures of inflation uncertainty for the euro area, and investigates the linkages between them in a VAR framework, also allowing for the possible impact of the policy regime change associated with the start of EMU in 1999. The main findings are as follows. Steady-state inflation and inflation uncertainty have declined steadily ...
2009| Guglielmo Maria Caporale, Luca Onorante, Paolo Paesani
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DIW Discussion Papers 908 / 2009
Upon arrival in the host country, immigrants undergo a fundamental identity crisis. Their ethnic identity being questioned, they can be classified into four states - assimilation, integration, separation and marginalization. This is suggested by the ethnosizer, a newly established measure to parameterize a person's ethnic identity, using individual information on language, culture, societal interaction, ...
2009| Amelie Constant, Klaus F. Zimmermann
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DIW Discussion Papers 907 / 2009
The authors apply a computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling framework to carry out a two-country comparison for Austria and Germany assessing the impact of road charging (RC). The pricing policy measure is introduced for the private motorized transport mode and applies to the overall road network. To derive and compare distributional effects of passenger car RC, the mode-specific travel demand ...
2009| Dominika Kalinowska, Karl W. Steininger
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DIW Discussion Papers 906 / 2009
This study assesses the relative performance of Greek equity funds employing a non-parametric method, specifically Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Using an original sample of cost and operational attributes we explore the effect of each variable on funds' operational efficiency for an oligopolistic and bank-dominated fund industry. Our results have significant implications for the investors' fund ...
2009| Vassilios Babalos, Guglielmo Maria Caporale, Nikolaos Philippas
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DIW Discussion Papers 905 / 2009
Although there are a variety of studies on the gender pay gap, only a few relate to managerial positions. The present study attempts to fill this gap. Managers in private companies in Germany are a highly selective group of women and men, who differ only marginally in their human capital endowments. The Oaxaca/Blinder decomposition shows that the gender pay gap in the gross monthly salary can hardly ...
2009| Anne Busch, Elke Holst
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DIW Discussion Papers 904 / 2009
Both crime and terrorism impose costs onto society through the channels of fear and worry. Identifying and targeting groups which are especially affected by worries might be one way to reduce the total costs of these two types of insecurity. However, compared to the drivers of the fear of crime, the determinants of concerns regarding global terrorism are less well known. Using nationally representative ...
2009| Tilman Brück, Cathérine Müller
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DIW Discussion Papers 903 / 2009
In developing and transition economies, microlending has become an effective instrument for providing micro businesses with the necessary financial resources to launch operations. In the industrialized countries, with their highly developed banking systems, however, there has been ongoing debate on the question of whether an uncovered demand for microlending services exists. The present pilot study ...
2009| Alexander S. Kritikos, Christoph Kneiding, Claas Christian Germelmann
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DIW Discussion Papers 902 / 2009
We analyze the properties of progressive water tariffs that are often applied in the sector in the form of discretely increasing block tariffs (IBT). We are particularly interested in water tarification in a poverty context where a subsistence level of water has to be allocated to each household. Our approach is "semi-welfarist" to the extent that we analyze second-best pricing schemes that may be ...
2009| Georg Meran, Christian von Hirschhausen
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DIW Discussion Papers 901 / 2009
The paper investigates the motives of activity (entry and exit) of Private Equity (PE) investors in European companies. Investment of a PE firm is not viewed unambiguously. First, it is claimed that PE investment is made for the sake of seeking short-term gains by taking control and utilizing the company's resources. Second, a PE firm invests because of prior identification of chances to add value ...
2009| Oleg Badunenko, Nataliya Barasinska, Dorothea Schäfer
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DIW Discussion Papers 900 / 2009
Several empirical minimum wage studies have recently been published that simulate employment effects of a federal minimum wage in Germany. We disentangle various factors that explain the variation in previous simulation results. Based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and the newly available "Verdienststrukturerhebung 2006" we conduct robustness analyses that systematically test the range ...
2009| Kai-Uwe Müller
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DIW Discussion Papers 899 / 2009
The current economic crisis requires fast information to predict economic behavior early, which is difficult at times of structural changes. This paper suggests an innovative new method of using data on internet activity for that purpose. It demonstrates strong correlations between keyword searches and unemployment rates using monthly German data and exhibits a strong potential for the method used ...
2009| Nikos Askitas, Klaus F. Zimmermann
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DIW Discussion Papers 898 / 2009
This paper examines the interactions between money, consumer prices and commodity prices at a global level from 1970 to 2008. Using aggregated data for major OECD countries and a cointegrating VAR framework, we are able to establish long run and short run relationships among these variables while the process is mainly driven by global liquidity. According to our empirical findings, different price ...
2009| Ansgar Belke, Ingo G. Bordon, Torben W. Hendricks