Die Zuschussrente: Eine falsche Therapie bei richtiger Diagnosestellung

Das Bundessozialministerium hat zur Abwendung einer prognostizierten Altersarmut die Zuschussrente vorgeschlagen. Dieses Instrument soll Beziehern von Niedrigeinkommen Anreize geben, eine rentenversicherungspfl ichtige Besch?ftigung zu suchen. Sie sollen gleichzeitig davor bewahrt werden, im Alter auf Fürsorgeleistungen angewiesen zu sein, wenn ihre Rentenansprüche zu gering sind. Die Autoren fürchten, dass mit der Zuschussrente Fehlanreize verbunden sind. Sie halten die Ausgestaltung des Systems darüber hinaus für zu kompliziert und schlagen daher eine Freibetragsl?sung vor.     

Estimating multiple equation hybrid models with endogenous dummy regressors*

Estimating multiple equation hybrid models with endogenous dummy regressors is burdensome if the number of dummies and equations is large. Therefore, after clarifying model structure and identification issues the paper presents a generalization of the Amemiya principle. The new estimator reduces the computational costs and is flexible with regard to different types of variables. Furthermore, it is consistent and asymptotically normal distributed.     

What Drives CEOs to Take on More Risk? Some Evidence from the Laboratory of REITs

Many have pointed to excessive risk‐taking by the CEOs of financial firms as a contributor to the recent worldwide economic crisis. The same observers often blame questionable corporate governance structures and compensation practices for that risk‐taking. But is this perception correct? And what is the relationship between CEO incentives and risk‐taking outside of the financial industry, where the government guarantees provided by deposit insurance could have distorted incentives? In an attempt to answer these questions, the authors analyze the relationship between CEO incentives and corporate risk‐taking by 101 U.S. REITs during the period 2003 to 2007. Their main finding is that corporate risk‐taking, as measured by the growth rate in corporate debt (the only measure of risk that is completely under the control of the CEO), is inversely related to CEO stock ownership—that is, the larger the CEO's equity ownership stake, the slower the growth in debt financing and financial risk‐taking. At the same time, the authors find that financial risk‐taking is positively related to large cash bonuses for the CEOs and to situations in which the CEO is also chairman of the board of directors. Finally, the authors also report that CEOs who are relatively new to the job grow more slowly and borrow less, suggesting that boards of directors can temporarily contain risky expansion plans by the CEO. These results provide support for those corporate governance reformers who wish to cut cash bonus payments for CEOs in favor of long‐term stock ownership.     

Airport capacity and demand calculations by simulation��the case of Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport

Airports are vital parts of traffic infrastructure and networks in global and dynamic economies securing inter- and transcontinental mobility of goods and people in spatially dislocated market structures. The operational capacity of an airport must be dimensioned under a long-term strategic view as its productivity is determined by available infrastructure. Often expansion projects for, e.g., an additional runway require a timeframe of up to twenty years for negotiation, planning and construction. The correction of existing or future bottlenecks will be increasingly difficult, partly due to public and political opposition and environmental awareness. From this point of view we critically examine the published planning figures and forecasts of demand and capacity of the currently constructed Berlin-Brandenburg International airport over a 20-year timeframe. Our methodology is based on a computer simulation of an independent parallel runway in segregated mode. Increasing traffic and changing traffic mix are simulated with the airport and airspace modeling tool SIMMOD, which provides the output data to calculate the capacity utilization and chosen level of service indicator minutes of average delay per flight. The simulation has shown that the practical capacity of 76 flights per hour is the maximum demand to be served under the defined assumptions. We discuss our findings and compare our results with other airports operating a similar runway layout.     

Trends als Katalysator einer Marketingkarriere

Trends, echte Innovationen und sich schnell überholende Modewellen bieten Chancen und Gefahren zugleich für Karrieren im Marketing. Insbesondere Führungskr?fte im Marketing sind mit einer gewissen Schnelllebigkeit konfrontiert. Diese ist durchaus Grund genug für Karrierepfade, die nichts mit einer typischen Karriereplanung, wie sie in anderen betriebswirtschaftlichen Disziplinen heute oftmals noch üblich sind, zu tun haben. Der folgende Beitrag widmet sich dem Zusammenwirken von Trends und Karrieren vor dem Hintergrund der Markenführung als Fachthema im Grenzgebiet zwischen Marketing und Unternehmensführung.