The taste for variety: A hedonic analysis

This paper derives a hedonic price function for a household's consumption bundle. In a panel-data analysis for households' expenditures on 182 different soft drinks we find that consumers have a preference for variety in food consumption, ceteris paribus.     

HYSTERESIS AND THE NAIRU IN THE EURO AREA

This paper analyses the Nairu in the Euro Area and the influence that hysteresis had on its development. Using the Kalman‐filter technique we find that the Nairu has varied considerably since the early 1970s. The Kalman‐filter technique is applied here using explicit exogenous variables. In order to test for hysteresis, the dependence of the Nairu on actual unemployment and long‐term unemployment is estimated and found to be significant for the Euro Area and Germany, respectively. The existence of hysteresis effects implies the possibility of a long‐run non‐superneutrality of monetary policy.     

OVERTIME WORK AS A SIGNALING DEVICE†

This paper provides an explanation for the empirically proven relationship between overtime and future benefits. We suggest an internal signaling model, in which a worker signals his value to the employer by supplying unpaid overtime. In our empirical analysis, we examine whether overtime has in fact a signaling component. Variations in collectively bargained hours between industries are exploited, as they imply different overtime thresholds for workers with the same number of actual hours. Using data from the German Socio‐Economic Panel Study for the years 1993–2004, a positive signaling value of unpaid overtime is found for West German workers.     

PUBLIC GOODS AND THE DISSOLUTION OF STATES

We present a simple model of the dissolution of states. We combine elements of the literature on the break‐up and integration of states based on models in the fiscal federalism tradition, with elements of the literature that explains the determination of a state's political institutions as a means to credibly promise redistributions in the face of costly, perhaps violent, redistributive conflict. We are able to characterize when the equilibrium involves the dissolution of a country, and when it involves continued unity. We are also able to explore some aspects of the linkages between political institutions and the determination of national boundaries.     

The Conceptualization of Nonprofit Marketing Orientation: A Critical Reflection and Contributions Toward Closing the Practice–Theory Gap

In this article three generations of research addressing the marketing construct in nonprofit organizations are critically analyzed: (a) market orientation in nonprofit organizations, (b) societal orientation, and (c) research contributions aiming to close the existing practice–theory gap on this topic. A qualitative study among 24 nonprofit marketers is conducted in Canada and Germany to develop a construct labeled nonprofit marketing orientation. It includes the dimensions of brand orientation, supporters’ orientation, commercial orientation, and service orientation. Furthermore, the authors describe the nomological net of nonprofit marketing orientation to present interconstruct relationships and to inform future research.     

Courts and contract enforcement in transition agriculture: theory and evidence from Poland

The paper investigates theoretically and empirically the role of courts for contract enforcement in transition agriculture. In a survey of 306 Polish farmers conducted in 1999, only 38.5% respondents reported to believe that they could use courts to enforce contracts with their most important customer. Furthermore, those who believed the legal system could be used would accept significant financial losses before taking action. We develop a theoretical model, based on the costs and benefits of court enforcement, which captures the boundary between contracts to be regarded as 'enforceable' and 'not-enforceable' and, simultaneously, the threshold of taking legal action. The empirical analysis strongly supports our model: (1) the farmers' responses can be explained by cost-benefit calculations regarding the use of courts, (2) the legal 'enforceability' of contracts depends not only on the efficiency of the legal system but also on the attributes of the transaction, the contracts and the relationship between buyer and seller and (3) the threshold of taking legal action is significantly influenced by indirect costs of court enforcement, such as the disruption of a valuable business relationship, and by the availability of alternative enforcement mechanisms.     

Transforming Human Resources in the New Economy: Developing the Next Generation of Global HR Managers at Deutsche Bank AG

This article illustrates how global player, Deutsche Bank, has managed to achieve a change of direction for its HR function: becoming a strategic partner to the business. Follow the authors step by step in this transformational process to see how this change management program developed from strategy to action, making every HR professional at DB a change agent. Find out how strategic competency definition, human resource development, and state‐of‐the‐art information technology acted as levers to engage Deutsche Bank's HR community on this journey. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

To Go or Not to Go: Emigration from Germany

Abstract. This study analyses the qualitative aspects of emigration from Germany, taking account of economic and non-economic reasons. The reported willingness to emigrate from Germany in the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) is explained for men and women by three groups of variables: individual characteristics, household characteristics and regional characteristics. It transpires that the educational background and West German residency positively affect the willingness to emigrate, whereas German nationality, age and the family situation are mostly negatively correlated with it.     

Bildungsinvestitionen – wirksames Heilmittel gegen soziale Ungleich heit?

Despite the educational expansion since the 1960s and the rise of the average education level, there has been no significant decrease in education inequality or in its persistence across generations during the past decades in Germany. This depressing realisation is not held by all authors; some others identify positive developments in education. The explanation for underinvestment in people is that these investments generate only long-run returns. In order to reduce social inequalities, further investments in education are necessary. These investments should be target oriented and focus on reducing inequalities in the use of early education and care institutions, as well as on increasing the quality of these institutions. Individuals with lower education levels should be especially targeted to participate in further training, because higher formal qualifications will both insulate them from labour market risks and generate a more favourable social environment for their children. Furthermore, there should be more investments into education at the regional level. Large imbalances in regional participation in further education and training highlight the lack of local universities to act as a local push factor. Fast internet access in rural areas and “freeing” time resources through sabbaticals could improve participation in lifelong learning.