Journalismus während der Besatzungszeit

During the period of occupation from 1945 to 1949 the allied powers’ press policies more than anything else gave Germany the inducement for a modernization of journalism, though there was no complete relaunch of journalism in Germany. On the basis of existing studies, three structural layers of journalism — organizations, roles and programs — are investigated in order to identify features that stand for relaunch and modernization on the one hand, and others that demonstrate continuity in the period of occupation. On the layer of journalistic forms, for instance, the separation of news and opinion as prescribed by the allies meant an important step towards modernizing journalism. It resulted in the loosening of political bonds, which were rooted in the tradition of German journalism. While the traditions of the Weimar Republic and the Nazi period continued to exist, the course for the route towards an independent and reader-oriented journalism was set under occupation. Thus a modernization of journalism was belatedly undertaken in Germany, while other countries had done that long before. This process, started in the occupation period, offered journalists chances to interpret their professional roles as autonomous mediators of information.     

Die Interne Rendite der Gesetzlichen Pflegeversicherung

Presuming an ageing population, every introduction of a pay-as-you-go scheme causes intergenerational redistribution in favour of the first generations and to the burden of young and future generations. Using the concept of internal rates of return we want to examine the extent to which the first generations drew an introductory benefit from the implementation of the German statutory long-term care insurance as an unfunded system. Furthermore, a comparison between the internal rates of return will show firstly to what extent different generations are burdened by having to redeem the implicit debt, and secondly which generations are involved in paying back the introductory gain.     

Tax Progression and Human Capital in Imperfect Labour Markets

Recent contributions to the theory of taxation argue that tax progression raises welfare and employment in the presence of labour market imperfections. This literature takes the endowment of workers with human capital as given. The present paper analyses the effects of tax progression in a model with endogenous human capital formation. We show that the effect of tax progression on human capital investment depends on the deductibility of the cost of human capital formation. With full deductibility, tax progression raises employment and welfare. With incomplete deductibility, in contrast, the effect of tax progression on employment and welfare may be negative.     

How to motivate people to put their money where their mouth is: What makes employees participate in electronic prediction markets?

Although prediction markets are widely acknowledged to be as effective as other institutions predicting future events, little is known regarding their application in organizational settings. For organizations, prediction markets offer a new technical possibility to make use of the beliefs, information and knowledge of their employees for organizational decisions and forecasts. Based on survey data of 147 users in German-speaking Europe, we show that expected rewards increase user satisfaction. While contribution effort and general reciprocity in isolation have no impact on satisfaction, perceived general reciprocity in conjunction with high rewards is likely to increase user satisfaction. Our findings extend our knowledge on user behavior and emphasize the importance of incentives in prediction markets.     

A Neurological Study of Compulsive Buying Behaviour

The following article describes a study of the neural correlates of compulsive buying. Twenty-six non-compulsive (“normal”) and 23 compulsive buyers were measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing purchasing decisions. The compulsive buyers were selected based on strict criteria, such that they were all undergoing psychotherapeutic treatment due to their buying behaviour. The results show evidence of significant differences between non-compulsive and compulsive buyers regarding brain activity in regions known to be involved in decision making. The findings give a deeper insight into the nature of compulsive buying and are relevant to consumer policy.     

Integration erneuerbarer Energien in die deutsche Stromversorgung im Zeitraum 2015�C2020 mit Ausblick auf 2025

The dena grid study II examines the integration of renewable energies into Germany??s electricity supply up to the year 2020 and gives a qualified outlook up to 2025. The study develops geographically differentiated scenarios for installed wind power capacity, on the basis of which time series of the wind power feed-in into high and extra high voltage nodes and offshore wind farms are generated. Future requirements for the transmission grid and grid extension options are analysed. Opportunities to introduce more flexibility in the power system in terms of supply and demand are examined. The study gives a conceptual perspective of the need for grid extension in inner Germany in order to fully integrate renewable energies, whilst operating power stations at optimum cost and exchanging electricity with other countries in response to market demands within the scope of the specified transmission capacities.     

Pflegereform 2010: Karenzzeiten in der Sozialen Pflegeversicherung

As current research as well as current data reveal, the German long-term care insurance (LTCI) is expected to run a deficit in 2012. Additionally, further expenses will result due to the newly conceptualized definition of long-term care needs—in future, five instead of three care levels are to meet the needs of LTC patients. Accounting for the demographic turbulence ahead, the German LTCI is in urgent need of a broad reform. The paper suggests a reasonable transition from the current pay-as-you-go system to a partly funded strategy thereby accounting for the burden each generation is confronted with. With the help of generational accounting, we demonstrate that a certain waiting period (Karenzzeit) until LTC benefits are granted achieves an intergenerational balance. This reform proposal stems from the analysis of the length of stay in LTC.     

Trends in Britain’s eastern trade

Although Britain’s trade exchanges with the Comecon-states in 1971 amounted to no more than 3.17 p.c. of its total foreign trade, high growth rates have nevertheless been achieved in recent years.     

Einsatzmöglichkeiten der Matching Methode zur Berücksichtigung von Selbstselektion

Zusammenfassung Häufig ist es von Interesse, den Effekt der Teilnahme an einer Massnahme auf eine Ergebnisvariable zu untersuchen. Um jedoch eine Kausalität adäquat evaluieren zu können, müssen Selbstselektionseffekte berücksichtigt werden. Hierfür wird die Matching Methode vorgeschlagen. Bei der Matching Methode besteht das Ziel darin, durch die Bildung von Paaren von Teilnehmern und Nicht-Teilnehmern den Effekt der Teilnahme an einer Massnahme auf eine Ergebnisvariable zu bewerten. Dieser Beitrag stellt unterschiedliche Varianten der Matching Methode vor und vergleicht diese. Der Beitrag zeigt damit, wie bei betriebswirtschaftlichen Problemen Selbstselektionseffekte angemessen berücksichtigt werden können. JEL classifications C40, C21, M31     

THE FOOTBALL PLAYERS' LABOR MARKET: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE MAJOR EUROPEAN LEAGUES

The growing economic importance of professional football and the recent fundamental changes in the regulatory regime governing the football players' labor market together with the availability of detailed information on player salaries, transfer fees and contract lengths have convinced an increasing number of economists from all over Europe to devote their attention to the operation of that particular market. The following paper reviews the available evidence on the various dimensions of that market (remuneration, transfers, contracts and mobility) and points out some promising directions for further research.