Wages and indirect labour costs in Western industrialized countries

All Western industrialized countries have been passing through the same economic sequence since 1970: a boom followed by a recession which in turn gave way to a slow recovery. Economic and social policy focuses everywhere on the fight against inflation and unemployment. The success or failure of these efforts is reflected by the wage levels which are one of the most important economic efficiency indicators. The following article provides an international survey¹.     

Determinants of International Activities: Are SMEs Different?

In this paper we econometrically investigate the factors determining the choice of a specific internationalisation strategy. We distinguish four strategies, ranging from “serving foreign markets through exports only” up to “exporting and locating abroad several business functions such as distribution, production and R & D”. These strategies are evaluated against the reference category “domestic sales only” (multinomial logit model). The analysis, to a large extent, confirms Dunning’s well-known OLI paradigm. O-advantages turn out to be the main drivers of internationalisation, irrespective of firm size and internationalisation strategy. However, the knowledge-base on which O-advantages of smaller firms rests is more narrow than that of large companies. Whereas the former rely, in relative terms, primarily on capabilities related to incremental innovations, the latter draw to a higher extent on assets enabling them to be competitive in terms of far-reaching innovations. L-advantages (wages, regulatory framework, etc.) primarily are relevant in case of small firms; but even for this size class, O-advantages are dominant.     

Economic impact of foreign labour

Over 2.3 mn foreign workers are now employed in the Federal Republic of Germany. They account for 10 p.c. of the total labour force. How many foreigners will work in the Federal Republic in future is necessarily a matter for conjecture. Labour market experts forecast that — depending on the rate at which the productive potential is used — between 2 and 2.8 mn foreign nationals will be constantly employed until 1985.     

'Classical' Roots of Input-Output Analysis: A Short Account of its Long Prehistory

This paper discusses the roots of input-output analysis in 'classical' economics. The authors considered include Petty and Cantillon; Quesnay, the physiocrats and their critic Isnard; Smith, Ricardo, Torrens and Dmitriev; Marx, von Bortkiewicz and von Charasoff; Leontief; and Remak. It is argued that, in terms of method and content, input-output analysis is akin to the classical approach to the theory of production, distribution and relative prices in that (i) it requires all magnitudes to be observable and (ii) starts essentially from the same set of data. It is shown that many important modern concepts have been anticipated by the earlier authors. The prehistory of input-output analysis is also meant to provide new perspectives on potential future developments of the field.     

Interpreting Ricardo: a rejoinder to Peach

This note answers Terry Peach's (1998) response to our criticismsof his interpretation of Ricardo. We show that the availableevidence supports Sraffa's interpretation. The arguments putforward by Peach, far from undermining that interpretation orfurthering an understanding of Ricardo's project, do littlemore than catalogue the already well-known difficulties thatRicardo encountered as he grappled toward a clearer accountof the laws that regulate distribution and prices.     

Das adaptierte deutsche Arbeitsbeziehungsmodell im Vergleich

Zusammenfassung  Das deutsche Modell der Beziehungen zwischen Arbeitgebern und Arbeitnehmern innerhalb eines Unternehmens — vor allem die betriebliche Mitbestimmung — stand lange Zeit in der Kritik, w?hrend das anglo-amerikanische Modell als überlegen angesehen wurde. Welches Arbeitsbeziehungsmodell w?hlen deutsche und amerikanische Unternehmen in einem in Hinblick auf die Ausgestaltung der Arbeitsbeziehungen freizügigen Umfeld, wie es in Gro?britannien herrscht? Wie wirkt sich die Wahl des Modells auf Arbeitsproduktivit?t und Profi tabilit?t der Tochterunternehmen aus? Prof. Dr. Arne Heise, 48, lehrt Volkswirtschaftslehre an der Universit?t Hamburg und an der Izmir Economics University, Türkei; Prof. Dr. Heinz Tüselmann, 49, lehrt International Business an der Manchester Metropolitan University; Prof. Dr. Frank McDonald, 58, lehrt International Business an der University of Bradford; und Matthew Allen, 38, ist Lecturer an der Manchester Business School. Prof. Dr. Arne Heise, 48, lehrt Volkswirtschaftslehre an der Universit?t Hamburg und an der Izmir Economics University, Türkei; Prof. Dr. Heinz Tüselmann, 49, lehrt International Business an der Manchester Metropolitan University; Prof. Dr. Frank McDonald, 58, lehrt International Business an der University of Bradford; und Matthew Allen, 38, ist Lecturer an der Manchester Business School. Dieser Aufsatz fasst die Ergebnisse eines von der Hans-B?ckler-Stiftung gef?rderten Projektes „Employee Relations and Firm Performance: A Comparison of German and US Multinational Companies in the United Kingdom“ zusammen.