Ein Modell für existenzsichernde Beschäftigung

Die hohe Langzeit-Arbeitslosigkeit ist nach wie vor ein schwerwiegendes wirtschaftspolitisches Problem. Die aktuellen Regelungen an der Schnittstelle zwischen Transferund Arbeitseinkommen haben bisher nur unzureichend zu seiner L?sung beigetragen. Die verschiedenen diskutierten Kombilohnmodelle sind dagegen oft nicht praxistauglich. Die Autoren stellen hier das Modell für eine existenzsichernde Besch?ftigung des Bundesministeriums für Arbeit und Technologie vor. Dr. Walther Otremba, 55, ist Staatssekret?r im Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie; Dr. Daniela B?nstrup, 34, ist dort Referentin im Referat für Arbeitsmarktpolitik.     

Contribution of financial market segments at different stages of development: Transition,cohesion and mature economies compared

What is the impact of financial sector segments at different stages of development? We apply a production function approach to investigate the impact of the credit, bond and stock segments in nine EU-accession countries over early years of transition (1996–2000) and compare these to mature market economies and to countries at intermediate stage. We find that the transfer mechanisms differ over the development cycle (from bond markets to educational attainment to labor participation) and that financial market segments with links to the public sector (but not stock markets) contributed to stability and growth in transition economies.     

Viral Marketing in the Food Industry: Canada vs. Serbia

The authors explore the application of viral marketing in the food industry in Canada (as a representative of a high-income country) vs. Serbia (a middle-income country). A theoretical background on the scope of viral marketing is given at the beginning. The initial secondary research pointed out that there was a great number of viral marketing campaigns in the food industry, in both high- and middle-income countries. The primary research showed a high degree of use of viral marketing in the food industry in general, as well as a number of similarities between the two countries. Positive experiences with viral marketing in the food industry were far more common than negative experiences. Most marketing professionals, in both countries, believed that a viral marketing program would benefit their company, and they planned to run a viral marketing campaign again in the future.     

IPO underpricing,signaling, and property returns

This paper investigates whether IPO signals reveal proprietary information about the prospects of an issuing firm’s underlying industry. By analyzing a sample of European property company (EPC) IPOs from 1997 to 2007, we take advantage of a heterogeneous set of industry performance measures, i.e., yields and total returns of direct property investments in various European property markets that can be clearly assigned to each individual IPO. The results reveal that the main signal of interest, underpricing, is in fact positively related to average property yields for a 12-month post-IPO period; a result that supports our assumption. Other signals, as proposed in previous research, do not appear to contain any information about the prospects of the IPO firm’s target property investment market. We also show that total returns seem to be a biased measure for direct property performance. Further tests for the signaling model’s preconditioned presence of information asymmetry among EPCs reveal that underpricing levels are a function of company-specific ex ante uncertainty proxies. In contrast, property-specific ex ante uncertainty proxies do not explain underpricing levels.     

Monetary and commercial policy in a two-country flexible exchange rate model with perfect capital mobility

A two-country portfolio-balance model is developed in this paper in order to analyse the international transmission of monetary and commercial policy disturbances under a flexible exchange rate regime. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of capital mobility, differences in the asset demand functions across countries, and national net-asset positions in determining the effects of these policies on the macroeconomic variables of the two countries. Both the short and the long-run effects are considered with expectations assumed to be formed rationally.     

The model based on the matrix of economic growth

This paper is concerned with some aspects of direct and indirect growth rates of sectors and with the model based on the matrix of economic growth. The purpose of this consideration is to determine through indirect growth rates the growth structure of economy and to construct the model which may be used for the planning goals. In other words, by means of the matrix of growth or the model which is based on it we can estimate the future development of the economy. This can be done under different assumptions no matter whether relations are transfered from the past into the future or whether various relations change in future periods on the basis of streamlined elements of the plan. Hence, it can be determined either from the assumption that past relations will be kept approximately in the same frames, or that they will change in the future. In each case all the changes can be described through direct and indirect growth rates.     

Adding Value to the Teaching and Learning of Design and Technology

It has been argued that design and technology can be used as a vehicle for teaching science and vice versa. In this paper, we report an investigation into Grade 6 students understandings of concepts embodied in the Systems strand of a technology syllabus as they grappled with a unit of work in technology for the first time. The unit of work involved students in the design and construction of simple systems, followed by experiences with more complex systems. Qualitative research methods were used to investigate the activities of the students as they engaged in the design and technology learning experiences for eight weeks. Data sources included student and teacher interviews, video and audio recordings of whole class and small group interactions, students notes, drawings and diagrams, and researchers field notes and reflections. Changes in students ability to identify the individual components and analyse how the components worked together in systems, and evidence of students use of scientific understandings for explanations, were noted as the unit of work progressed. An improvement was observed in students abilities to describe relationships between inputs, processes and outputs, and outline sequences of cause and effect. The technology and science appeared to be complementary as they developed technology specific and action-oriented technology and science language, which may be evidence of the presence of a community of learners. Recommendations are proposed for enhancing the value of both design and technology and science if both subjects are taught together as part of an integrated program in primary schools.