Aus einer Hand: Wirksame Hilfe für den Einzelfall

Unser Sozial- und Gesundheitssystem bietet eine Fülle von Angeboten zur Gesundung, Rehabilitation und Wiedereingliederung. Doch wie sieht im Einzelfall die optimale Unterstützung aus? Case Manager sind die Schnittstelle zwischen Patient, sozialem Umfeld, professionellem System und Kostentr?gern. Sie sind die Profis für eine bedarfsgerechte und effiziente Rund-um-Versorgung.     

Ist die Katharsis-Theorie zu retten?

Catharsis theory is regarded as refuted. This widespread belief can be questioned for two reasons. First, most test films used in experimental studies do not meet the requirements of catharsis theory; second the social consequences of catharsis were not measured. Two films were produced for our experiment, one which meets the requirements of catharsis theory and should reduce aggressiveness and one which, according to alternative theories, should increase aggressiveness. A control group saw a neutral film. As dependent variables (a) level of general aggression, (b) aggressive inclinations in social situations, and (c) willingness to use aggressive stereotypes were measured. The film that was assumed to reduce aggressiveness increased aggressiveness even more than the film that was assumed to increase it. This surprising finding and its consequences are discussed.     

An Examination of Entry and Competitive Performance in Rural Banking Markets

This article explores the change in the level of competition in rural banking markets after the deregulation that occurred following passage of the Riegle‐Neal Act of 1994. Using an empirical model that utilizes both the number of banks and the value of deposits in a cross‐section of 278 rural markets, we decompose the impact of the entry of new banks into resulting changes in per capita demand and the costs/profits of local banks in 1994 and 2004. The results support the view that local banking markets have become more competitive since the mid‐1990s.     

A toolkit for macrostructural regional forecasting: Methodological approaches and results of computations

This paper discusses the issues of developing a consistent system of forecast computations providing a long-term outlook for the Russian economy in both sectoral and regional contexts. Under special focus is the formation of regional development scenarios. Such scenarios are suggested to be based on the territorial pattern of investments into the national economy. Results of computations are presented for the period up to 2030 for two scenarios.     

Do international shocks affect small wholesalers and retailers?

Previous research has suggested that the smallest firms are those most vulnerable to international competition, as measured by exchange rate fluctuations and import shares. However, that work—and the overwhelming bulk of the empirical literature on determinants of exit or firm survival—dealt entirely with the manufacturing sector of the economy. This paper analyzes annual US data for 1989–2005 for about 50 wholesale and retail sectors to explain small firm exit rates in several employment size categories. The main result is that wholesalers respond negatively to a stronger currency in a manner similar to that of manufacturers, while retailers are generally unaffected.     

Financial Stability in European Banking: The Role of Common Factors

In this paper, I investigate the development and determinants of CDS spreads for 18 major European banks between December 2001 and January 2004 applying factor analysis to daily data. Two clear-cut conclusions can be drawn. First, the dominating first common factor that explains 88 percent of all variation in the system, impacts on all banks in a similar direction. This suggests a strong market integration. However the size of the response of each bank’s CDS spread to the first common factor differs substantially, probably reflecting differences in individual bank’s exposure and riskiness. Second, the first common factor appears significantly related to the European P/E ratio and the European-wide 2-year nominal interest rate. This finding suggests that the common factor may be interpreted as a general indicator of market conditions. JEL Classification Numbers: G12, G15, G21, C30     

Migration Flows and Intra-Industry Trade Adjustments

In this paper we analyse the link between trade and migration. Focusing on the experience of Spain, we relate a marginal index of intra-industry trade to the stock of foreign workers—classified according to their country of origin and their situation in the Spanish labour market. We focus on the possibility that existing networks of foreign workers and their connections with their countries of origin could stimulate trade with the host country. Our results show a significant impact of the number of immigrants with work permits on intra-industry trade adjustment. However, this impact being positive or negative depends on whether foreign workers are employees or self-employed, the duration of the work permits and the type of job they occupy. JEL no. F10, F14, F15, F22     

International Rent Sharing and Domestic Labour Markets: A Macroeconomic Analysis

Compared to international trade relations relatively little is known about the role foreign direct investment linkages play in the transmission of disturbances from one country to the next. Inspired by the microevidence on profit sharing within multinational corporations and within industries, we investigate for six countries whether a cross-border rent-sharing phenomenon can be identified at the macroeconomic level. The rent-sharing hypothesis implies that an increase in foreign profitability should boost wages and/or employment in the domestic economy. We find corroborative evidence for Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. US labour market conditions, by contrast, are not affected by changes in profitability in other countries. JEL no. E32, F23, F40, J23, J31