What happens after working part time? Integration, maintenance or exclusionary transitions in Britain and western Germany

We address the issues raised by Günther Schmid's proposalto develop transitional labour markets, by examining theoreticalexplanations and empirical evidence affecting transitions throughpart-time work. By analysing British and German Household Paneldata, we outline the changing characteristics of part-time employmentand employees in the early 1990s. We show that only a tiny numberof women were able to use part-time work as a bridge back intoa full-time job. A substantial proportion ends up dropping outof employment, especially in Germany. Having previous employmentexperience is more likely to hinder exclusionary transitionpatterns, whereas the presence of more than one child, especiallyin Germany, is associated with dropping out. We conclude byassessing the implication of these findings for both policyreform and theoretical developments.     

The European Commission’s new NAIRU: Does it deliver?

The non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU) is a key component of potential output and as such critically affects output gap estimates. In May 2014, the European Commission changed its specification of the NAIRU for several countries and lowered its NAIRU estimates – in the case of Spain from 26.6% to 20.7% for 2015. To test the dependence of the new NAIRU on unemployment versus structural factors, we run counterfactual simulations applying 1SD shocks to actual unemployment and to the structural variable – real unit labour costs. We find that the NAIRU in its new specification is still largely determined by actual unemployment. This calls in question both the interpretation of potential output estimates as barriers to more vigorous inflation-stable economic activity and the accuracy of structural deficit figures.     

A political-economy perspective on social expenditures: corruption and in-kind versus cash transfers

This paper presents a novel political-economy perspective on the composition of social expenditures. We take into account the possibility that institutions are weak, i.e. there is corruption, and analyze how this affects the government’s choice between cash and in-kind transfers. Our results show that the share of in-kind transfers (e.g. basic health care, public housing or food stamps), whose appropriation by corrupt politicians is more easily observed than in the case of cash transfers, increases with corruption. This positive relationship exists, however, only in highly democratic countries. We argue that voters use their political influence in democratic countries to ensure that a higher share of transfers is provided in kind thereby shielding transfers from appropriation by corrupt politicians.     

The impact of sales encounters on brand loyalty

Gaining and sustaining brand loyalty is a key challenge in increasingly competitive markets. Many marketing researchers as well as practitioners emphasize the critical role of the interpersonal interaction between the customer and the salesperson in influencing customer satisfaction, generating favorable brand attitudes and strengthening the bond between the customers and the brand. So far, empirical research that investigates how sales encounters impact brand loyalty by enhancing customer satisfaction with the sales encounter is lacking. Using data from 154 dyads of customers and salespersons of a large automobile brand, this study shows the perceptions of both the customer and the salesperson regarding the impact of sales encounter performance on satisfaction. Sales encounter satisfaction, in turn, leads to brand loyalty by enhancing brand attitude and salesperson loyalty.     

Corporate Governance and Ethics: A Feminist Perspective

The mainstream literature on corporate governance is based on the premise of conflicts of interest in a competitive game played by variously defined stakeholders and thus builds explicitly and/or implicitly on masculinist ethical theories. This article argues that insights from feminist ethics, and in particular ethics of care, can provide a different, yet relevant, lens through which to study corporate governance. Based on feminist ethical theories, the article conceptualises a governance model that is different from the current normative orthodoxy.     

Anreize zum Energiesparen als oberste Priorität

Wirtschaftsdienst - To address the distributional consequences of high inflation rates, measures are needed that target those most in need without distorting prices. The function of the price as...     

Surveying Lifelong Learning in the German National Educational Panel Study

This article outlines the German National Educational Panel Study, which collects comprehensive data on lifelong learning in a multi‐cohort sequence design, covering early childhood, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood and adulthood. It outlines data collection for all the cohorts and educational phases across the life course whilst focusing on the educational stage ‘Adult Education and Lifelong Learning’. Data can be accessed for academic purposes as scientific use files under data contract.     

The Effect of Cross-Border Group Taxation on Ownership Chains

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the influence of taxation on ownership chains and specifically on the location decision for intermediate holding companies. By examining the effect of the introduction of a cross-border group taxation regime in Austria in 2005 on ownership chains of European multinational firms, I find evidence that foreign parent companies already invested in Austria restructured their ownership chains in order to meet the requirements of the group taxation regime. This effect is larger for foreign parent companies with loss-generating subsidiaries. Collectively, the empirical findings suggest that, when evaluating the effect of cross-border group taxation regimes, companies follow a detailed tax planning strategy that takes tax-base effects into account.     

The Power of Innovativeness in Manufacturer–Retailer Relationships

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Retailers often challenge manufacturers through aggressive store brand policies and severe listing constraints. This study investigates manufacturer innovativeness as a managerial lever to shift the power balance between manufacturers and retailers.

Methodology/approach: Using data from 277 senior managers of Swiss and German consumer goods manufacturers and analyzing these data with structural equation modelling, the authors test hypotheses about the impact of manufacturer innovativeness on manufacturer–retailer relationship characteristics (i.e., retailer dependency, store brand aggressiveness, and listing constraints).

Findings: The study demonstrates that manufacturer innovativeness enhances retailer dependency, which in turn positively affects overall manufacturer performance. This relationship can be explained further: By increasing retailer dependency, manufacturers suppress retailers’ store brand aggressiveness and attenuate retailers’ listing constraints. Store brand aggressiveness affects overall manufacturer performance through listing constraints.

Research implications: Identifying levers such as innovativeness that assist manufacturers in fostering their power over retailers provides a new mode for understanding how manufacturers can influence the balance of power between manufacturers and retailers. The study provides support for the approach/inhibition theory of power on the inter-organizational level. Organizations with increased power are assumed to have approach-related tendencies and act in goal-consistent manner, whereas organizations with reduced power are assumed to develop the tendency to pursue inhibition-related actions, e.g., attending to threats. Furthermore, this study identifies channel relationship characteristics such as retailer dependency as a mediating path between manufacturer innovativeness and performance.

Practical implications: Managers need to strengthen the firm’s innovative capacity to enhance the performance of their companies. By developing the capability to provide radical innovations, manufacturers are able to enhance their performance not only directly but also indirectly by strengthening the manufacturer’s position with regard to retailers. This study underscores the relevance of innovativeness for strengthening the manufacturer’s position in its relationship with retailers that avoids problems with aggressive store brands and constrained listing conditions.

Originality/value/contribution: This study proposes manufacturer innovativeness as a managerial lever to shift the power balance between manufacturers and retailers.