The state of the German social insurance state: Reform and resilience

At the core of the German system of welfare provision stand social insurance schemes whose central role contributes to Germany being labelled a social insurance state. In recent decades, Germany has been experiencing major social policy reforms that are often evaluated as paradigm changes. These changes have been reflected in analyses that sometimes even questioned common classifications of the German welfare state. The article sheds light on recent developments that have affected the German system of social insurance. It focuses on four aspects of social insurance: benefits, financing, governance, and coverage. Although confirming many earlier analyses of reforms in detail and sharing assessments of changes such as retrenchment and marketization, the article nevertheless stresses that social insurance remains structurally intact and that the work–welfare nexus underlying welfare provision has been reinterpreted but not surrendered.     

Heteroskedasticity Robust Panel Unit Root Testing Under Variance Breaks in Pooled Regressions

Noting that many economic variables display occasional shifts in their second order moments, we investigate the performance of homogenous panel unit root tests in the presence of permanent volatility shifts. It is shown that in this case the test statistic proposed by Herwartz and Siedenburg (2008 Herwartz, H., Siedenburg, F. (2008). Homogenous panel unit root tests under cross-sectional dependence: Finite sample modifications and the wild bootstrap. Computational Statistics and Data Analysis 53(1):137–150.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) is asymptotically standard Gaussian. By means of a simulation study we illustrate the performance of first and second generation panel unit root tests and undertake a more detailed comparison of the test in Herwartz and Siedenburg (2008 Herwartz, H., Siedenburg, F. (2008). Homogenous panel unit root tests under cross-sectional dependence: Finite sample modifications and the wild bootstrap. Computational Statistics and Data Analysis 53(1):137–150.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and its heteroskedasticity consistent Cauchy counterpart introduced in Demetrescu and Hanck (2012a Demetrescu, M., Hanck, C. (2012a). A simple nonstationary-volatility robust panel unit root test. Economics Letters 117(2):10–13.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). As an empirical illustration, we reassess evidence on the Fisher hypothesis with data from nine countries over the period 1961Q2–2011Q2. Empirical evidence supports panel stationarity of the real interest rate for the entire subperiod. With regard to the most recent two decades, the test results cast doubts on market integration, since the real interest rate is diagnosed nonstationary.     

A multiperiod auto-carrier transportation problem with probabilistic future demands

In this paper we study the problem of delivering finished vehicles from a logistics yard to dealer locations at which they are sold. The requests for cars arrive dynamically and are not announced in advance to the logistics provider who is granted a certain time-span until which a delivery has to be fulfilled. In a real-world setting, the underlying network is relatively stable in time, since it is usually a rare event that a new dealership opens or an existing one terminates its service. Therefore, probabilities for incoming requests can be derived from historical data. The study explores the potential of using such probabilities to improve the day-to-day decision of sending out or postponing cars that are ready for delivery. Apart from the order selection, we elaborate a heuristic to optimize delivery routes for the selected vehicles, whereby special loading constraints are considered to meet the particular constraints of car transportation via road. In a case study, we illustrate the value of introducing probabilistic information to the planning process and compare the quality of different configurations of our approach.     

The effect of framing on the choice of co-payment policies, reducing moral hazard and post-choice-evaluation

This study analyses the impact of two financially equivalent frames of a co-payment policy on the choice between a co-payment policy and one with full cost recovery. It also examines the incentive effect of the co-payment and the post-choice evaluation on the pay-offs in case of unexpected losses, using the example of health insurance. Two experimental studies form the context for an empirical investigation of the theoretical considerations. We examine the framing-related effects of a rebate compared to a premium reduction frame of a co-payment policy. The results confirm that a rebate frame has a positive effect on the intention to choose a co-payment policy. The intention to avoid claims in the premium reduction frame is greater than in the rebate frame. In case of unexpected losses because of high insurance claims, the rebate frame results in less dissatisfaction and causes fewer regret effects. The results support the theoretical considerations that insurance companies should account for these differences and design their co-payment policies according their priorities, either with a rebate or a premium reduction frame.     

Die Wirkung ausländischer Direktinvestitionen auf die Beschäftigung im Heimatmarkt: Eine empirische Analyse des deutschen Mittelstands

Outbound FDI of German SMEs is often assumed to have a negative impact on domestic employment due to job replacement into low wage countries. In this context research often disregards, that FDI can be of horizontal or vertical nature and therefore has different effects on domestic employment. We analyze domestic employment effects using a sample of 1.106 German SMEs. The results show, that a differentiated view is appropriate and necessary to generate a more complete picture of the effects of FDI on job development in the domestic market. Whereas horizontal FDI has complementary effects on domestic employment, vertical FDI is linked to substitutional employment effects.     

Assessment of dispersal and population structure of Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) in a seaport setting

Seaports are introduction hotspots for invasive alien species (IAS). This is especially true for rodents, which have accompanied humans around the globe since the earliest days of ocean-going voyages. The rapid spread of IAS soon after arrival in a new environment is facilitated by further human-mediated transport or landscape features, like roads. By measuring genetic diversity and structure to investigate dispersal pathways, we gained insight into the transport, spread and establishment stages of a biological invasion, leveraging the most common rodent species (R. norvegicus) in this setting. We characterized the genetic structure of three Norway rat populations along a busy industrial road used by trucks to access the Port area in Paranaguá city (Brazil). A total of 71 rats were genotyped using 11 microsatellite markers. The results revealed a pattern of gene flow contrary to the expected stepping-stone model along the linear transect, with the two furthest apart populations being clustered together. We hypothesize that the observed outcome is explained by natural dispersal along the corridor being lower than human-mediated transport. The sampled area furthest from the port is a gas station frequented by trucks which are considered the most likely mode of transportation. In terms of management strategies, we suggest more emphasis should be put on cargo surveillance to lower the risk of Norway rat dispersal, not only for biosecurity, but also for sanitary reasons, as this port is a major grain trading point.

     

Reference compensation: a transfer of reference price theory to human resource management

The topics of compensation in human resource management and pricing in marketing theory both involve a monetary component that is important for companies to manage. While the role that price perceptions play for consumers is the subject of the well-established reference price theory, human resource management theory lacks any related concept for the compensation perceptions held by employees. This paper transfers reference price theory to HR management in the form of reference compensation, conceptualized as an individual’s compensation norm, including normative and predictive compensation expectations. Possible measures to influence employees’ reference compensation are suggested and avenues for further establishing the concepts in research and practice are developed. As a first empirical attempt to support the relevance of the concept, we present results of an exploratory study among 88 part-time students. We show that employees apply references when judging compensation, and that the applied references vary with different employment situations.