_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Z E W - N E W S L E T T E R E N G L I S H E D I T I O N Nr. 2011-03 vom 06.04.2011 (Beatrix Immig, newsletter-en at zew.de ) http://www.zew.eu _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Content 1. NEWS 2. CALL FOR PAPERS 2.1. Call for Papers: Economic Methods in Competition Law Enforcement (June 24-25, 2011, Mannheim, Germany) 3. STAFF 3.1. Visiting Researchers 4. PRESS RELEASES 5. RECENT PUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE 5.1. Financial Market Report Switzerland 5.2. Financial Market Report CEE 5.3. Discussion Papers IN GERMAN LANGUAGE 5.4. ZEWnews 5.5. ZEW Finanzmarktreport (ZEW Financial Market Report) 6. NEW RESEARCH PROJECTS 7. EVENTS 7.1. Scientific Events _____________________________________________________________________ 1. NEWS 29.03.2011 4th ZEW Conference on Economics of Innovation and Patenting & Finale Conference COST Network STRIKE (May 19-20, 2011): The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim is pleased to announce its 4th conference on the economics of innovation and patenting, which will take place on May 19-20, 2011 in Mannheim, Germany. The conference is also the finale conference of the STRIKE Network which is supported by COST, an intergovernmental framework for European Cooperation in Science and Technology. We aim at stimulating the discussion between international researchers conducting related empirical and theoretical analysis. In addition, the conference will focus on policy implications of recent research. Additional information and registration: http://www.zew.de/innovation-patenting2011 23.03.2011 Q&A: Germany's Lack of Skilled Labour - Immigration of Skilled Labour with a Sense of Proportion: For the first time in many years, the number of unemployed in Germany fell below the three million mark in October 2010. In light of the robust labour market, companies are calling for more immigration, as qualified domestic applicants are now hard to come by. Holger Bonin, head of the research department "Labour Markets, Human Resources, and Social Policy" at ZEW, outlines what needs to be done in light of the growing lack of skilled labour. Read the complete interview here: http://www.zew.de/news1681 21.03.2011 Mannheim Corporate Tax Day 2011 - National and International Taxation for Partnerships (June 21, 2011): The University of Mannheim and ZEW jointly host the Mannheim Corporate Tax Day (Mannheimer Unternehmenssteuertag) 2011. On 21 June 2011, renowned experts from the worlds of academia, business, and government will present the latest developments in the field of national and international corporate taxation. This year, the event will focus on "National and International Taxation for Partnerships". Additional information and registration: http://www.unternehmenssteuertag.de (German only) 07.03.2011 ZEW President Wolfgang Franz on the Topic of "Economic Governance": In March of this year Europe's heads of state and government will decide on whether to adopt the "Competitiveness Pact" that was jointly proposed by France and Germany on 4 February. The pact, often discussed under the heading of "economic governance", seeks to promote greater cooperation between EU states by means of - to quote the German Chancellery - "harmonised conditions in national markets and systems", with the ultimate aim of bolstering the competitiveness of the EU's economies. Read the complete opinion here: http://www.zew.de/news1670 05.03.2011 Minister President of Baden-Wuerttemberg Mappus and EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Geoghegan-Quinn Guests at SEEK Kick-Off Conference at ZEW: ZEW President Wolfgang Franz welcomed some 200 participants from academia, politics, and the economy from 20 countries to the SEEK kick-off conference "Strengthening Efficiency and Competitiveness in the European Knowledge Economies" (SEEK). Stefan Mappus, Minister President of Baden-Wuerttemberg, and Márie Geoghegan-Quinn, EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, gave the opening speeches at the conference. Read more: http://www.zew.de/news1668 News can also be found here: http://www.zew.de/news 2. CALL FOR PAPERS 2.1. Call for Papers: Economic Methods in Competition Law Enforcement (June 24-25, 2011, Mannheim, Germany) The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and the Mannheim Centre for Competition and Innovation (MaCCI) are pleased to announce their conference "Economic Methods in Competition Law Enforcement". It aims at stimulating discussion between academic researchers and practitioners in the various competition authorities, legal counsel, and economic consultancy firms regarding the application of theoretical and empirical industrial organization economics in the legal process of competition law enforcement. Theoretical, empirical, as well as antitrust case study-oriented articles are welcome. A special emphasis lies on the use and importance of empirical techniques in the enforcement of the competition rules by institutions and courts. Full papers as well as extended abstracts (up to 500 words) may be submitted. All contributions should be submitted to econenforce2011 at zew.de as PDF files by April 15, 2011. Proposals will be peer reviewed. Further information and the call for papers: http://www.zew.de/econenforce2011 3. STAFF 3.1. Visiting Researchers Assistant Professor Ricardo A. Daziano, PhD, Visiting Researcher at ZEW: >/From 6 June to 15 July 2011, Assistant Professor Ricardo A. Daziano, PhD, /is visiting researcher at the ZEW research department "Environmental and Resource Economics, Environmental Management". Daziano is assistant professor at the Cornell University (USA). His research focuses on theoretical and applied econometrics of consumer behaviour, specifically on discrete choice models applied to technological innovation and transportation demand. While visiting ZEW, Ricardo A. Daziano is concerned with the empirical analysis of choice data coming from a Germany-wide survey among potential car buyers. Additional information on Assistant Professor Ricardo A. Daziano, PhD, can be found here: http://www.cee.cornell.edu/people/index.cfm?netid=ra477&showDetails=1 Assistant Professor Sebastian Lazar, PhD, Visiting Researcher at ZEW: >/From 28 March to 21 April 2011, Assistant Professor Sebastian Lazar, PhD, /is a visiting researcher at the ZEW research department "Corporate Taxation and Public Finance". Sebastian Lazar is assistant professor at the University Alexandru Ioan Cuza of Iasi, Romania. He is currently conducting research on the measurement of effective tax burdens of Romanian companies. During his stay at ZEW, Lazar will analyse the development of effective tax burdens of Romanian companies after the fall of the communist regime applying the European Tax Analyzer. Additional information on Assistant Professor Sebastian Lazar, PhD, can be found here: http://www.feaa.uaic.ro/en/main/personal_page/105 Prof. Jan Brueckner, PhD, Visiting Researcher at ZEW: >/From 22 March to 24 March 2011, Prof. Jan Brueckner, PhD, was a /visiting researcher at the ZEW research department "Industrial Economics and International Management". Jan Brueckner is professor of economics at the University of California, Irvine (USA). He is currently conducting research in the fields of transportation and urban economics. During his stay at ZEW, Brueckner analysed recent problems in the economic analysis of airline markets. Furthermore, he gave a speech on "Product Unbundling in the Travel Industry: The Economics of Airline Bag Fees" in the Mannheim Competition Policy Forum. Additional information on Prof. Jan Brueckner, PhD, can be found here: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~jkbrueck 4. PRESS RELEASES 17.03.2011 - ZEW/Erste Group Bank AG (mbo/kbo) ZEW-Erste Group Bank Economic Sentiment Indicator for Central and Eastern Europe Including Turkey (CEE) - Economic Expectations for Central and Eastern Europe Decline: The ZEW-Erste Group Bank Economic Sentiment Indicator for Central and Eastern Europe including Turkey (CEE) has declined by 10.6 points to 13.9 points in March 2011. The weaker expectations for the economic development in Poland and Slovakia have mainly burdened the outlook for the CEE region in the current survey. The disastrous incidents in Japan did not show any influence on the assessment of the polled financial market experts. The answers of the experts concerning the expected economic development in the CEE region on a six-month time horizon which were collected prior to the severe earthquake do not significantly differ from the answers collected after the initial strong earthquake. Read more: http://www.zew.de/press1678 16.03.2011 - ZEW/CS (gla/kbo) ZEW-CS Financial Market Test Switzerland - Economic Expectations Brighten up Slightly: Economic expectations for Switzerland brightened up again in March, with the relevant ZEW-CS Indicator edging up 3.7 points to the minus 13.5 mark. The ZEW-CS Indicator is calculated monthly by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in cooperation with Credit Suisse (CS). The indicator reflects the expectations of the surveyed financial market experts regarding the economic development in Switzerland on a six-month time horizon. Read more: http://www.zew.de/press1676 16.03.2011 - ZEW (mac/ggr) ProgTrans/ZEW TransportmarktBarometer (Transport Market Barometer) - Catch-Up Effect in Freight Traffic Diminishing After Financial and Economic Crisis: The catch-up effect visible in freight traffic after the economic and financial crisis will diminish in the next six months. The transport volume will further increase, but not as much as in 2010. The increase in prices will also continue, but depending on the transport sector this increase varies. These are the findings of the ProgTrans/ZEW TransportmarktBarometer (Transport Market Barometer) in the first quarter of 2011. Every three months, ProgTrans AG, Basel, and the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim, survey around 300 transport market experts on their assessment of the development of transport markets and prices for the next six months. Read more: http://www.zew.de/press1675 15.03.2011 - ZEW (cdi/mfo/kbo) ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment - Expectations Drop Slightly: The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany has dropped by 1.6 points in March 2011. The indicator now stands at 14.1 points. This value is below the indicator's historical average of 26.7 points. Read more: http://www.zew.de/press1673 10.03.2011 - ZEW (pwe/ggr) Family Businesses are Willing to Pay for Their Independence: Businesses that are at least 50 per cent family-owned rely more heavily than other enterprises on short-term credit in order to finance long-term investment and innovation projects. This gives them more flexibility and helps staying independent from external capital providers. In order to preserve their financial independence, family businesses are prepared to pay the higher interest rates of short-term credits. These are the findings of a study conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim, which compared the financing behaviour of 1,417 family businesses and 1,195 non-family businesses in Germany. Read more: http://www.zew.de/press1672 08.03.2011 - ZEW (ggr/kbo) EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science and Minister President of Baden-Wuerttemberg Speak at SEEK Kick-Off Conference at ZEW: "Baden-Wuerttemberg has become one of the most dynamic places in Europe, and is strongly committed to keeping its leading position as a region of innovation by maintaining investment in education and research", Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, said while visiting the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW). Together with Stefan Mappus, Minister President of Baden-Wuerttemberg, she visited the kick-off conference of the SEEK research programme at ZEW in Mannheim. On 4-5 March 2011, some 200 participants from 20 countries discussed about knowledge and innovation as the basis for sustainable and smart growth in Germany and Europe. Read more: http://www.zew.de/press1671 03.03.2011 - ZEW (ggr/msp) Low Self-Confidence of Girls Frequently Influences Their Performance in Mathematics: At the end of secondary school, 15-year-old girls have, on average, lower grades in mathematics than boys of the same age. One reason for this gap between boys and girls could be the fact that girls are less confident about their own mathematical performance. Furthermore, a significantly higher number of boys than girls believe that mathematical skills will be very valuable in their future job. This conviction is an additional motivation for mathematics. These are the findings of a study conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim, based on the data of the complementary national PISA 2003 survey in Germany. Read more: http://www.zew.de/press1666 All press releases can be found here: http://www.zew.de/press 5. RECENT PUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE 5.1. Financial Market Report Switzerland Financial Market Report Switzerland April 2011: * Economic expectations brighten up slightly * Eurozone: Interest rate expectations surge strongly * USA: Inflation prospects continue to pick up * Japan: Diminished growth anticipated in the near term * Great Britain: Outlook points to rising interest rates * Special question: Interest rate forecasts and currency trend Download as PDF-file (*): http://www.zew.de/en/publikationen/finanzmarktreportschweiz/legalnote.php?target=FMTSchweiz042011.pdf 5.2. Financial Market Report CEE Financial Market Report CEE April 2011: * Economic outlook for the CEE region, Austria, and the eurozone * Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia: Improved stock market indices * Croatia, Hungary, and Romania: Improved economic outlook * Turkey: Inflation expectations persist * Special question: Background information on participants' forecasts Download as PDF-file (*): ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/fmt_cee/FMTCEE042011.pdf 5.3. Discussion Papers 11-020 Benny Geys; Steffen Osterloh Politicians' Opinions on Rivals in the Competition for Firms: An Empirical Analysis of Reference Points Near a Border Download as PDF-file (*): ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp11020.pdf 11-019 Sandra Gottschalk; Michaela Niefert Gender Differences in Business Success of German Start-Up Firms Download as PDF-file (*): ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp11019.pdf 11-018 Florian Misch; Norman Gemmell; Richard Kneller Fiscal Policy and Growth with Complementarities and Constraints on Government Download as PDF-file (*): ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp11018.pdf 11-017 Andrea Muehlenweg; Dorothea Blomeyer; Manfred Laucht Effects of Age at School Entry (ASE) on the Development of Non-Cognitive Skills: Evidence from Psychometric Data Download as PDF-file (*): ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp11017.pdf IN GERMAN LANGUAGE 5.4. ZEWnews The ZEWnews March 2011 edition contains articles on: * Low self-confidence of girls influences their performance in mathematics * Family businesses are willing to pay for their independence * Creative industries depend on close contact with customers and business partners * Information and communication technologies pave the way for innovation * Highly populated areas are leading forces of the German high-tech sector * Full supply of power from renewable energies is economically not sensible * Little reason to change wage policy * Volker Wieland speaks at ZEW research seminar * Opinion regarding economic governance Download as PDF-file (German only) (*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/zn/zn0311.pdf This edition contains the additional feature "Innovation", which includes the following articles: * Emerging from the crisis with drive * Strong decline of innovation expenditures in 2009 * For 2010 and 2011 businesses are planning higher innovation expenditures * Low turnover of newly-launched products * Great differences between industries * Share of firms engaged in research remains stable * Cost savings through process innovations * Unfavourable environment for increase in turnover through quality improvement Download as PDF-file (German only) (*): ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/zn/schwerpunkte/innovation/Innovationen0311.pdf 5.5. ZEW Finanzmarktreport (ZEW Financial Market Report) ZEW Financial Market Report April 2011: * Economic expectations remain stable * ECB: Increase in the base rate more and more likely * USA: Catastrophe in Japan could slow down economy * Japan: Catastrophe leaves first marks * Great Britain: Outlook brightens up significantly * Special question: Composition of participants Download as PDF-file (German only) (*): ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/frep/042011.pdf (*) Please note: PDF-files can be displayed by using Acrobat-Reader. The software can be downloaded for free: http://www.adobe.de/products/acrobat/readstep2.html 6. NEW RESEARCH PROJECTS Empirical Evidence for the Effect of Taxation on National and International Mergers & Acquisitions http://www.zew.de/project1065 Globalisation, Offshoring and Income Risk http://www.zew.de/project1063 Cross-Border Company Taxation in the Member States of EU and OECD and Anti-Avoidance Provisions http://www.zew.de/project1064 The Economics of Climate Change - Integrated Economic Assessment of Instruments of Adaptation to Climate Change http://www.zew.de/project1066 7. EVENTS 7.1. Scientific Events 19.-20.05.2011 Conference: 4th ZEW Conference on Economics of Innovation and Patenting & Finale Conference COST Network Strike Location of the event: ZEW, Mannheim Additional information: http://www.zew.de/event1401 23.-28.05.2011 Conference: Competition and Innovation Summer School (CISS) Location of the event: Turunç/Marmaris (Turkey) Additional information: http://www.zew.de/event1371 _____________________________________________________________________ IMPRINT Publisher: Centre for European Economic Research GmbH (ZEW) Mannheim L 7, 1 . 68161 Mannheim / P.O. Box 10 34 43 . 68034 Mannheim . Germany Internet: www.zew.de . www.zew.eu Seat of the company: Mannheim Local Court Mannheim HRB 6554 Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Gerhard Stratthaus, MdL, Minister, ret. Executive Directors: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolfgang Franz, Thomas Kohl Editor: Beatrix Immig, Phone +49/621/1235-135, Fax +49/621/1235-222, E-mail: newsletter-en at zew.de Editorial assistant: Laura Piotter Responsibility: Gunter Grittmann, Phone +49/621/1235-132, Fax +49/621/1235-222, E-mail: grittmann at zew.de Legal note: http://www.zew.de/en/impressum/ You can subscribe or cancel your subscription to the newsletter service at any time via the online form at: http://www.zew.eu/newsletter or by sending an e-mail to: zew-newsletter-englishedition-request at mx-assp2.zew.de - Subject: (leave blank!) - Text: subscribe zew-newsletter-englishedition or unsubscribe zew-newsletter-englishedition _____________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ * *Messages sorted by:* [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ More information about the Zew-newsletter-englishedition mailing list