Volume 213, Issue 6

A detailed empirical comparison of labour costs in Europe indicates the patterns of and recent trends for the peripheral and core countries. Different wage levels do not automatically imply disadvantages for the high-wage core countries. Instead: Recent trends are more in favour of the core. The analyses of changing bargaining conditions and a systematic review of divergence vs. convergence labour cost scenarios are leading to a twofold conclusion: A growing importance of bargaining agreements is to be expected in an integrated Europe and severe potential problems do exist in finding an adequate degree of centralisation.

This study compares interindustry wages differentials in the U.S. and Germany using large microdata samples from wage surveys in 1979, 1985, and 1987. In contrast to previous studies, which found correlations of wage differentials in Germany and the U.S. of .85 and .95, we find less similarity in the wage structures of the two countries - the unweighted correlations between wage differentials based on the 1979 surveys and based on the later surveys are both about .6 and weighted correlations are as low as .22. Zusammenfassung Diese Untersuchung vergleicht interindustrielle Lohndifferentiale in Deutschland und Amerika. Der Vergleich beruht auf identisch spezifizierten Lohnfunktionen, die auf der Basis von umfangreichen Individualdatensätzen geschätzt wurden. Im Gegensatz zu früheren Studien mit aggregierten Daten, in denen hohe Korrelationen (.85 bzw. .95) zwischen deutschen und amerikanischen Lohndifferentialen ermittelt wurden, finden wir nur eine geringe internationale Ähnlichkeit: Die ungewichteten Korrelationen betragen rund .6, die gewichteten Korrelationen sogar nur .22.

As has been shown by empirical studies, personal concern for environmental quality does not automatically lead to environmentally friendly consumer or household behaviour. The paper argues that a model of household production, based on a Lancaster type consumption technology, Plight contribute to the explanation of this discrepancy. It can be shown that unexpected and even undesirable effects of changes in income and taxes may result from interdependencies of variables paused by a given consumption technology. Some conclusions with regard to design and focus of future empirical studies are drawn.

Environmental problems are always problems of distribution. In the past, this aspect was not adequately taken into account in regard to eco taxes. We can analyze the effects of the introduction of eco taxes on distribution. Aided by an example showing the parallel increase of gasoline tax and tax reductions for commuting between home and the place of employment, we can determine whether it makes sense to pay income compensation for the additional burden of eco taxes or whether such a policy undermines environmental goals. Simulations based on microdata from the state of Baden-Württemberg show that this specific type of compensation is possible and that legislation can proceed in this direction.

The value of a commercial property to its owner is assumed to be equal to the discounted present value of the expected net operating income of coming years. The riskless present value of a property is defined as the present value of perfectly predicted income figures discounted by a riskless rate of interest. The riskless present value is shown to have other cyclical patterns than those of the net operating income. Zusammenfassung Der Wert eines Grundstücks ist für den Eigentümer abhängig vom Gegenwartswert der in den Folgejahren erwarteten Nettoerträge. Der risikolose Gegenwartswert eines Grundstücks wird definiert als das Ergebnis unter vollständiger Voraussicht abgezinster Zukunftserträge. Es wird gezeigt, daß dieser risikolose Gegenwartswert anderen zyklischen Schwankungen unterliegt als die tatsächlichen Nettoerträge.

If only grouped data are given - for example from income surveys - it is impossible to determine the Lorenz curve and the exact value of the Gini index. J. L. Gastwirth has given bounds for both of them if class means are known. This paper deals with the case of unknown class means. We consider the cases of known as well as unknown overall means. Hulls for the possible Lorenz curves and upper and lower bounds for the Gini index are derived.