Volume 41, Issue 3

The concept of reputation plays a crucial role in the literature of economics and economic sociology by providing an explanation of how exchange relations can be regulated in the face of uncertainty. There is empirical evidence that reputational information helps to discipline actors and leads to cooperative behavior. The question as to how reputation emerges has, however, not yet been answered. This paper analyzes the conditions under which information about experiences made with a business partner are passed on to a third party. The theoretical reasoning relies on the assumption that passing on information depends on costs and benefits. Hypotheses concerning the probability of information transfer are postulated with respect to the working of structural mechanisms like competition. Findings from a factorial survey of providers of vocational training indicate that information transfer only occurs under certain conditions: competition restrains whereas reciprocity and multiplex relations increase information transfer. An automatic mechanism generating reputation in social networks cannot be found. Instead, appropriate social structures are essential for it to emerge in networks of interaction.

Explanations for different patterns of preferences for redistribution either highlight the importance of individual attitudes or emphasize the role of self-interest and rational expectations. This article presents evidence for the dual role of both explanatory approaches in the case of inter-generational monetary transfers for families and children. Both lines of analysis are reflected by the Model of Frame Selection which allows the incorporation of attitudes and instrumental incentives into the decision making process. Based on a large sample which covers questions about the approval of public policies towards families and which accounts for the importance of children and family life we show that both approaches appear to have validity in explaining preferences with respect to state transfers. Our findings indicate that the interaction effects predicted by the Model of Frame Selection provide key insights into the different patterns of preference within East and West Germany, particularly those associated with expectations of public policy

A geographically weighted regression approach is used to assess the association of the electoral success of the NPD, an extreme right-wing political party, during the 2009 German federal election with levels of and changes in immigrant and unemployment rates. The results do not support the group threat hypothesis: the immigrant rate remains non-significant in large areas of West Germany while it shows a negative and significant relationship with NPD electoral success in most localities in East Germany as well as in Northern Bavaria. Instead, findings tend to confirm the contact hypothesis: a higher percentage of immigrants within an electoral district seems to lead to larger interethnic contact opportunities and thus to a lower proportion of votes for the NPD. The largest significant positive association of unemployment rate with NPD electoral results is observed with respect to localities that are situated around the former border between East and West Germany. The large regional variations in the effects of immigrant and unemployment rates point to different mechanisms which are at stake in the association of populist radical right success with unemployment and immigrant rates. These findings illustrate the importance of spatial variability and make the case for a broader new research agenda dedicated to exploring the mechanisms underlying spatial nonstationarity. Zusammenfassung Der Zusammenhang zwischen dem NPD-Wahlerfolg bei den Bundestagswahlen 2009 und der Höhe und Veränderungen der Ausländer- und Arbeitslosenquoten wird in diesem Artikel auf der Grundlage des geographisch gewichteten Regressions-Ansatzes untersucht. Die Ergebnisse sprechen gegen die Gruppenbedrohungs-Hypothese: Die Ausländerquote ist in großen Teilen Westdeutschlands nicht signifikant, während sie eine negative und signifikante Rolle bei dem NPD-Wahlerfolg in den meisten Wahlkreisen Ostdeutschlands und Nord-Bayerns aufweist. Stattdessen scheinen die Ergebnisse die Kontakt-Hypothese zu unterstützen: Ein höherer Anteil an Ausländern innerhalb eines Wahlkreises scheint zu größeren interethnischen Kontaktmöglichkeiten zu führen und somit den NPD-Wahlanteil zu reduzieren. Die Wahlkreise, die den höchsten positiven Zusammenhang zwischen der Arbeitslosenquote und dem NPD-Wahlergebnis aufweisen, liegen im Grenzgebiet zwischen West- und Ostdeutschland. Die geographische Variation der Ausländer- und Arbeitslosenquoteneffekte deutet darauf hin, dass unterschiedliche Mechanismen für den Zusammenhang zwischen dem Erfolg populistischer rechtsradikaler Parteien und Ausländer- sowie Arbeitslosenquoten im Spiel sind. Diese Ergebnisse verdeutlichen die Bedeutung der Einbindung von geographischen Variablen für soziologische Forschungen und sprechen für die Formulierung einer breiteren Forschungsagenda zur Erforschung der Mechanismen geographischer Varianz.

In this paper we estimate the effect of tuition fees on the intentions of high school graduates in Germany to enroll in higher education. Based on representative survey data collected by the HIS institute between 2002 and 2008, we are able to analyze the effect of tuition fees using a quasi-experimental design. We take advantage of the variation between the German federal states in the introduction of tuition fees to examine the impact of tuition fees and employ a difference-in-differences estimation strategy. We do not find empirical evidence that tuition fees lower the intentions to enroll in higher education among high school graduates. This holds true for both the whole sample and for different subgroups, such as women or high school graduates with no family background of higher education.