Moritz Labour Market Effects of European Intergration in the Bavarian and Czech Border Regions

in the Bavarian and Czech Border Regions
Bibliotheksvertrieb über utb scholars
ISBN: 978-3-7639-4012-7
Verlag: wbv Media
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 165 Seiten, PDF

Reihe: IAB-Bibliothek (Dissertationen)

Welche Auswirkungen hatte der Fall des Eisernen Vorhangs und die ökonomische Integration der mittelosteuropäischen Staaten für den Arbeitsmarkt in den Grenzregionen zwischen den alten und den neuen EU-Mitgliedsstaaten? Michael Moritz geht dieser Frage am Beispiel der bayerisch-tschechischen Grenzregion nach. Moritz untersucht für beide Länder, ob die räumliche Nähe für die Entwicklung der Wirtschafts-, Qualifikations- und Lohnstrukturen in den grenznahen Kreisen eine Rolle spielt und inwieweit sich signifikante Unterschiede zur Entwicklung in den grenzfernen Regionen feststellen lassen.
Publikationssprache: Englisch

Autoren/Hrsg.

Moritz, Michael

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein Arbeitsmarkt
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein Beschäftigung, Arbeitslosigkeit
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Internationale Wirtschaft Volkswirtschaften einzelner Länder und Regionen
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Internationale Wirtschaft Wirtschaftliche Globalisierung

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Vorwort und Danksagung
1 Introduction: Analysis of Labour Markets in Border Regions
1.1 Motivation
1.2 Research Questions
1.3 The Approach and the Structure of the Thesis
Appendix to Chapter 1
2 A Survey of the Literature
2.1 Theoretical Background: Integration Effects in Border Regions
2.2 Empirical Studies on Integration Effects
Appendix to Chapter 2
3 Labour Market Effects in the Bavarian Border Region
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Data and Basic Definitions
3.3 The Labour Market in Eastern Bavaria: Some Descriptive Evidence
3.4 Econometric Analysis of Qualification Trends
3.5 Econometric Analysis of Wage Differentials
3.6 Conclusion
Appendix to Chapter 3
4 Labour Market Effects in the Czech Border Region
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Data and Basic Definitions
4.3 The Labour Market in the Czech Republic: Some Descriptive Evidence
4.4 Econometric Analysis of Qualification Trends
4.5 Econometric Analysis of Wage Differentials
4.6 Conclusion
Appendix to Chapter 4
5 Summary and Outlook
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Abbreviations
References
Kurzfassung

Leseproben

1 Introduction: Analysis of Labour Markets in Border Regions (p. 9)

1.1 Motivation

In the course of globalisation European countries are facing new challenges, which is particularly evident on the labour market. While employees in Western European countries are exposed to growing pressure from low-wage transition and developing countries primarily situated in Eastern Europe and Asia, the workers in these upcoming economies are also having to cope with the rapid changes. An idiosyncratic situation is arising in this regard at the direct frontier of “old” EU member states with the 2004 accession countries. From the Baltic to the Adriatic Sea a considerable number of EU citizens are affected by the economic integration process. In principle, border regions play a special role in an integration process, since effects of transnational competition should be stronger in the absence of the deterrence of costs incurred in order to overcome distance. Only in these regions do “some border crossing activities like commuting, shopping abroad or the cross-border rendering of services (e.g. in construction and crafts) make sense economically due to the short distance to the border” (Mayerhofer 2004: 74).

However, though impediments are decreasing, mental and language barriers still exist, leading to a special economic situation in border regions (Houtum 1999), as national borders still matter even in highly integrated areas (McCallum 1995; Bröcker 1998; Nitsch 2000; Gil-Pareja et al. 2006). According to McCallum (1995), all things being equal, trade between two regions within one country is about 20 times greater than cross-border trade. After the accession of the ten mostly Eastern European states, 25 % of the population in the EU25 countries are living in border regions, rising from 15 % in the EU15 countries. In the accession countries, as much as 58 % of the total population live in border regions1 (Resmini 2003). In the economic sense a border constitutes an institution which imposes (sometimes prohibitive) transaction costs on the exchange of goods and services between regions or countries (Büttner/Rincke 2007).

The opening of a border, in this case the fall of the Iron Curtain, leads to a sizable decline in the transaction costs which only then allows the mobility of goods, capital and labour. In the long run border regions are expected to benefit from growing trade opportunities, but with respect to labour markets, problems of adjustment are highly visible in the short term.

Über Autor(innen)

Michael Moritz ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg.