_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 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 No. 2012-10 October 30, 2012 (Yvonne Braeutigam, newsletter-en at zew.de ) http://www.zew.eu _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Content 1. NEWS 2. CALL FOR PAPERS 2.1. Annual Conference of the Leibniz ScienceCampus MaCCI - Mannheim Centre for Competition and Innovation (February 15-16, 2013) 3. STAFF 3.1. Appointments 3.2. Nominations 4. PRESS RELEASES 5. RECENT PUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH 5.1. ZEWnews 5.2. Financial Market Report Switzerland 5.3. Financial Market Report CEE 5.4. ZEW Discussion Papers IN GERMAN 5.5. ZEW Finanzmarktreport (ZEW Financial Market Report) 5.6. ZEW Branchenreport Informationswirtschaft (ZEW Sector Report for the Information Economy) 5.7. ZEW Discussion Papers 5.8. Gutachten/Forschungsberichte (Expertises/Research Reports) 5.9. ZEW Dokumentationen (ZEW Documentations) 6. NEW RESEARCH PROJECTS 7. EVENTS 7.1. Scientific Events 7.2. Public Events _____________________________________________________________________ 1. NEWS 19.10.2012 Delegation from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Visits ZEW: A high-level delegation of 25 representatives from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology visited the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim on October 19, 2012. Through an extensive exchange of information, the guests from China gained valuable insights into the research work conducted at ZEW and the areas on which ZEW research units focus. The members of the delegation were especially interested in ZEW's expertise in economic forecasts and in possibilities to employ ZEW's methods for the Chinese context. Read more: http://www.zew.de/news2135 17.10.2012 Economist from Rutgers University Receives ZEW's Heinz Koenig Young Scholar Award: This year's Heinz Koenig Young Scholar Award goes to Jitao Tang, Teaching Assistant at Rutgers University. Jitao Tang is already the eighth laureate of the award endowed by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. This time, the award is sponsored by the Guenter J. and Christa Grochla Stiftung. It includes an endowment of 5,000 EUR and a three-month research visit to ZEW. Read more: http://www.zew.de/news2130 11.10.2012 ZEW President Wolfgang Franz on "Sustainability": As the European debt crisis grinds on, some countries, especially Italy and Spain, have complained that despite having initiated reforms they must pay "unreasonably" high interest rates to finance their national debt. They have asked the European Central Bank (ECB) to buy up their bonds in order to assure a maximum interest rate that is "reasonable". The ECB intends to follow through by purchasing government bonds but without setting an explicit interest rate target as long as the countries in question promise to satisfy certain reform conditions under the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). Read more: http://www.zew.de/news2125 11.10.2012 Q&A: Is Excessive Patent Protection a Problem for the Economy? Patents Should Only Be Granted When They Ensure Technological Progress: In many areas of technology, the road to new products leads through a dense thicket of existing patents that threatens to hinder innovation. A new ZEW study has found that patent rights are often distributed among many companies, creating the risk of blockades to innovation. Dr. Georg Licht explains the long-term consequences. Read more: http://www.zew.de/news2126 08.10.2012 International Entrepreneurship Conference CoDE at ZEW: The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and the Mannheim Centre for Competition and Innovation (MaCCI) held the International Conference on the Dynamics of Entrepreneurship (CoDE) on October 4-5, 2012. The conference was sponsored by the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung. 80 participants discussed recent scientific contributions on entrepreneurship research, among others: human capital of founders, regional aspects of entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial financing. 39 new scientific papers, selected from about 100 applications, stimulated the discussions. In addition, five keynote speeches covered a broad range of challenges of entrepreneurship research and policy. Read more: http://www.zew.de/news2121 For current news, please visit: http://www.zew.de/news 2. CALL FOR PAPERS 2.1. Annual Conference of the Leibniz ScienceCampus MaCCI - Mannheim Centre for Competition and Innovation (February 15-16, 2013): The Mannheim Centre for Competition and Innovation (MaCCI) - a joint initiative of the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and the University of Mannheim - is pleased to announce its Annual Conference 2013 in Mannheim on February 15-16, 2013. The conference aims to provide a platform for competition and innovation-related research and discussion. We invite submissions from all fields of competition law and economics, broadly defined. Theoretical, empirical as well as case-oriented papers are welcome. We especially encourage the submission of papers by lawyers focusing on EU competition and/or comparative competition law. Please send full papers as well as extended abstracts as PDF file to macciannual2013 at zew.de no later than December 1, 2012. Additional information and Call for Papers: http://www.zew.de/macciannual2013 3. STAFF 3.1. Appointments ZEW Labour Economist Holger Bonin Appointed Professor at the University of Kassel: Holger Bonin, head of the Labour Market Research Department at ZEW, accepted a professorship for economics focusing on labour market and social policy issues at the University of Kassel starting on October 1, 2012. Bonin regularly advises European, national and federal state institutions in labour market and socio-political questions. His expertise is based on many years of empirical research on basic social security, the securing of skilled labour against the backdrop of demographic change, preventive labour market policy, and labour supply. Bonin's appointment was concluded in a joint procedure of ZEW and the University of Kassel and is supposed to strengthen the cooperation between the two institutions in the areas of research and the qualification of young scientists. Read more about Holger Bonin: http://www.zew.de/staff_hbo 3.2. Nominations ZEW Employee Nominated for Leibniz Apprenticeship Award 2012: Lisa Sattel completed her apprenticeship as an office communication assistant and a foreign language correspondent at ZEW with great success. The Leibniz Association acknowledged her commitment by nominating her for the Leibniz Apprenticeship Award 2012. Read more: http://www.zew.de/news2141 4. PRESS RELEASES 23.10.2012 - ZEW (fsa/kbo) ZEW-ZEPHYR Index for Germany - Mergers and Acquisitions Continue to Stagnate in 2013: A recovery of the German M&A market is still not in sight. The ZEW-ZEPHYR Index for Germany has been manoeuvring at the 60-points mark since the beginning of 2011. Until mid-2013, M&A activities will stagnate at this level. This is the result of a forecast conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. The current level of the M&A Index Germany is considerably below its initial value of 100 points in 2000. Read more: http://www.zew.de/press2139 22.10.2012 - ZEW (ggr/msu) Growing Optimism in the Information Economy: In spite of a slight decrease by 0.5 points to a level of 57.6 points, the ZEW Sentiment Indicator Information Economy again lies above the crucial 50-points mark in the third quarter of 2012. The majority of companies, hence, expect a positive economic development of the sector. The economic sentiment in the information economy has already been remaining relatively stable since the third quarter of 2011, and by the end of this year, further improvement is expected. Even in the sub-sector of media service providers, where estimations have been rather bleak since the beginning of the year, optimism gradually spreads. Expectations for the coming months have brightened up noticeably. These are the findings of the quarterly survey among companies in the information economy in Germany, conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. Read more: http://www.zew.de/press2138 18.10.2012 - ZEW (zil/kbo) ZEW-Erste Group Bank Economic Sentiment Indicator for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) - Rising Optimism: Economic expectations for Central and Eastern Europe including Turkey (CEE) have improved considerably in October. The ZEW-Erste Group Bank Economic Sentiment Indicator has increased by 20.1 points to a level of 5.5 points. Furthermore, rising optimism can be seen in all of the surveyed countries. The economic outlook is brightening up for each country included in the survey in October. Experts are most optimistic for Croatia where economic expectations have augmented by 28.2 points. Read more: http://www.zew.de/press2133 17.10.2012 - ZEW (alo/srr/ybr) Economist from Rutgers University Receives ZEW's Heinz Koenig Young Scholar Award: This year's Heinz Koenig Young Scholar Award goes to Jitao Tang, Teaching Assistant at Rutgers University. Jitao Tang is already the eighth laureate of the award endowed by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. This time, the award is sponsored by the Guenter J. and Christa Grochla Stiftung. It includes an endowment of 5,000 EUR and a three-month research visit to ZEW. Read more: http://www.zew.de/press2130 17.10.2012 - ZEW/CS (lja/kbo) ZEW-CS Financial Market Test Switzerland - Economic Outlook Improves Slightly: Economic expectations for Switzerland have improved by 6.0 points to the minus-28.9-points mark in October 2012. Thus, the ZEW-CS Indicator of Economic Sentiment has increased by a total of 14.5 points since June 2012. 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/press2131 16.10.2012 - ZEW (cdi/fmo/kbo) ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment - Expectations Improve Slightly: The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany has increased by 6.7 points in October 2012. It is now standing at a level of minus 11.5 points. This is the second increase of the indicator in a row. Read more: http://www.zew.de/press2127 11.10.2012 - ZEW/Research Institutes (mkp) Joint Economic Report Autumn 2012 - Economic Slowdown due to Euro Crisis - Stability Risks Remain High: The euro crisis is putting a strain on the German economy. Economic growth will thus remain weak in the near future and will not improve until next year. The institutes forecast an increase of GDP by 0.8 per cent in 2012 and by 1.0 per cent in 2013. The situation on the labour market will worsen; the number of unemployed persons will increase slightly in 2013 to 2.9 million. The national budget will be nearly balanced in 2012 as well as in 2013. The institutes take a critical stance to the ECB initiative to purchase sovereign bonds of struggling countries. According to the institutes, the ECB programme fuels the risk of inflation. Read more: http://www.zew.de/press2123 01.10.2012 - ZEW (fsc/kbo) Why Rapidly Growing Patent Thickets Threaten Business Innovation: Nowadays, thousands of patents are protecting innovative products like the smartphone. Such growing patent thickets increasingly hinder the innovation process of national economies. For many firms, the patent legislation represents an almost incalculable risk. Patent litigations between major technology corporations such as Apple, Google, or Motorola have recently highlighted this phenomenon. Meanwhile, many companies hesitate to market an innovative product due to this development. Smaller companies refrain from investing in innovative products or processes, especially if various owners of patents are involved. In such cases, it is difficult and expensive for them to secure the rights necessary to introduce innovative products. Bigger companies, on the other hand, are deterred by legal uncertainties resulting from patent thickets. These are the findings of an empirical study on the impact of patent thickets, i.e. of webs of overlapping patents, on companies' innovation performance, conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. Read more: http://www.zew.de/press2117 For current press releases, please visit: http://www.zew.de/en/presse 5. RECENT PUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH 5.1. ZEWnews ZEWnews English Edition September/October 2012 * A Good Professional Training Enterprise Pays Off * Low Additional Costs Expected from Emissions Trading in Maritime Shipping * Long-Term Consequences of Childhood Hunger Are Systematically Underestimated * Effects of Passive Ownership on Competition * Selection of Potential Energy Policy Indicators * Q&A: Empirical Study on Hardcore Cartels * On the Use of Overdraft Credit Lines * Conference: From the Computer to Social Networks * Conferences: First Mannheim Energy Conference at ZEW * Opinion: Dismissal Protection Download as PDF file(*) (reference is given at the end of "RECENT PUBLICATIONS"): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/zn/en/zn082012.pdf This edition contains the additional CO2 Barometer: The EU Emissions Trading System - Incentive Effects Fail to Meet Expectations * Prices for Emission Allowances Reach a Critical Level * Increased Trading Activity * Poor Incentives for CO2 Reductions * Markets for Emission-Reducing Technologies * Currently Low Risk of Carbon Leakage * Non-European Carbon Trading Initiatives Download as PDF file(*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/zn/en/schwerpunkte/co2report/CO20912_en.pdf 5.2. Financial Market Report Switzerland Financial Market Report Switzerland November 2012 * Economic Outlook for Switzerland: Slight Improvement * Current Economic Situation: Downward Trend Continues * Inflation Expectations: Climbing Further * Interest Rates: Expectations Are Broadly Unchanged * Stock Market: Slightly Optimistic View Continues * Swiss Franc Versus Euro: Mostly Unchanged * Special Questions: Inflation and Growth Forecasts Download as PDF file(*): http://www.zew.de/FinancialMarketReportSwitzerland112012.pdf 5.3. Financial Market Report CEE Financial Market Report CEE November 2012 * Rising Optimism in the CEE Region * Economic Outlook for the CEE Region, Austria, and the Eurozone * Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia: Positive Economic Sentiments * Croatia, Hungary, and Romania: Revision of Stock Market Sentiments * Turkey: Bearish Revision of Stock Market Expectations * Special Question: Inflation and Interest Rate Expectations Download as PDF file(*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/fmt_cee/FMTCEE112012.pdf 5.4. ZEW Discussion Papers 12-068 Marc-Daniel Moessinger Do Personal Characteristics of Finance Ministers Affect the Development of Public Debt? Download as PDF file(*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp12068.pdf 12-067 Sarah Ciaglia; Friedrich Heinemann Debt Rule Federalism: The Case of Germany Download as PDF file(*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp12067.pdf 12-066 Peter Heindl; Sebastian Voigt Employment Effects of Regional Climate Policy: The Case of Renewable Energy Promotion by Feed-In Tariffs Download as PDF file(*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp12066.pdf 12-065 Peter Heindl Mitigating Market Power Under Tradeable Permits Download as PDF file(*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp12065.pdf 12-064 Peter Heindl Financial Intermediaries and Emissions Trading: Market Development and Pricing Strategies Download as PDF file(*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp12064.pdf 12-063 Jens Horbach; Qian Chen; Klaus Rennings; Stefan Voegele Lead Markets for Clean Coal Technologies A Case Study for China, Germany, Japan, and the USA Download as PDF file(*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp12063.pdf 12-062 Vigen Nikogosian; Juergen Weigand Forward Integration and Market Entry - Evidence from Natural Gas Markets for Household Customers in Germany Download as PDF file(*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp12062.pdf 12-061 Bodo Aretz; Melanie Arntz; Terry Gregory The Minimum Wage Affects Them All: Evidence on Employment Spillovers in the Roofing Sector Download as PDF file(*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp12061.pdf 12-059 Bernhard Boockmann; Jan Fries; Christian Goebel Specific Measures for Older Employees and Late Career Employment Download as PDF file(*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp12059.pdf IN GERMAN 5.5. ZEW Finanzmarktreport (ZEW Financial Market Report) ZEW Financial Market Report November 2012 * Risks for Economic Development Are Decreasing * ECB: Lowering of Interest Rates Becomes Less Likely * U.S.: Economic Prospects Slightly Declining * Japan: Situation Assessment Further Deteriorates * Great Britain: Setback of Economic Expectations * Special Question: Economic Growth Download as PDF file (in German language)(*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/frep/112012.pdf 5.6. ZEW Branchenreport Informationswirtschaft (ZEW Sector Report for the Information Economy) ZEW Sector Report for the Information Economy, 3rd Quarter 2012 * Sentiment of Media Service Providers Recovers for the First Time in 2012 * The Internet Is the Driving Force Behind Company Success Download as PDF file (in German language)(*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/brepikt/201203BrepIKT.pdf 5.7. ZEW Discussion Papers 12-060 Bodo Aretz; Melanie Arntz; Terry Gregory; Christian Rammer Der Mindestlohn im Dachdeckerhandwerk: Auswirkungen auf Beschaeftigung, Arbeitnehmerschutz und Wettbewerb (Minimum Wage in the Roofing Sector: Effects on Employment, Employment Protection, and Competition) Download as PDF file(*) (in German language): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp12060.pdf 5.8. Gutachten/Forschungsberichte (Expertises/Research Reports) Ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, in cooperation with: KOF Konjunkturforschungsstelle (Business Cycle Research) at ETH Zurich, Kiel Institute for the World Economy, regarding mid-term projection in cooperation with: Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) Mannheim, Halle Institute for Economic Research, in cooperation with Kiel Economics and Rheinisch-Westfaelisches Institut fuer Wirtschaftsforschung (Institute for Economic Research), in cooperation with: Institute for Advanced Studies Vienna (2012), Gemeinschaftsdiagnose Herbst 2012: Eurokrise daempft Konjunktur - Stabilitaetsrisiken bleiben hoch (Joint Diagnosis Autumn 2012: Euro Crisis Affects Economy - Stability Risks Remain High), Public Service Contract on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology, Munich. Additional information and order page (in German language): http://www.zew.de/publikation6754 5.9. ZEW Dokumentationen (ZEW Documentations) 12-06 Vigen Nikogosian Der ZEW-ZEPHYR-M&A-Index Deutschland: Determinanten und Prognose (ZEW-ZEPHYR M&A Index Germany: Determinants and Forecast) Download as PDF file (in German language)(*): http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/docus/dokumentation1206.pdf (*) Please note: PDF files can be displayed with Adobe Acrobat Reader. The software can be downloaded for free: http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader 6. NEW RESEARCH PROJECTS Competition for Public Offices, Quality of Politicians, and Fiscal Performance - An Empirical Analysis of German Municipalities http://www.zew.de/project1244 Monitoring the German Cultural and Creative Economy http://www.zew.de/project1247 Real Estate Markets in a General Economic Perspective http://www.zew.de/project1248 Research Project on Recruiting and Maintenance of Skilled Labour http://www.zew.de/project1246 7. EVENTS 7.1. Scientific Events 07.11.2012 Workshop: Second ProdIT Workshop: Productivity in the Service Sector - Challenges of Measurement Location of the event: ZEW, Mannheim Additional information: http://www.zew.de/event1732 08.11.2012 ZEW Research Seminar: 150 Years of Boom and Bust. What Drives Mineral Commodity Prices? Speaker: Martin Stuermer (University Bonn) Location of the event: ZEW, Mannheim Additional information: http://www.zew.de/event1703 08.11.2012 Mannheim Competition Policy Forum: Do We Still Need Market Definition? Speaker: Thibaud Verge (ENSAE Paris) Location of the event: ZEW, Mannheim Additional information: http://www.zew.de/event1742 08.-09.11.2012 Workshop: MaCCI Workshop on Reputation in Organisations and Markets Location of the event: ZEW, Mannheim Additional information: http://www.zew.de/event1695 15.-16.11.2012 Conference: The Green Growth Dilemma: Final Conference of the PAKT Project "Economics of an Integrated and Long-Term Climate and Energy Policy" Location of the event: Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC), Berlin Additional information: http://www.zew.de/event1733 22.11.2012 ZEW Research Seminar: Predicting Causal Effects in High-Dimensionsal Settings Speaker: Peter Buehlmann (ETH Zurich) Location of the event: ZEW, Mannheim Additional information: http://www.zew.de/event1736 22.11.2012 Workshop: SEEK Workshop: Patent Litigation in Europe - A Story of War and Settlement? Location of the event: ZEW, Mannheim Additional information: http://www.zew.de/event1721 23.-24.11.2012 Workshop: SEEK Workshop on Incentives and Innovations Location of the event: ZEW, Mannheim Additional information: http://www.zew.de/event1706 12.12.2012 Workshop: SEEK Workshop on Non-Linear Economic Modelling: Theory and Applications Location of the event: ZEW, Mannheim Additional information: http://www.zew.de/event1699 7.2. Public Events 22.11.2012 First-Hand Information on Economic Policy: The Annual Report 2012/13 of the German Council of Economic Experts - Brussels Speaker: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolfgang Franz (ZEW) Location of the event: Brussels, Representation of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg to the European Union Additional information: http://www.zew.de/event1748 ____________________________________________________________________ IMPRINT Publisher: Centre for European Economic Research GmbH (ZEW) L 7, 1 - 68161 Mannheim - Germany - http://www.zew.eu Phone +49 621/1235-01 Fax +49 621/1235-255 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 Editors: Yvonne Braeutigam, yvonne.braeutigam at zew.de ; Patrick Pilarek, pilarek at zew.de E-mail: newsletter-en at zew.de Editorial assistants: Sebastian Kreimes; Julia Glashauser; Elisa Jendrusch Responsibility: Gunter Grittmann, grittmann at zew.de Legal note: http://www.zew.eu/legalnote You can subscribe/unsubscribe at any time - online via http://www.zew.eu/newsletter or - 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