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Essays on Labor Economics: Labor Market Laboratory in Central Europe
Dinga, Marián ; Münich, Daniel (advisor) ; Blien, Uwe (referee) ; Moritz, Michael (referee)
The first part of this dissertation evaluates the impact of a large and territorially concentrated foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow on local labor market outcomes in the Czech Republic. A difference-in-differences technique is employed for estimating the impact of a joint investment of Toyota and Peugeot on local labor market indicators. The results indicate a positive and statistically as well as economically significant effect of a large investment project on the local unemployment outflow rate, which is driven mainly by increases in the aggregate unemployment exit hazard rates for unemployment durations smaller than nine months. However, the impact on long-term unemployed was negligible. Moreover, a simple cost--benefit analysis suggests that investment incentives paid from a state budget would pay off only in a horizon of twelve years. In the second chapter, I analyze the causal effect of investment incentives on regional allocation of FDI in the Czech Republic during 2001-2007. An institutional setup of investment incentives provided foreign investors with financial incentives depending on the particular district's unemployment rate. The identification strategy is based on a regression- discontinuity approach, as the scheme's design introduces three unemployment thresholds...
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Essays on Access to Higher Education, Welfare Traps, and Welfare Migration
Guzi, Martin ; Münich, Daniel (advisor) ; Herbst, Mikolaj (referee) ; Moritz, Michael (referee)
Introduction The research conducted for my dissertation covers topics from labor economics and consists of three empirical papers. In the first chapter, co-authored with Michal Franta, we analyze the demand for tertiary education in the Czech Republic depending on university proximity. The study explores the difference in the probability of entering tertiary education for two secondary school graduates who differ only in that the first one resides within commuting distance to a university while the other one does not. We presume that the advantage of having access to a local university follows in two ways: first, attending a non-local university is associated with costs, either for monetary or non-monetary reasons. These include direct costs (travel costs, accommodation outside the parental home) and indirect costs (opportunity costs). If individuals are cost sensitive, these extra costs may affect their decision to attend a university and which particular university to attend. Second, informational advantages from a university environment are beneficial in the enrollment process to a university. The information advantage to a potential applicant transfers through face-to-face contacts with university students and easier access to preparatory courses organized by local faculty for applicants, etc. We...
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Essays on Labor Economics: Labor Market Laboratory in Central Europe
Dinga, Marián ; Münich, Daniel (advisor) ; Blien, Uwe (referee) ; Moritz, Michael (referee)
The first part of this dissertation evaluates the impact of a large and territorially concentrated foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow on local labor market outcomes in the Czech Republic. A difference-in-differences technique is employed for estimating the impact of a joint investment of Toyota and Peugeot on local labor market indicators. The results indicate a positive and statistically as well as economically significant effect of a large investment project on the local unemployment outflow rate, which is driven mainly by increases in the aggregate unemployment exit hazard rates for unemployment durations smaller than nine months. However, the impact on long-term unemployed was negligible. Moreover, a simple cost--benefit analysis suggests that investment incentives paid from a state budget would pay off only in a horizon of twelve years. In the second chapter, I analyze the causal effect of investment incentives on regional allocation of FDI in the Czech Republic during 2001-2007. An institutional setup of investment incentives provided foreign investors with financial incentives depending on the particular district's unemployment rate. The identification strategy is based on a regression- discontinuity approach, as the scheme's design introduces three unemployment thresholds...
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Mothers and daughters: heterogeneity of German direct investments in the Czech Republic
Münich, Daniel ; Srholec, Martin ; Moritz, M. ; Schäffler, J.
We assess heterogeneity of German affiliates in the Czech Republic and their mother companies in Germany. Using cluster analysis on micro firm level data from unique ReLoc survey, we identify five main groups of firms that can be interpreted as specializing in i) High-tech production; ii) Medium-tech production; iii) Low-tech production; iv) Interactive services; and v) Support services. The results are examined more closely by location, ownership and industry of the firms. Finally, we derive implications of these findings for technological upgrading.
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Regional distribution of German-Czech multinationals on the domestic market
Moritz, M. ; Münich, Daniel ; Schäffler, J. ; Srholec, Martin
The article deals with the domestic location of German multinational firms which have affiliates in the Czech Republic. Due to the common border the Czech Republic represents an attractive target country for both vertical and horizontal direct investments. On the one hand, the still existing wage gap offers the opportunity to offshore activities abroad by reason of cost advantages. On the other hand, the increasing purchasing power of Czech customers provides favorable chances to acquire a new market. On the basis of a register of firms made available by the German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce we present findings on the growing economic integration between the two countries. Almost 80% of the headquarters of German investors are located in the four federal states Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. The eastern German New Laender are far less engaged in investments in the neigh-boring country. We use count data models in order to account for the distribution of the dependent variable, i.e. the number of investors in the German domestic regions. Controlling for several economic factors it can be concluded that the headquarters of German multinationals investing in the Czech Republic are preferably located in areas with high regional GDP. The distance to the common border plays an important role for the decision to enter the Czech market. In addition, regions that are situated directly at the German-Czech border are involved at an above-average rate in foreign direct investment. Thereby, location patterns differ between manufacturing firms and both trading and service companies.
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