We investigate the effect of general-purpose transfers on different expenditure categories and tax rates in the municipalities of Saxony (eastern Germany) and North Rhine-Westphalia (western Germany). Findings from the panel data analysis suggest the existence of the "flypaper effect" - municipalities use transfers to increase expenditures but do not reduce taxes. For most expenditure subcategories the estimated coefficients are alike, suggesting similarity of spending priorities in the two federal states despite the differences in the transfer dependency. Targeted support of eastern municipalities could potentially explain few identified differences in the spending behavior.
We investigate the effect of general-purpose transfers on different expenditure categories and tax rates in the municipalities of Saxony (eastern Germany) and North Rhine-Westphalia (western Germany). Findings from the panel data analysis suggest the existence of the "flypaper effect" – municipalities use transfers to increase expenditures but do not reduce taxes. For most expenditure subcategories the estimated coefficients are alike, suggesting similarity of spending priorities in the two federal states despite the differences in the transfer dependency. Targeted support of eastern municipalities could potentially explain few identified differences in the spending behavior.
An analysis of the interplay of soc forces that have shaped the the soc security systems In diff pol'ai & cultural settings, which traces the development of the concept of econ protection as a soc right from the French revolution, which proclaimed the right to work, through the poor laws in Europe, to the present time. The author next examines the development of soc security systems in 4 countries. Germany started with Bismarck's paternalistic approach, followed by the Sue Democratic emphasis on redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor. After WWII, the system was radically reoriented. With West Germany's participation in the Common Market, a .,compromise was made between the protection of every individual & incentive to econ growth. The UK saw the gradual emergence of the concept of equality & of the protection of the dignity of the individual. This development culminated in the Beveridge Plan, which was implemented by the postwar Labor gov. In the US, with a strong individualist tradition, the soc security system was always strongly linked to the entrepreneur philosophy. The crucial concept is the contributary-contractual principle, for which the rationale is the idea of earned contractual right. Since the gov does not contribute to the soc security funds & since the deductions are levied from the lowest part of the earnings, there is a strong regressive element in the US system. In the USSR, econ protection of all citizens is considered the duty of the state & follows from the philosophy of collectivism. Hence, the coverage is complete & the workers do not have to contribute anything. But by the same logic, the state can manipulate the system for its needs & advantage. It can use it, for instance, to attract people to regions it wants to develop or for punitive ends. In conclusion, the systems in the countries compared are very similar in the external aspects: all beneficiaries of soc security systems wait for their regular pay checks. But the diff soc philosophies & degrees of representativeness of gov's affect, if not the extent, certainly the structure of the rights. The diff's relate to the degree of protection, the conditions under which rights are awarded & the meanings attached to them. A. Peskin.
The paper compares the experience of unemployment in Britain with that in three former state socialist societies - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, countries with relatively recent welfare systems, providing a low level of coverage for the unemployed. The analysis examines the implications of the different types of welfare regime for financial stress, for social isolation and for psychological wellbeing. While it finds that the implications of welfare arrangments depend considerably on the nature of the labour market, it concludes that the combination of very high unemployment with low welfare coverage - exemplified by the case of Bulgaria - has exceptionally high social and personal costs. There is no evidence that these are offset by the emergence of alternative welfare arrangements based on community solidarities.
This study compares the structure and determinants of inter-industry wage differentials in Eastern and Western European countries (namely Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Spain compared with Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia). To do so, we use a unique harmonised, linked employer-employee data set, the 2002 European Structure of Earnings Survey. Findings show substantial differences in earnings across sectors in all countries, even when controlling for a wide range of employee, job and employer characteristics. The hierarchy of sectors in terms of wages appears to be quite similar in Eastern and Western European countries. Among high-wage sectors, we find the energy (coke, petroleum, gas, electricity and nuclear power), chemical, financial and computer industries. In contrast, it is in the traditional sectors (wood and cork industry, textile, clothing and leather industry, hotels and restaurants, and retailing) that wages are lowest. Further results suggest that the dispersion of inter-industry wage differentials fluctuates considerably across countries. It is relatively small in Norway and Belgium, large in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic, and very large in Portugal, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia. Our findings support the hypothesis of a negative relationship between the dispersion of inter-industry wage differentials and a country's degree of corporatism.
