Conference-Documentation New economic concepts in the current European crises. November, 2013 Göttingen, Germany

Transcription

1 Conference-Documentation New economic concepts in the current European crises November, 2013 Göttingen, Germany

2 Contents A. Preface...2 B. Keynotes and Interviews...4 C. Program...6 D. Call for papers...10

3 A. Preface We organized this conference because we were unsatisfied with the economic and political discourses on the European economic crisis over the last years. What was first only an ad hoc reaction to the insolvency problems of several states, has developed into a new economic policy paradigm in Europe: The return to economic growth and the payment of public debts were the primary goals. The limitation of public debt and the establishment of international competitiveness became the primary goals in long-term policy making. These are the ends. The means have been austerity policies, competitive that means low wage levels, privatizations, public cut-backs and similar policies. The economic policies not only failed to take into account equality, the environment and democracy. The policies also did a very poor job concerning a more narrowly defined economic performance: Unemployment, income inequality and poverty increased. The current account imbalances between European countries stayed high and the balance sheet problems of many banks and firms are still unsolved. That is why several researchers at the Konzeptwerk Neue Ökonomie discussed strategies, which take these economic issues and also the social, environmental and democratic problems into account. That is an immense task, and we do not claim to have found all the answers. Nevertheless it is important to discuss policies that address all the main problems of our economy and we believe to have contributed a first step. The concrete result was the publication of the paper Wirtschaftswende - Mit einer sozial-ökologischen Transformation aus der Eurokrise (Wirtschaftswende overcoming the Euro crisis with a social-ecological-transformation): Social, environmental and democratic issues played a minor or no role, both in the short and long run strategies. Inequalities are rising within and between European countries. Environmental concerns get less attention as all policy-debates are on reestablishing growth while growth is a primary reason for increasing environmental destruction. Democratic legitimization in Europe and in the single countries has declined, as an increasing amount of decisions is being made by the executive and not the legislative. 2

4 At the conference New economic concepts in the current European crises we invited scientists from different disciplines and several research topics to discuss with us what alternative economic strategies could look like. We had contributions on macroeconomic policies, the labor market, environmental aspects and the politics of policymaking in the EU. You'll find the results in the forthcoming proceedings of this conference and also in form of several videos on our youtube-channel: youtube.com/konzeptwerk On the following pages, you can find all the information on the contents of the conference. We hope to inspire further research and discussions on these pressing issues with this documentation and other publications! Best wishes, Steffen Lange and Jan Hackforth The background paper to the conference by the Konzeptwerk Neue Ökonomie: Wirtschaftswende - overcoming the Euro crisis with a social-ecological-transformation. 3

5 B. Keynotes and Interviews 1. Keynote speaker: Prof. Dr. Ronnie Schöb Keynote: Fairness versus Efficiency: A Challenge for Labour Market Reforms ( Interview: Long-run policies to tackle the environmental and social crises ( 2. Keynote speaker: Prof. Dr. Sigrid Stagl Keynote: Towards a socio-ecological macroeconomics Interview: Towards a democratic, social and ecologically sustainable economy ( 4

6 3. Keynote speaker: Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Bieling Keynote: The transformation of European economic policymaking: a critical political economy perspective ( Interview: Europäische Kooperation als Antwort auf die Eurokrise ( 4. Keynote speaker: Prof. em. Dr. Adelheid Biesecker Keynote: "Vorsorgendes Wirtschaften" - A New Economic Concept for an Inclusive and Sustainable Europe Based on Gender Equality ( Interview: Vier Ansätze zu einer sozial-ökologischen Wirtschaft ( 5

7 C. Program Friday, November 8 11:00 12:00 Introduction to the conference and get to know 12:00 12:45 Keynote Prof. Dr. Ronnie Schöb Fairness versus Efficiency: A Challenge for Labour Market Reforms 12:45 14:00 Lunch Break 14:00 15:30 Paper Session A Plenary Room: Empirics of labour market regulation Chair: Alexander Sohn Room 2: Theoretical views on basic income Chair: Luke Haywood Jessica Oettel Volker Stöckel The Labour Market Impact of Minimum Wages in Labour in Germany Germany Evidence from the German Main Construction Sector Sebastian Levi The basic income grant and the labour market - risks and Raif Can opportunities The Impact of Employment Protection Legislation on the Unemployment Rate in Selected OECD Countries Luke Haywood Welfare-to-work and Basic income 15:30 15:45 Short Break 15:45 17:15 Paper Session B Plenary Room: Theoretical views on labour market regulation Chair: Thomas Kopp 6 Room 2: Crisis management policies in the EU and its member states Chair: Associate Prof. Dr. Anita Pelle

8 Valeska Gerstung The influence of labour market institutions on the German low-wage sector Jakob Weber Fiscal Stimulus Packages During Financial Crisis in the US and Switzerland in Comparison Manuel Gonçalves Gil The Politics of Flexibilisation and youth unemployment in Portugal Marcell Zoltán Végh Lessons from member state level crisis management René Lehweß-Litzmann Associate Prof. Dr. Anita Pelle A capability perspective on transitional labour-markets, The failures of European crisis management and its flexicurity and social investment. micro and meso level reasons 17:15 17:45 Coffee Break 17:45 18:30 Keynote Prof. Dr. Sigrid Stagl Towards a socio-ecological macroeconomics 18:30 20:00 Paper Session C Plenary Room: Room 2: Case studies of environmental economic policies Wages and collective bargaining Chair: Kai Kuhnhenn Chair: Katharina Trapp 20:00 Prof. Dr. Inmaculada Martinez-Zarzoso Are the Central East European Countries Pollution Havens? Silke Mahnkopf-Praprotnik Macroeconomic Dimension of Wages: Europe on a sustainable growth path? Erkin Erdogan Transition to low carbon economy in Turkey Limits of the market based mechanisms Frederik Knirsch Coordination, Collective Bargaining and Macroeconomic Performance: Re-Analyzing a hump-shaped Relation Dr. Niall Farrell The distributional impact of the Irish public service obligation levy on electricity consumption Katharina Trapp Differences in the Bargaining Power of Foreign Direct and Portfolio Investors and Their Impact on the Labour Share Snacks and drinks 7

9 Saturday, November 9 9:00 10:00 Keynote Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Bieling The transformation of European economic policy-making: a critical political economy perspective 10:00 11:30 Paper Session D Plenary room: Sustainable economic governance in Europe Chair: Milka Kazandziska Room 2: Empirics of characteristics in labour markets Chair: Luke Haywood Nina Treu Wirtschaftswende - overcoming the Euro crisis with a social-ecological transformation Assistant Prof. Dr. Sunčica Vujić Gender pay gap in the Western Balkan countries: Evidence from Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia Milka Kazandziska Conditions for sustainable development in central Eastern Europe Muhammad Waqas The determinants of immigrants and natives attitudes towards immigration: Evidence from England and Wales Dr. Michael Kind A Level Playing Field An Optimal Weighting Scheme of Dismissal Protection Characteristics 11:30 12:00 Coffee Break 12:00 13:00 Paper Session E Plenary Room: Economic policies Room 2: Labour markets with(out) Room 3: Single Presentations after the European crisis growth Chair: Thomas Kopp Chair: Felix Butzlaff Chair: Susanne Brehm Dr. Katarina Sehm Patomäki From fragmentation towards universalism: Filling the institutional vacuum of dealing with sovereign debt Marius Stübs Creating jobs without growth. The alternative: Redistribution. 8 Dr. Dirk Ehnts A simple model of a currency union with endogenous money and savinginvestment imbalances

10 Johannes Petry Europe s new austerity paradigm how and why did we get here? A critical analysis of the discursive construction of the Eurozone crisis Renke Schmacker and Felix Kersting Analyzing different concepts of labour regarding their interaction with the German welfare state and pressures for growth Daniel Feser An alternative proposal for regional European innovation policy: Cooperation of SMEs with knowledgeintensive services in innovation networks 13:00 14:30 Lunch Break 14:30 15:30 Paper Session F Plenary room: Econometrics of financial markets Chair: Alexander Sohn Room 2: Politics of recent economic policy making Chair: Felix Wittmann Fatih Kaya Determinants of Real Long-Term Interest Rates in Europe: Is it a Fiscal Phenomenon? Margit Münzer Being the pioneer in Europe - The French Reform to (re-)structure the banking sector from an Institutional Logics perspective Alexander Sohn Some brief thoughts on state-space and economic crisis Felix Wittmann The politics of social acceleration. Democracy in times of the current economic crisis 15:30 16:30 Group discussions: Future collaborations, controversial subjects 16:30 17:00 Coffee Break 17:00 17:45 Keynote Prof. em. Dr. Adelheid Biesecker "Vorsorgendes Wirtschaften" with (Re)Productivity - A New Economic Concept for an Inclusive and Sustainable Europe Based on Gender Equality 17:45 18:00 Closure 9

11 D. Call for papers New economic concepts in the current European crises: Labor market design & policies, socio-ecological taxation and economic policy-making in the EU Who is this conference for? The conference is designed for (young) researchers who work in one of the three domains: (1) labor market design and policies, (2) socio-ecological taxation and (3) economic policy-making in the EU. The conference will provide a forum to discuss new economic policies for countries of the euro area, relating to the three subjects. If you work in one of the three domains and you are interested in linking it to the current European crisis, you are invited to submit your work. The conference aims in particular at young scientists (PhD students, Post-Docs, Junior-Professors) from economics and political sciences. Contributions from other disciplines will also be taken into consideration. The event will be held in both English and German, so submissions can be handed in either one of the two languages. Thematic background of the conference For the past few years, we have experienced a multitude of crises in the global economy: The financial crisis that started in the USAmerican housing market and spread around the world. The succeeding European sovereign debt crisis is still troubling many countries of the euro area. Simultaneously, global warming leads to increasing impacts, while chances to combat climate change are diminishing. These developments are accompanied by rising levels of poverty and increasing inequalities, both on the interand intranational level. Such developments are aggravated by the current policy responses to the economic crises. Therefore, policies tackling the European sovereign debt crisis also need to address the environmental and social dimensions. This conference focuses on new economic concepts for high-income countries, in particular European countries. The main question is how to leave the current crisis of the eurozone economies in an ecologically, socially sound way while respecting the need for international coordination. 10

12 We are looking for research in three economic domains Labour market design and policies Labor markets in the EU are subject to diverse developments. Many countries in the euro area experience extraordinarily high levels of unemployment. Others are increasingly characterized by short contracts, flexible working hours and rising frequency of job changes. At the same time, more women participate in the labor market, increasing the work force and putting part-time employment as well as the re-evaluation of care work on the agenda. Besides that, ecologists question the classic solution of increasing employment by increasing growth rates. Some authors call for a coordination of wage developments in the EU, in order to adjust the trade imbalances. Other demands are a more equal distribution of paid and unpaid work, flexible labor markets or a basic income guarantee. Socio-ecological taxation European countries experience increasing levels of inequality in income and wealth. They are also characterized by unsustainable levels of environmental pollution. Therefore research on traditional measures of redistribution (income, wealth, inheritance, business and financial taxes) need to be combined with investigations in the impact of ecological taxes. Economic policy-making The European sovereign debt crisis has taught us that economic policies need to be coordinated. Different developments of productivity and wage levels have led to high trade imbalances. Tax competition and tax havens undermine the ability of single countries to finance their budgets. A lack of coordination in financial and ecological regulation lead to a race to the bottom. At the same time, economic policies during the crisis were marked by a lack of democratic legitimization many measures were taken on the executive level. If you work empirically or theoretically on any of the three subjects above and you are willing to link your research to aspects of the current crisis, feel invited to submit your application and to join the conference. Senior researchers and keynotes There will be several senior researchers who hold keynote speeches which will be on the following topics related to European economic policies: (1) labour market: Prof. Dr. Ronnie Schöb (FU Berlin) (2) socio-ecological taxation: Prof. Dr. Sigrid Stagl (University of Economics and Business, Wien) (3) economic policy-making, Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Bieling (University of Tübingen) (4) new economic concepts in the current crisis: Prof. em. Dr. Adelheid Biesecker (University of Bremen) 11

13 Applications Contact address for submissions and questions: Relevant Dates: The conference takes place from November 8-9, 2013 at Göttingen University, Germany. Abstracts need to be handed in until June 30, They can be either in English or German. You are encouraged to also hand in abstracts of work in progress. The abstract should count about 300 words. Applicants will be informed whether their submission is accepted by July 15, Registration (see below for financial assistance) needs to be done until August 31, It is completed after the receipt of money. In case of acceptance, full papers are to be handed in until October 15, Costs of the conference: Conference fee is 75. Travel costs must be borne by the participants. Lodging has to be booked and paid by the participants but recommendations for places will be given. If needed, the conference can waive the fee and provide financial assistance for a limited number of participants. Please contact the organizers until June 30 in case you want to apply for this grant. To register, please transfer the fee to the following account: Konzeptwerk Neue Ökonomie e.v. Account No.: Bank Code: (GLS Bank) For transfers from outside Germany please use: BIC (international Bank Code): GENODEM1GLS IBAN (international Account No. including Bank Code): DE