Conference-DocumentationNew economic concepts in the current

European crises

November, 2013 – Göttingen, Germany

ContentsA. Preface...................................................2

B. Keynotes and Interviews......................4

C. Program.................................................6

D. Call for papers.....................................10

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.

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.

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):

http://wirtschaftswende.de/hintergrundpapier/

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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 policy-making 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 Konzept-werk Neue Ökonomie: Wirtschaftswende - overcoming the Euro crisis with a social-ecological-transformation.

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B. Keynotes and Interviews

1. Keynote speaker: Prof. Dr. Ronnie Schöb

Keynote: Fairness versus Efficiency: A Challenge for Labour Market Reforms (http://youtu.be/JsQz-1V-e0U)

Interview: Long-run policies to tackle the environmental and social crises (http://youtu.be/NRf9mNkmrKw)

2. Keynote speaker: Prof. Dr. Sigrid Stagl

Keynote: Towards a socio-ecological macroeconomics http://youtu.be/xB3bCnl9YKQ

Interview: Towards a democratic, social and ecologically sustainable economy (http://youtu.be/ADUpuHFKXd4)

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3. Keynote speaker: Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Bieling

Keynote: The transformation of European economic policy-making: a critical political economy perspective (http://youtu.be/2k2RKAEr1no)

Interview: Europäische Kooperation als Antwort auf die Eurokrise (http://youtu.be/7-QKygKNFI4)

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 (http://youtu.be/sP05_nijwk8)

Interview: Vier Ansätze zu einer sozial-ökologischen Wirtschaft (http://youtu.be/2ovfmbubXoQ)

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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 SchöbFairness 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 regulationChair: Alexander Sohn

Room 2:Theoretical views on basic incomeChair: Luke Haywood

Jessica OettelThe Labour Market Impact of Minimum Wages in Germany 1995-2010 - Evidence from the German Main Construction Sector

Raif CanThe Impact of Employment Protection Legislation on the Unemployment Rate in Selected OECD Countries

Volker StöckelLabour in Germany

Sebastian LeviThe basic income grant and the labour market - risks and opportunities

Luke HaywoodWelfare-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 regulationChair: Thomas Kopp

Room 2:Crisis management policies in the EU and its member statesChair: Associate Prof. Dr. Anita Pelle

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Valeska GerstungThe influence of labour market institutions on the German low-wage sector

Manuel Gonçalves GilThe Politics of “Flexibilisation” and youth unemployment in Portugal

René Lehweß-LitzmannA capability perspective on transitional labour-markets, flexicurity and social investment.

Jakob WeberFiscal Stimulus Packages During Financial Crisis in the US and Switzerland in Comparison

Marcell Zoltán VéghLessons from member state level crisis management

Associate Prof. Dr. Anita PelleThe failures of European crisis management and its micro and meso level reasons

17:15 – 17:45 Coffee Break

17:45 – 18:30 Keynote

Prof. Dr. Sigrid StaglTowards a socio-ecological macroeconomics

18:30 – 20:00 Paper Session C

Plenary Room:Case studies of environmental economic policiesChair: Kai Kuhnhenn

Room 2:Wages and collective bargainingChair: Katharina Trapp

Prof. Dr. Inmaculada Martinez-ZarzosoAre the Central East European Countries Pollution Havens?

Erkin ErdoganTransition to low carbon economy in Turkey – Limits of the market based mechanisms

Dr. Niall FarrellThe distributional impact of the Irish public service obligation levy on electricity consumption

Silke Mahnkopf-PraprotnikMacroeconomic Dimension of Wages: Europe on a sustainable growth path?

Frederik KnirschCoordination, Collective Bargaining and Macroeconomic Performance: Re-Analyzing a „hump-shaped“ Relation

Katharina Trapp Differences in the Bargaining Power of Foreign Direct and Portfolio Investors and Their Impact on the Labour Share

20:00 Snacks and drinks

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Saturday, November 9

9:00 – 10:00 Keynote

Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen BielingThe 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 TreuWirtschaftswende - overcoming the Euro crisis with a social-ecological transformation

Milka KazandziskaConditions for sustainable development in central Eastern Europe

Assistant Prof. Dr. Sunčica VujićGender pay gap in the Western Balkan countries: Evidence from Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia

Muhammad WaqasThe determinants of immigrants’ and natives’ attitudes towards immigration: Evidence from England and Wales

Dr. Michael KindA 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 after the European crisisChair: Felix Butzlaff

Room 2: Labour markets with(out) growthChair: Susanne Brehm

Room 3: Single PresentationsChair: Thomas Kopp

Dr. Katarina Sehm PatomäkiFrom fragmentation towards universalism: Filling the institutional vacuum of dealing with sovereign debt

Marius StübsCreating jobs without growth. The alternative: Redistribution.

Dr. Dirk EhntsA simple model of a currency union with endogenous money and saving-investment imbalances

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Johannes PetryEurope’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 KerstingAnalyzing different concepts of labour regarding their interaction with the German welfare state and pressures for growth

Daniel FeserAn alternative proposal for regional European innovation policy: Cooperation of SMEs with knowledge-intensive services in innovation networks

13:00 – 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 – 15:30 Paper Session F

Plenary room: Econometrics of financial marketsChair: Alexander Sohn

Room 2: Politics of recent economic policy makingChair: Felix Wittmann

Fatih KayaDeterminants of Real Long-Term Interest Rates in Europe: “Is it a Fiscal Phenomenon?”

Alexander SohnSome brief thoughts on state-space and economic crisis

Margit MünzerBeing the pioneer in Europe - The French Reform to (re-)structure the banking sector from an Institutional Logics perspective

Felix WittmannThe 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

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D. Call for papersNew 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 US-American 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 inter- and 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.

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We are looking for research in three economic domains

Labour market design and policiesLabor 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 taxationEuropean 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-makingThe 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)

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Applications

• Contact address for submissions and questions: info @wirtschaftswende.de

Relevant Dates:

• The conference takes place from November 8-9, 2013 at Göttingen University, Germany.• Abstracts need to be handed in until June 30, 2013. 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, 2013.• Registration (see below for financial assistance) needs to be done until August 31, 2013. It is completed after the receipt of

money.• In case of acceptance, full papers are to be handed in until October 15, 2013.

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.: 1137208800• Bank Code: 43060967 (GLS Bank)

For transfers from outside Germany please use:

• BIC (international Bank Code): GENODEM1GLS • IBAN (international Account No. including Bank Code): DE02 4306 0967 1137 2088 00

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