Leaving Budapest.

Posted on June 30, 2019 by admin

Over April – June 2019, Klaus F. Zimmermann has been George Soros Visiting Chair Professor at the School of Public Policy of the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest. On June 28, he terminated this engagement and returned to the headquarters of the Global Labor Organization (GLO) in Bonn, Germany, which he leads as the President. Currently, “History destroys many dreams we had affiliated with Budapest in the past; this is indeed a sad experience. But I enjoyed this great city and its people during my term.”

  • Farewell reflections
  • # I stand with CEU
  • Farewell Lunch with RA Svetlin Iliev
  • A flying carpet

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Rwanda Post Conference Impressions: Touring the Country

Posted on June 30, 2019 by admin

June 12-14, 2019, Kigali, Rwanda. GLO Fellows provided a number of keynote lectures at the international conference on “Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation” organized at the College of Business and Economics, University of Rwanda and the Hotel Nobleza. More conference details.

After the conference on June 15 – 16, the core team was visiting in an intensive tour the Kings Palace Rwanda and the Nyungwe Forest National Park. The tour participants were Manfred Fischedick (Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment & Energy, Germany, and GLO), Hans Lööf (Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, and GLO), Johnson Bosco Rukundo (Jönköping University, Sweden), Pär Sjölander (Gothenburg University, Sweden), and Klaus F. Zimmermann (Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, and President, GLO, Bonn, Germany) lead byLars Hartvigson (Jönköping University, Sweden, and GLO).

From upper left: Lööf, Rukundo, Fischedick, Sjölander, Hartvigson, Zimmermann

On the road….

Kings Palace…

Nyungwe Forest National Park
“To get a real sense of the scale of Nyungwe,” we tried “East Africa’s highest canopy walk with a metal bridge suspended 50 metres above the forest.” Indeed, “the views of Nyungwe sprawled out below the bridge are unforgettable.” (See also for further reference.)

Hiking in the Nyungwe Forest National Park

Within a local hotel: Sleeping houses uphill, reception downhill, tent houses to the right, campfire next to the bar, farewell.

In the far: Large refugee camp. And we saw massive Rwandian army protecting the border.

#396274
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Kigali Conference Impressions: Hotel Nobleza, After the Hour

Posted on June 29, 2019 by admin

June 12-14, 2019, Kigali, Rwanda. Keynote lecture at the international conference on “Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation” organized at the College of Business and Economics, University of Rwanda and the Hotel Nobleza. More conference details.

Hotel Nobleza Nightlife

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German “Mittelstand”: An antithesis to Silicon Valley entrepreneurship? Insights by Friederike Welter & André Pahnke

Posted on June 29, 2019 by admin

Some perceive the German Mittelstand as a low growth, low-tech and non-innovative approach while in contrast the Silicon Valley entrepreneurship is regarded as the salvation for a doomed German economy. Is German type family business at the end? In their GLO Research for Policy Note No. 2, GLO Fellow Friederike Welter & André Pahnke argue that research and policy debates should avoid dichotomies such as “Mittelstand versus Silicon Valley entrepreneurship” and instead acknowledge the vibrant diversity and heterogeneity of entrepreneurship.

Recommended Readings:

Friederike Welter & André Pahnke (2019): The German Mittelstand: an antithesis to Silicon Valley entrepreneurship?, GLO Research for Policy Note No. 2.

Pahnke, A.; Welter, F. (2019): The German Mittelstand: antithesis to Silicon Valley entrepreneurship?, Small Business Economics,  52 (2), 345-358.

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Kigali, University of Rwanda & Hotel Nobleza hosted high-profile conference in economics and business with key participation of distinguished GLO speekers.

Posted on June 28, 2019 by admin

On June 12-14, 2019, in Kigali, Rwanda, at the College of Business and Economics, University of Rwanda and the Hotel Nobleza, GLO Fellows Manfred Fischedick, Almas Heshmati, Hans Lööf and GLO President Klaus F. Zimmermann were among the invited speakers of an international conference on “Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation”. Almas Heshmati is the academic Lead of the GLO Research Cluster on “Labor Markets in Africa”. GLO Fellow Rama B. Rao , University of Rwanda, was the Chair of the Organizing Committee of the conference.
Examine the full program. MORE PICTURES.

GLO President Klaus F. Zimmermann (i) in front of the Nobleza conference center, (ii) after his keynote speech with university representative, (iii) in the bus with the core group, GLO Fellow Has Lööf, right, (iv) listening to the keynote of Manfred Fischedick, (v) plenary session, (vi) with GLO Fellow Almas Heshmati, (vii) and (viii) with excited speakers and some participants of the sessions he chaired.

Keynote speakers and key organizers (from the right): Rama B. Rao (University of Rwanda and GLO), Manfred Fischedick (Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment & Energy, Germany, and GLO), Hans Lööf (Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, and GLO), Benson Honig (McMaster University), Faustin Gasheja (Principal, College of Business and Economics, University of Rwanda ), Almas Heshmati (Jönköping International Business School, Sweden, and GLO), and Klaus F. Zimmermann (Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, and President, GLO, Bonn, Germany).

KEYNOTE SPEECHES

  • Klaus F. Zimmermann: The Value of Global Labor Mobility
  • Manfred Fischedick: Climate Change and Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation
  • Hans Lööf: Knowledge Spillover, Innovation and Exporting
  • Almas Heshmati: Sustainable Development in Rwanda
  • Benson Honig: Researching the “other”: Successful Approaches and Ongoing Challenges Toward Generalizability

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New research from the GLO network: Childcare in Vietnam – how Asian females perform in the labor market. And free access to all GLO research papers from May 2019.

Posted on June 25, 2019 by admin

Accessible childcare services enhance women’s labor market performances and reduce gender gaps, now supported by research for Vietnam. The GLO Discussion Paper of the Month of May 2019  explores the relationship between the use and availability of childcare and maternal employment in the context of this emerging Asian country.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS, EconPapers). Complete list of all GLO DPs downloadable for free.

GLO Discussion Paper of the Month: May

GLO Discussion Paper No. 349 Childcare and Maternal Employment: Evidence from Vietnam – Download PDF
by Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Hiraga, Masako & Nguyen, Cuong Viet

GLO Fellow Hai-Anh Dang

Abstract:   Little literature currently exists on the effects of childcare use on maternal labor market outcomes in a developing country context, and recent studies offer mixed results. We attempt to fill this gap by analyzing several of the latest rounds of the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey spanning the early to mid-2010s. Addressing endogeneity issues with a regression discontinuity estimator based on children’s birth months, we find a sizable effect of childcare attendance on women’s labor market outcomes, including their total annual wages, household income, and poverty status. The effects of childcare attendance differ by women’s characteristics and are particularly strong for younger, more educated women. Furthermore, childcare has a medium-term effect and positively impacts men’s labor market outcomes as well.

GLO Discussion Papers of May 2019

353 The Effect of 9/11 on Immigrants’ Ethnic Identity and Employment: Evidence from Germany – Download PDF
by Delaporte, Isaure

352 The effect of immigration on natives’ well-being in the European union   – Download PDF
by O’Connor, Kelsey J.

351 Who is in favor of immigration – Download PDF
by Epstein, Gil S. & Katav-Herz, Shirit

350 The Immigrant-Native Wage Gap in Germany Revisited – Download PDF
by Ingwersen, Kai & Thomsen, Stephan L.

349 Childcare and Maternal Employment: Evidence from Vietnam – Download PDF
by Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Hiraga, Masako & Nguyen, Cuong Viet

348 Employment Effects of Offshore Oil and Gas Regulations – Download PDF
by Payson, Steven & Sloboda, Brian W.

347 Works Councils and Organizational Gender Policies in Germany – Download PDF
by Jirjahn, Uwe & Mohrenweiser, Jens

346 The Effect of Education on Health: Evidence from the 1997 Compulsory Schooling Reform in Turkey – Download PDF
by Baltagi, Badi H. & Flores-Lagunes, Alfonso & Karatas, Haci M.

345 Ethnic Identity and the Employment Outcomes of Immigrants: Evidence from France – Download PDF
by Delaporte, Isaure

GLO DP Team
Senior Editors: Matloob Piracha (University of Kent) & GLO; Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University and Bonn University).
Managing Editor: Magdalena Ulceluse, University of Groningen. DP@glabor.org  

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From walls to seawalls: Climate change is predicted to redesign the game of walls worldwide.

Posted on June 24, 2019 by admin

The United States is still debating its wall with Mexico. As Victoria Vernon & Klaus F. Zimmermann have documented, building walls between countries has become fashion over recent decades signalling the widespread rising fears about globalization. The number of walls have increased from under 10 to nearly 80 within half of a century.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 330, 2019. Walls and Fences: A Journey Through History and Economics – Download PDF
by Vernon, Victoria & Zimmermann, Klaus F.

Now climate change may bring a dramatic shift into the game of walls: “Even though estimates about rising sea levels vary, the Center for Climate Integrity has published an analysis which estimates that the U.S. will have to invest $416 billion in constructing seawalls between now and 2040. At state level, Florida is expected to have to spend $76 billion on seawalls over the next two decades with while Louisiana will have the second-highest bill at $38 billion. ” (statista, see also chart below.)

Will climate change soon replace our fears about migration? Surely not, since forced mass migration is already predicted around the world as a consequence of rising sea levels.

A recent novel has thought the (our?) story to the end:

John Lanchester: The Wall, Faber & Faber, Ltd. London, 2019.

After the change, Britain is surrounded by a wall facing endless water. The Young have to serve on the wall as Defenders to kill the Others as soon as they attack as boat people to invade the island. Shooting climate refugees is a daily business. A brutal, if not boring exercise where some Defenders are forced to become Others and are lost on the sea, with a surviving couple left alone with their love.

More statista details for an analysis behind the figure.

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June 20, 2019. GLO President Klaus F. Zimmermann spoke in a crowded research seminar at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest on global labor economics.

Posted on June 21, 2019 by admin

On June 20, 2019 Klaus F. Zimmermann, President of the Global Labor Organization and currently George Soros Visiting Chair at the Central European University, was visiting the Hungarian Academy of Sciences to deliver a research seminar on “Global Labor Economics: Challenges and Benefits”. Zimmermann, Professor Emeritus of Bonn University, is also the Section Chair of “Economics, Business and Management Sciences” of the Academia Europaea, the Academy of Europe. A large audience crowded the room during the seminar which was chaired by János Köllő, who is also a member of the Academia Europaea.

Left: Zimmermann in front of the Academy; right: With János Köllő

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The Future of Europe after the European Elections. Public Debate at the Central European University, Budapest, on June 5, 2019.

Posted on June 5, 2019 by admin

Quo Vadis Europe after the European elections? Martin Kahanec and Klaus F. Zimmermann (both Budapest) debated on June 5, 2019 with Elsa Fornero (Turin) and Jonathan Portes (London) the consequences and perspectives for Europe in front of a larger audience. Zimmermann, President of the Global Labor Organization (GLO), was chairing and moderating the event; Fornero, Kahanec and Portes are GLO Fellows.

From the left during the panel: Klaus F. Zimmermann, Chair, Budapest and Bonn; Jonathan Portes, London; Elsa Fornero, Turin; and Martin Kahanec, Budapest and Vienna.

After the panel during a joint dinner from the left: NE-D Senator Tanya Cook, USA; CEU Professor Anil Duman and GLO Fellow; Turin Professor and Former Labor Minister Elsa Fornero; CEU Dean and Professor Martin Kahanec; and Klaus F. Zimmermann, George Soros Chair, CEU, and GLO President.

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GLO President Zimmermann was visiting the Romanian National Bank in Bucharest

Posted on June 5, 2019 by admin

On May 31, Klaus F. Zimmermann (President GLO & EBES, and George Soros Chair at the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, participated and spoke in Brasov/Romania at the conference„Inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Challenges, measures and solutions” (ISEG 2019). See Report.

On June 2, he moved to Bucharest to speak on June 4 at a large and well attended internal seminar of the Romanian Central Bank followed by an intensive exchange with the staff of the bank. The topic of the lecture at the bank was: “Labor Mobility after the European Elections”. He returned to Budapest on June 4 in the night.

The hands on the gold reserves of the Romanian National Bank:

Front and back sides of the Romanian National Bank in the Old Town of Bucharest

Impressions from Bucharest Old Town with farewell music

Farewell concert in Brasov on June 2, 2019.

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