Torben Dall Schmidt

Cross‐border commuting in the Danish‐German border region ‐ integration, institutions and cross‐border interaction

Abstract Although the process of European integration has facilitated labour mobility in the EU to a considerable extent, cross‐border commuting is still at a low level. We provide evidence on labour mobility in the Danish‐German border region. The objective of this paper is to investigate the recent development of cross‐border commuting in the region and whether this reflects increasing labour market integration. We re‐late the development to different theories on cross‐border labour mobility. Our results suggest that much of the pronounced growth of cross‐border commuting is caused by labour market disparities and a proceeding integration of labour markets on both sides of the border. However, an analysis of structural characteristics of cross‐border commuters and their working places indicates that the cross‐border labour market still has specific features. There are significant differences between cross‐border commuters on both sides of the border with respect to income and main branches of employment. Moreover, the analysis points to a pronounced sectoral concentration of cross‐border workers. Due to this “specialisation” there are distinct differences be‐tween the sectoral distribution of cross‐border commuters and the corresponding structure of total employment in the region.

Ageing shocks and short-run regional labour market dynamics in a spatial panel VAR approach

ABSTRACT Using a flexible spatial panel VAR model for a small-scale labour market system, we investigate the dynamic interdependences between changes in the demographic structure and the labour market performance of a regional economy. With a particular focus on ageing shocks, we describe an increase in the share of elderly in regional population due to exogenous changes in the institutional context, such as pension reforms. The regional labour market implications of an ageing shock are then tested with regard to the effects on employment growth, unemployment and labour participation rate. Our results based on a sample of 71 Scandinavian regions point to negative regional labour market effects of an ageing shock implying a reduction in employment growth and a temporarily declining labour participation rate, while the unemployment rate increases. Importantly, spatial spillovers amplify these negative impacts through a marginalization of macro-regional labour markets. As a robustness check, we reverse the causal ordering and analyze the responses to a positive macroeconomic shock which initially increases employment growth. We find direct and spatially indirect adjustment patterns characterized by a reduction of the unemployment rate, an increase in the labour participation rate and a decrease in the share of elderly in the population.

Labour mobility and local employment: building a local employment base from labour mobility?

ABSTRACT Labour mobility and local employment: building a local employment base from labour mobility? Regional Studies. Do labour inflows contribute to job opportunities for local residents? This question is analysed based on a three-step instrumental variables (IV) estimation procedure including two-way fixed effects to control for unobserved heterogeneity by using unique panel data for the period 2006–11 in Denmark. The results show that labour inflows are crucial for employment opportunities in peripheral areas, but appear to have no effects closer to urban centres. Furthermore, the findings highlight the importance of inflows of specific skills and cross-sectoral dependencies in skill dynamics. This stresses the importance of considering policies promoting mobility to ensure the employment basis in peripheral areas.