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The gender wage gap is remarkably persistent in Germany. Additionally it
is among the European Member states one of the highest. The paper ex-
amines the empirical data which allow analysing the gender wage gap; it
discusses the development of the gender pay gap over time, the trends in
wage inequality and the incidence of low pay. As institutional factors are
of certain importance, the paper describes the overall system of wage
determination, especially the minimum wage regulations. Important is the
treatment of gender way gaps in the equal pay legislation to date, which
is analysed in detail. As firm level decisions are of great importance to
constitute the gender wage gap, this aspect is discussed, too. The paper
summarizes the actual state of the art in empirical studies on the gender
pay gap in Germany and comes to the conclusion that relevant factors to
explain the persistence are mainly structural factors like vertical and hori-
zontal segregation, especially in the work place. Individual characteristics
of women and men (human capital endowments) do play a minor role, but
are still existent.
Bei den in Anwendung des Allgemeinen Gleichbehandlungsgesetzes (AGG) zu erwartenden Klagen wird eine zentrale Frage – und somit Gegenstand gerichtlicher Gutachten – sein, wie ausgeprägt die Lohndiskriminierung gegenüber den im AGG benannten Personengruppen tatsächlich ist. Wir stellen ein Konzept vor, durch welches das Ausmaß der Diskriminierung auf Grundlage der in deutschen Betrieben gezahlten Entgelte quantifiziert werden kann. Dabei konzentrieren wir uns auf die Ungleichbehandlung nach dem Geschlecht, dem Alter und der Nationalität.
In der mikroökonomischen Theorie des Haushalts kommen Genderaspekte oftmals nicht vor – es wird davon ausgegangen, dass kleine wirtschaftliche Einheiten wie Haushalte und Unternehmen geschlechtsneutral fungieren. Dabei sind Haushalte und die Entscheidungen ihrer Individuen nicht unabhängig vom sozialen Geschlecht zu verstehen. Mit der Neuen Haushaltsökonomie kann die Frage gestellt werden, wie geschlechtsspezifische Arbeitsteilung in Haushalten und auf dem Arbeitsmarkt entstand, und welche Konsequenzen diese für Frauen und Männer hat. Im Rahmen der Wohlfahrtsökonomie kann untersucht werden, welche Auswirkungen geschlechtsspezifische Arbeitsteilung, oder die Diskriminierung von Frauen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt für die gesamtgesellschaftliche Wohlfahrt haben.
Wolfgang Strengmann-Kuhn stellt Genderaspekte innerhalb der mikroökonomischen Theorien des Haushalts und der Märkte vor und zieht Schlussfolgerungen für die Lehre im Fach Mikroökonomie.
Male Marital Wage Premium (MWP) bezeichnet das bekannte Phänomen, dass
verheiratete Männer im Durchschnitt ein höheres Einkommen beziehen als
unverheiratete. Neuere Studien zeigen auch einen Einkommensvorteil von mit Partnerin
zusammenlebenden Männern gegenüber Singles, das so genannte Cohabiting Wage
Premium (CWP). Warum überhaupt Einkommensunterschiede nach Familienstand
vorliegen und wieso das CWP nur etwa die Hälfte des MWP beträgt, hat uns motiviert, die
institutionellen Unterschiede zwischen eheähnlicher Lebensgemeinschaft und Ehe und
deren Zusammenhänge mit dem Einkommensniveau zu erforschen. Mithilfe der Methode
des Propensity Score Matching ermitteln wir mit den Daten des Sozioökonomischen Panel
(GSOEP) das „wahre“ selektionsfreie MWP und CWP für Männer in
Deutschland und beleuchten die Ursachen dieser beiden Einkommensvorteile
This paper asks whether part-time work makes women happy. Previous research on labour supply has assumed that as workers freely choose their optimal working hours on the basis of their innate preferences and the hourly wage rate, outcome reflects preference. This paper tests this assumption by measuring the impact of changes in working-hours on life satisfaction in two countries (the UK and Germany using the German Socio-Economic Panel and the British Household Panel Survey). We find decreases in working-hours bring about positive and significant improvement on well-being for women.
Gender mainstreaming as a principle of designing, implementing and evaluating policies according to their impact on men and women and their lives is one of the leading principles of EU policies. All national governments agreed on this principle but only a few countries really developed a gender mainstreaming approach. The paper is an attempt to describe the development of employment policies in Germany since mid 2000 and to analyze its gender impact – as far as possible. It shows that most elements of the far reaching reforms of labour market regulations which came into force since 2005 do have a negative impact on women's employment position, especially regarding the wages and employment conditions. The German government – although committed to the overall principle – did not hesitate to implement its policies although the negative impact could be foreseen. The paper covers the period till 2008, the recent developments since the beginning of the economic crisis are not included.
The Czech Republic has almost 12 years of experience with promoting equal opportunities
between women and men, five years as a member of the European Union. It
can therefore serve as a good example of ups and downs of the process in the new
member states. In my speech, I shall briefly recapitulate the history of equalopportunities
efforts in the Czech Republic against the backdrop of the usual indicators
(e.g. women’s employment, unemployment, gender pay gap, political participation
etc.). I shall also discuss the EU’s performance and (dis-)interest in the situation
in the new member states. As the title suggests, I shall argue that government’s
efforts to promote equal opportunities for women and men are half-hearted and have
minimal impact on the women’s condition. The EU does little to nothing to help bring
a real change.
The concept of equal opportunitiesP
1
P for women and men had no relevance for the
Czech government before 1998 since gender equality was supposedly one of the cornerstones
of socialism. Things did not change also during the first years after the fall
of the Iron Curtain. While various „women”P
2
P non-governmental organizations tried to
put gender inequalities on public agenda since the early 90s, politicians and state
bureaucrats paid no attention to their efforts. This was despite the fact that the
Czech Republic signed the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women as already as in March 1982.
The change came in the end of 1998. However, the reason was not a genuine interest
in equality, rather it was directly related to a prospect of joining the European
Union (EU). Since then, we can trace a history of government’s equal opportunity
efforts which I shall briefly sketch in this paper. Concretely, I shall first provide basic
information about gender inequalities in the Czech Republic. Than, I shall outline the
main twists and turns of efforts of the successive Czech governments to build an
adequate institutional mechanism to support promotion of equal opportunities. Finally,
I shall also look at the impact of the EU along the way.
Footnotes:
P
Der zweite Band der Schriftenreihe des EMF-Instituts thematisiert die Konferenz „Familienunternehmen – „Wir reden
darüber!“ Im Mittelpunkt steht die Kommunikation im Familienunternehmen. Welche Sprache braucht ein Unternehmen? Welche
Regeln der Kommunikation gelten? Und sprechen Familienunternehmen
eine andere Sprache? Diese Schrift enthält – ganz im Sinne der Konferenz – keine rein wissenschaftlichen Abhandlungen, sondern einen bunten Mix aus neuen, praxisrelevanten wissenschaftlichen Fragestellungen und Erfahrungsberichten sowie Meinungen von Familienunternehmern.
The focus of this thesis is to study the impact, causes and solutions for Nokia’s strategy worn-out in the hypercompetitive smartphone segment. Based on industry experts interviews, internal documentation and market reports and analyses, the reasons for Nokia’s strategic drift are regrouped around two concepts: industry platform and dynamic capabilities. Three potential solutions, benchmarked from different industries, are suggested to avoid drift situations in similar market environments. Finally, the scenario analysis of
Nokia’s current strategic answers to its drift shows the non-sustainability of Windows Phone’s choice as unique smartphone platform. Corrective suggestions include essentially the leverage of Nokia’s services store, the creation of a cross-platform payment and banking solution and the coring towards vehicle and home entertainment industries. Keywords: Strategic drift, hypercompetition, mobile phone market, industry platform.
Abgesehen von dem europäischen Zahlungsmittel, dem Euro, hat sich die Europäische
Union eher unbemerkt zu einer Rechtsgemeinschaft entwickelt, die unser
Alltagsleben und die rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen in vielfältiger Weise beeinflusst
und verändert hat. Im Zentrum meines Beitrages steht die Frage, inwieweit
die europäische Rechtspraxis die Gleichberechtigung der Frauen in Europa
fördert und welche Chancen bzw. Risiken sie beinhaltet. Zu Recht sind bisher gerade
aus der Geschlechterperspektive die Demokratiedefizite und die vorherrschende
Marktorientierung des europäischen Einigungsprozesses kritisiert worden.
Die neueren Ansätze zur vergleichenden Sozialpolitikforschung, die von Feministinnen
in Europa im Blick auf die nach wie vor geschlechtsspezifische Arbeitsteilung
und die ungleiche Verteilung aller fürsorglichen Tätigkeiten/Care zu
einem Konzept von Bürgerrechten/Citizenship erweitert und radikalisiert wurden,
eröffnen gleichwohl Perspektiven, wie die politischen Mitwirkungsrechte der europäischen
Bürgerin neu zu denken und in Anspruch zu nehmen sind.
In this paper, I will present an overview of debates and empirical data concerning
what has been called the “unfinished” gender equality revolution from the
perspective of the gender division of paid and unpaid work and of the role of social
policies in either supporting or weakening this division. I will first discuss research
and debates on the link between the gender division of unpaid family
work and inequality in the labour market. Then, focusing exclusively on parenthood
as a crucial factor in (re-)producing differences between men and women
as well as among men and among women, I will discuss how different childcare
and parenthood policy packages contribute to strengthening or, on the contrary,
reducing the gendered impact of parenthood on labour market participation and
also social class differences among women. Finally, I will discuss how the present
economic crisis and the global competition through labour costs may affect further
developments in this policy field.
Das Thema der sexuellen Orientierung – zunehmend ausgedrückt mit der
Abkürzung GLBT für Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender – gewinnt im öffentlichmedialen
Bereich immer mehr an Präsenz. Über das Diversity Management
Konzept, das die Vielfalt der Belegschaft als Schlüsselgröße für den
geschäftlichen Erfolg betrachtet, wird es auch vermehrt in die Wirtschaft
getragen. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht vor diesem Hintergrund, inwiefern
der Umgang mit der sexuellen Orientierung am Arbeitsplatz als ein Aspekt von
menschlicher Vielfalt zum Unternehmenserfolg beitragen kann. Dazu werden
bisherige Forschungen zum Thema aufgegriffen und anhand einer Umfrage im
GLBT MitarbeiterInnennetzwerk von IBM Deutschland empirisch geprüft. Im
Fokus stehen die Folgen eines offen(er)er Umgangs mit der sexuellen
Orientierung für das Individuum, insbesondere bezüglich der Produktivität, und
das Unternehmen. Außerdem wird erörtert, welchen Einfluss Diversity
Management auf die Situation für GLBTs am Arbeitsplatz hat. Die Ergebnisse
stützen die Vermutung, dass die mit (GLBT) Diversity Management geförderte
sichtbare Vielfalt in der Belegschaft hinsichtlich der sexuellen Orientierung und
der aktive Umgang mit dem Thema auf allen Ebenen zum geschäftlichen Erfolg
eines Unternehmens beitragen kann.
Diese Studie unternimmt eine methodisch-empirische Bestandsaufnahme zur geleisteten
(bezahlten und unbezahlten) Arbeit von Frauen und Männern in Deutschland und ihren
empfangenen Sozialleistungen. Daraus werden Vorschläge für ein Forschungsdesign
„Gender Accounting“ entwickelt, welches die Bilanzierung eines durchschnittlichen Frauen-
und Männerlebens erlaubt. Ziel dieser Bilanzierung ist es, Ansatzpunkte für sozialpolitische
Maßnahmen unter Berücksichtigung von Geschlechterunterschieden zu identifizieren.
The general question raised in this paper is whether the relatively harmonic
image of a Scandinavian welfare model characterised by nearly full employment,
generous welfare benefits and ambitious principles of equality are downsized
when we are dealing with immigrants. In other words, is the Scandinavian
welfare model a stable pioneering model when the ‘immigrant dimension’ is
incorporated?
The paper sheds light on this rather broad question by examining two sets of
empirical questions concerning the output (the incorporation of the ‘immigrant
dimension’ into welfare state policies) and the outcome level (the impact of the
Scandinavian welfares state on immigrants’ integration into the host society),
respectively:
1) Output: Are the ambitious principles concerning solidarity, universalism,
equality and redistribution downscaled when it comes to welfare state policies
substantially targeted at immigrants? 2) Outcome: To what extent have the
Scandinavian welfare states been successful in promoting labour market
inclusion and reducing poverty and gender inequality among immigrants?
The paper argues that the relatively harmonic image of a stable model and
unified group of generous Scandinavian welfare states falls apart at some point
when the ‘immigrant dimension’ is incorporated.
The goal of this paper is to present the main research interests that have been
so far pointed out in the research on the issues of gender relations, employment
and childcare policies in the post-communist countries. First, I will characterise
the specifics of post-communist countries and briefly touch upon the importance
of socialist or communist legacies that are still making it difficult to introduce
gender equality principles and policies in most of these countries. Second, I will
go from this general perspective to more concrete issues, when I present the
varieties of outcomes in terms of childcare and family policies in Central and
Eastern Europe. Third, I will focus more on the situation in two countries:
Hungary and Poland, as they represent the two very different cases within the
whole group of countries. The paper outlines some basic problems and new
research results in the field of family, work and gender relations in the postcommunist
countries. An important message of this paper is that in spite of
common historical events and economic challenges shared by the postcommunist
countries, we can observe a variety of child care policy mixes within
this group of countries.
Selbstständige Frauen in Berlin – Erste Ergebnisse aus verschiedenen Datenquellen im Vergleich
(2012)
In dieser von September 2007 bis Januar 2008 durchgeführten Untersuchung
steht die Frage im Vordergrund, wie viele selbstständige Frauen bzw. wie viele
Unternehmen von Frauen es in Berlin gibt. Darüber hinaus geht es darum, Nähe-
res über die Gruppe der selbstständigen Berlinerinnen zu erfahren und die Unter-
nehmen von Frauen genauer zu beschreiben, um einerseits Unterschiede und
Gemeinsamkeiten zu selbstständigen Männern festzustellen sowie andererseits
Berliner Besonderheiten im Verhältnis zur bundesdeutschen Situation insgesamt
zu identifizieren.
Zu diesem Zweck wurden alle für Berlin vorliegenden Datenquellen in Betracht
gezogen. Sekundäranalytisch ausgewertet wurden im Einzelnen: der Mikrozensus,
die Einkommensteuerstatistik, die Handwerkskammerstatistik, die Creditreform -
Daten und Eintragungen des Berliner Handelsregisters.
Die Anzahl der selbstständigen Frauen und Frauenunternehmen fällt je nach Da-
tenquelle unterschiedlich aus. Welche Aussagen zu den jeweiligen Datensätzen
getroffen werden können wird in jedem Kapitel einzeln dargelegt. Insgesamt,
über alle Datenquellen hinweg, kann gezeigt werden, dass der Frauenanteil an
den Selbstständigen bei ca. 35 Prozent für Berlin liegt und der Anteil der Frauen-
unternehmen an allen Unternehmen bei ca. 21 Prozent. Dies ist im Vergleich zur
Bundesrepublik mit einem durchschnittlichen Frauenanteil an den Selbstständigen
von knapp 30 Prozent relativ hoch.
This chapter presents in brief the EU‟s policy geared towards equality issues,
both with regard to gender and more broadly. It then discusses (non-)
compliance with EU law as a major problem and presents potential remedies.
The latter are tailor-made on the basis of findings from two large-scale
research projects on EU policy implementation, in the „old” EU15 plus later
four countries from Central and Eastern Europe: the Czech Republic, Hungary,
Slovakia and Slovenia.
Going beyond the traditional „compliance“ debate that is ongoing in various
journals and geared towards a specialized political science sub-community,
this contribution focuses on the wider social reform issues arising from the
finding that there are serious compliance problems almost everywhere in
the EU, particularly when enforcement and application of the equality and
working time standards are considered and not only formal „transposition“
into domestic law.
Abstract
This study is aimed at examining and comparing revitalisation activities conducted by the three Southern unions labelled as social movement unionism (SMU) such as the Central Únicados Trabalhadores (CUT) from Brazil, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU).
This study raises some theoretical issues such as the weakness of ‘multi-dimensional approach’, relationship between revitalisation and trade union power resources, and the relationship between union ideological identity and movement/organisational identity.
In the main chapters, dominant forms of strategies conducted by the three Southern unions along four revitalisation dimensions such as membership, economic, political and institutional vitality are presented with comparative analysis using four factors: socio/economic change, political and industrial relations institutions, employers and state’s strategy and union identity.
This study reaffirms that union’s strategic choice is influenced not only by external environments but by internal dynamics including union identity and leadership. In particular, this study cases demonstrates that strong tradition of SMU which has still remained has had considerable impact on union’s strategic choice, even though they are operating in different external environments.
Lastly, this study suggests that the outcome of revitalisation activities should be measured in more careful manner. As much as the meaning of revitalisation varies cross the countries, the measurement of outcomes also varies. In particular, this study emphasises that union revitalisation process should be interpreted and guided by power resources perspective on the longer term.
Abstract
The following thesis examines China‟s civil aviation industry in the context of its
current conception and the competitive behavior of its airlines in the domestic market. By
analyzing the current competitive conduct in the market, the strategic position of the airlines
and the level of state intervention will be revealed. In order to investigate the airlines‟
competitive behavior in the domestic market a set of two theoretical approaches will be
applied. By the means of the „Choice Theory‟, the influencing factors of choosing the most
suitable airline for a trip will be identified. Furthermore, the „Pricing Theory‟ will be used to
describe the phenomena of discounted fares and yield management created by the airlines in
order to maximize their revenues. The analysis itself consists out of a 40 day long examination
of the lowest fare development in three distinct city pairs.
The results of the analysis will display that although the domestic market is of an
oligopolistic nature, it is a competitive environment with its airlines strategically positioning
themselves from another. It will further indicate that the smaller carriers in the market refrain
from entering in direct competition with the larger airlines and finally, it will also reveal that
there is state intervention towards the booking and pricing policies of the airlines.
In 2011 for the first time, nearly half of Chinas inhabitants lived in cities. China´s rapid urbanization level remains relatively low compared to other developing countries. Chengdu, China´s fourth largest city, has seen its population increase by 30% in the last ten years. With rapid urbanization comes great socio-economic change, which will challenge the city in the coming years.
This paper intends to use an urbanization process model to evaluate the methods and socio-economic effects of Chengdu´s urbanization. A series of problems are found in the relationship between Chengdu´s urbanization and rural development. Migration may explode in the city and deprive agricultural lands needed to modernize the industry. Furthermore, growth of the city will require more development and city expansion onto China´s increasingly rare fertile lands. This paper will examine the results and offer suggestions on how to Chengdu can continue urbanization responsibly.
After 1978 economics reform, China started to absorb Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and became the second biggest country in the world after USA for inward FDI. Almost all of famous and big Multi-National Companies (MNCs) invested in China. Huge domestic market, cheap labor force and government incentives make China an attractive place for foreign investors. However, both foreign investors and China have benefited from mutual relation. Yet, FDI has negative impact on China’s wage dispersion and income inequality. This thesis examines the positive and negative effects of FDI in China industrial sector during 1999-2010 using fact findings methodology. Main data is from China Statistical Year Book. The results of this research show that FDI has positive effects on GDP, labour and capital productivity, exports, and workers’ education and skill levels through technology spillover, management know how, and productivity and marketing competence. In contrast, FDI has negative effect on wage inequality and deepened wage gap between skilled and unskilled workers.
Volkswagen is chosen as a case study to examine the effects of its investment on China's car industry. Volkswagen entered into China through joint venture with Chinese partners in 1984, only 6 years after economic reform. Volkswagen long term presence helps it to know Chinese market better and to expand its activity in different regions. Volkswagen with about 20 percent market share in China car industry has big role in spillover effect. High population and fast growing middle class in China motivate Volkswagen to focus only in domestic market. High demand for VW's passenger cars encouraged the company to invest immensely in supply chain in China which has positive effect on labour productivity, investment and workers’ education and skill levels in China's automotive industries. Although, there is no access to precise data about WV's wage structure, yet it is obvious that the wage gap in the company is serious and the company also exacerbates the income inequality in China.
Debate about alternative monetary systems – Silvio Gesell, John Maynard Keynes, Irving Fisher
(2013)
Due to the instability of current financial and monetary markets worldwide and the dysfunc-tions of current capitalism, this Master’s thesis studies alternative monetary systems. The ob-jective of this paper is to debate about historical as well as current alternative monetary sys-tems and to evaluate their concept, theory and success.
First of all, the theoretical approaches to the problems of monetary systems of Silvio Gesell, John Maynard Keynes and Irving Fisher will be analyzed. Furthermore, a critical acclaim will be subjected by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of these reforms. Finally, the theories of the three economists will be compared in order to define similarities and differ-ences. In the second main part, this thesis aims out exploring alternative monetary systems which have been implemented into practice. In the course of this analysis two historical case studies as well as seven current ones will be described and evaluated. The historical alterna-tive monetary systems are based on Gesell’s approach and the current systems represent com-plementary currency systems. The aim of this evaluation is to identify if alternative monetary systems can offer an added value for the economy and society. In the last chapter, this paper also aims out exploring if a global alternative monetary system could be established.
In conclusion, it can be said that all three economists developed alternative monetary systems which could have been very effective at that time. Nowadays, an adaptation of these systems is needed by changing them to complementary currencies instead of replacing the official cur-rencies or by guaranteeing the preservation of national sovereignty for instance. In addition, complementary currency systems can be very successful by stimulating the local economy as well as strengthening the community. Furthermore, they are able to offer a monetary stability, sustainability and reduction of international inequalities. Nevertheless, they have to be man-aged well and there has to be a democratic decision on the amount of complementary curren-cy that should be issued.
In summary, the introduction of complementary currency systems is recommended, because they are able to strengthen the economy as well as the community. If the economy is weak, these systems will have the potential to support the national currency by stimulating the local economy. Furthermore, these systems do not represent a high risk of financial failure due to low start-up costs.
The term Hidden Champions has been invented in the 1990’s by management thinker
Hermann Simon to designate extremely well performing mid-size businesses, mostly coming
from Germanic countries (Simon, H., 2009). The present study aims to prove and confirm the
presence of such companies in France and to find possible differences and similarities
between Hidden Champions of the two countries. The main results show that the phenomenon
of Hidden Champions exists in France as well but that these companies are less numerous and
smaller in terms of revenues and in terms of employees. Industries in which they operate are
also very different although some similarities have been found. They nevertheless share
similar strategic vision and export-sales ratios with their German counterparts. Origins of
identified differences are partially investigated and elements of culture, administration and
history give first reflections on how to explain them. Finally, new debates and the
introduction to new tools for measuring the criteria concerning notoriety set by Simon are
presented in the last part.
Macroeconomic Effects of Fiscal Consolidation: New Evidence from the Great Recession in Europe?
(2013)
Large fiscal consolidation packages aiming at reducing budget deficits and debt levels to
prudent levels have been designed to overcome the Great Recession in Europe. This paper
investigates how fiscal consolidation is conducted in four sample countries in order to
comply with the respective limits under the Excessive Deficit Procedure of the Stability
and Growth Pact. The subsequent macroeconomic analysis reveals that the consolidation
measures do not only fall back behind their aim of reducing the public debt-to-GDP ratio,
but lead to overall devastating economic consequences, especially in the peripheral
countries. The central argument of the thesis claims that restrictive austerity measures are
currently self-defeating and harmful for economic growth. Moreover, the reluctance to
induce a change in these measures will drive the economies even further into a state of
recession instead of stabilizing their economic positions. The main finding of this paper is
that the negative outcomes would have been predictable much earlier if policy makers had
based their decisions on standard macroeconomic theory. The underestimation of fiscal
multipliers and the misinterpreted crowding out effect are only some factors that indicates
the need to loosen up the tight budget constraints and refocus on a more growth-friendly
consolidation process.
Executive Summary
Das Bundesministerium für Justiz (BMJ) hat am 28.12.2012 ein neues Gesetz zur Umsetzung der sogenannten Micro-Richtlinie 2012/6/EU über Erleichterungen in der Rechnungslegung für Kleinstkapitalgesellschaften veröffentlicht1; das Kleinstkapital-gesellschaften Bilanzrechtsänderungsgesetz kurz MicroBilG.
Das Gesetz enthält Änderungen im handelsrechtlichen Bilanzrecht für Kleinstkapital-gesellschaften und gilt für Geschäftsjahre, die sich auf einen nach dem 30.12.2012 liegenden Abschlussstichtag beziehen, d. h. bereits für den Jahresabschluss 2012.
Während Einzelkaufleute bereits mit dem Bilanzrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz (BilMoG) am 25. Mai 20092 von der Buchführungspflicht und der Pflicht zur Aufstel-lung von Jahresabschlüssen befreit wurden, unterlagen Kleinstbetriebe, die in der Rechtsform einer Kapitalgesellschaft oder einer Personenhandelsgesellschaft ohne vollhaftende natürliche Personen organisiert sind europarechtlichen Vorgaben hin-sichtlich ihrer Rechnungslegung.
Durch das MicroBilG wird es unterdessen Kleinstunternehmen gewährt, auf die Er-stellung eines Anhangs vollständig zu verzichten, wenn sie bestimmte Angaben unter der Bilanz ausweisen. Darüber hinaus sollen weitere Optionen zur Verringerung der Darstellungstiefe im Jahresabschluss eingeräumt werden. Ferner können Kleinst-kapitalgesellschaften künftig wählen, ob sie die Offenlegungspflicht durch Veröffent-lichung oder durch Hinterlegung der Bilanz erfüllen. Über die für die Kleinstkapital-gesellschaften vorgesehenen Erleichterungen hinaus, enthält das MicroBilG einzelne redaktionelle Änderungen sowie Klarstellung bilanzrechtlicher Vorschriften3.
In der folgenden Arbeit werden ausgehendend von einer Darbietung des MicroBilG die wesentlichen Änderungen, die sich für das Handelsgesetzbuch ergeben haben, dargestellt und daraufhin einer kritischen Würdigung unterzogen. Insbesondere soll auf die Fragen eingegangen werden, ob die Erleichterungen des MicroBilG zu einer tatsächlichen Entlastung der Kleinstbetriebe führen und des Weiteren einen Mehrwert für die deutsche Wirtschaft haben.