Prof. Dr. Günter Lang

Associate Professor for Applied Economics

Prof. Dr. Günter Lang

Associate Professor for Applied Economics

Günter Lang is Associate Professor for Applied Economics at the Kühne Logistics University, which he joined in 2014. He received both his PhD and his Habilitation in Economics from the University of Augsburg. Before joining KLU, he was Professor of Economics at the German University in Cairo and visiting professor at the Technical University Ilmenau, the University of Klagenfurt (Austria) and the University of Augsburg. His professional experience includes lecture visits at the ADG Business School in Montabaur, the Warsaw School of Economics and the University of Bratislava.

His research focuses on empirical questions with relevance for management and policy makers. In particular, Günter Lang uses econometric methods to estimate characteristics of firm technology, the degree of management (in-)efficiency, or the analysis of environmental problems like impacts of global warming on selected regions or sectors. In complementary research, he is also interested in technological change like the fertility of R&D and in the analysis of economic policy. The Social Sciences Citation Index currently counts 250 citations of his journal publications.

In his role as Associate Professor, Günter Lang's main focus is on high-quality teaching in the fields of Economics and Econometrics.

UP CLOSE & PERSONAL

Up Close & Personal

“I’m an economist and as an economist, we must not only have good analytical skills, but we must have passion in our work”.
– Prof. Dr. Günter Lang

Selected Publications

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-007-9277-9 

Abstract: Motivated by the high abatement costs of the Kyoto Protocol for Germany, this paper is estimating the economic impact of global warming on agriculture in that country. The hedonic approach is used as theoretical background. Stating that land prices are – among others – determined by climatic factors, this approach can consequently be used to value global warming. To avoid a priori restrictions stemming from functional forms, the land price function is modeled as quadratic Box–Cox function that nests a wide range of specifications. In a second step, the estimated results are used to forecast the impact of climate change. The results indicate that German farmers will be winners of climate change in the short run, with maximum gains occurring at a temperature increase of +0.6°C against current levels. In the long run, there may be losses from global warming. However, the net present value from climate change is under the most probable scenarios positive.

Export record: Citavi Endnote RIS ISI BibTeX WordXML

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2009.07.008 

Abstract: Motivated by recent statistics that show significant growth in labor productivity, this paper seeks to analyze the long-term relationship between domestic R&D, knowledge stock and productivity dynamics. Time series data of the German manufacturing industry is used to estimate a variable cost function with the stock of knowledge being dependent upon current and past R&D spending. The estimates indicate that 50% of the effects of R&D on the knowledge stock appear within 4 years. However, the rate of return on R&D are shown to be drastically declining; recent rates of return on R&D are estimated to have reached an all-time low spanning the last 45 years. Current yields of R&D are only one third compared to the sixties. In conclusion, though the productivity slowdown of the seventies seems to have been overcome, this is not attributed to R&D investments.

Export record: Citavi Endnote RIS ISI BibTeX WordXML

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-004-7581-4 

Abstract: Immigrants in Germany have poor earnings performance relative to natives. Claiming that human-capital endowments determine earnings potentials rather than actual earnings, a stochastic earnings frontier is estimated and used to seek systematic differences between natives and migrants for GSOEP data for the year 2000. While empirical results clearly support the frontier assumption, natives and immigrants are surprisingly about the same with respect to the frontier. Assuming a halfnormal distribution of the wage gap, on average, both groups transform a modest 84% share of their potential income into market earnings. This implies wage inequality can be attributed to humancapital differentials alone. The human-capital endowments of immigrants are largely determined by the very low percentage who have college degrees, their slow assimilation and zero-return on imported experience. The paper also tries to explain individual wage gaps, which are significantly decreased in married subjects raising families, but increased in employees in small- or medium-sized relative to larger firms. However, these variables only make minor contributions to the variance.

Export record: Citavi Endnote RIS ISI BibTeX WordXML

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008130918565 

Abstract: Based on an unbalanced panel of all Bavarian cooperative banks for the years of 1989--97, which includes information on 283 mergers, we analyze motives and cost effects of small-scale mergers in German banking. Estimating a frontier cost function with a time-variable stochastic efficiency term, we show that positive scale and scope effects from a merger arise only if the merged unit closes part of the former branch network. When we compare actual mergers to a simulation of hypothetical mergers, size effects of observed mergers turn out to be slightly more favorable than for all possible mergers. Banks taken over by others are less efficient than the average bank in the same size class, but exhibit, on average, the same efficiency as the acquiring firms. For the post-merger phase, our empirical results provide no evidence for efficiency gains from merging, but point instead to a leveling off of differences among the merging units.

Export record: Citavi Endnote RIS ISI BibTeX WordXML

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-4266(95)00040-2 

Abstract: Using 1989–1992 individual data of 757 German cooperative banks and applying the intermediation approach we specify a multi-product translog cost function for this part of the German banking industry. For all size classes moderate economies of scale can be identified. There is also evidence of economies of scope which supports the notion of universal banking. As for cost efficiency, we find that the average banks in all size classes deviate considerably from the best practice cost frontier. All banks enjoy growth of total factor productivity, which is higher for the smaller banks in the sample.

Export record: Citavi Endnote RIS ISI BibTeX WordXML

Academic Positions

Since 2014

Adjunct Professor of Economics at Kühne Logistics University, Hamburg

2012 - 2014

Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Management Technology, German University in Cairo/Egypt

2011 - 2012

Visiting Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Management and Economics, University of Augsburg

2006 - 2011

Head of the Economics Department and Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Management Technology, German University in Cairo/Egypt

2004 - 2006

Associate Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Management and Economics, University of Augsburg

2003 - 2004

Visiting Professor of Media Economics at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, University of Klagenfurt/ Austria

2001 - 2003

Associate Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Management and Economics, University of Augsburg

2000 - 2001

Visiting Professor of Media Management at the Faculty of Mathematics, Technical University Ilmenau

1999 - today

Teaching in different MBA, EMBA, and Master courses in addition to the core activities as shown here

1989 - 2000

Assistant/Lecturer, Faculty of Management and Economics, University of Augsburg

Education

1998

Habilitation and venia legendi in Economics, University of Augsburg (non-cumulative)

1993

Dr. rer. pol., University of Augsburg (summa cum laude – the highest possible honors)

1989

Diploma in Economics and Management (M.Sc. equiv.), University of Augsburg

2019 - Best Paper Award of the EURASIA BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS SOCIETY (EBES)

Guenter Lang and Ronia Hawash received the best paper award for their joint paper Does the Digital Gap Matter? Estimating the Impact of ICT on Productivity in Developing Countries presented at the EBES 2019 Conference in Coventry.

2017 - Teaching Award of the Kuehne Logistics University

Guenter Lang received KLU’s Teaching Award at the graduation ceremony 2017. Once per year and selected by a student committee, one member of the residential faculty is honored for good teaching in lectures and seminars.

1998 - Scientific Award of the Johannes-Kepler-University Linz (Austria)

Guenter Lang and Peter Welzel received the scientific award of Johannes-Kepler-University for their joint paper Mergers among German cooperative Banks - A Panel-based Stochastic Frontier Analysis, published in Small Business Economics (DOI: 10.1023/A:1008130918565 ). The paper estimates and discusses the effects of mergers among small German banks.

1993 - Outstanding PhD Award of the University of Augsburg

Guenter Lang received this price for his dissertation which analyzes the technology and the market strategies of the German pulp and paper industry. On a yearly base, three excellent dissertations submitted to the University of Augsburg are awarded by this “Universitätspreis”.