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Taxonomy Disclosure in the EU: A Useful Framework, Despite Current Challenges

The EU Taxonomy is a classification system for sustainable economic activities and a framework for various regulatory initiatives. Its primary objectives are to enhance transparency, to reduce greenwashing and ultimately to redirect capital toward more sustainable activities. However, since its introduction, market participants have raised concerns about whether the benefits justify the costs. This ...

Contracts in Crisis: The War in Ukraine and Long-Term Contracts in Energy Markets

We examine the impact of the war in Ukraine on long-term contracts in energy markets. We find that traded contract volumes fall by 65 percent in the first months of the war. A collapse in bilateral trading contributes most to this decline. To protect themselves from price shocks, firms increasingly turned to long-term contracts already before the war. In sum, our results show that the market continued ...

Podcast 'fossilfrei' - #31 Der EU-Emissionshandel: Leitinstrument, Taschenspielertricks und das Endgame

Hier kommt der zweite Teil der Doppelfolge zur CO2-Bepreisung, diesmal mit Dr. Michael Pahle vom Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung. Zunächst klären wir, warum CO2 einen Preis haben sollte und auf welche Arten er zustande kommen kann. Wir sortieren, warum es bald zwei verschiedene Handelssysteme gibt, was die wesentlichen Unterschiede zwischen ETS-I und ETS-II sind, und welche Taschenspielertricks ...

Digital Skills: Social Disparities and the Impact of Early Mentoring

We investigate social disparities in digital skills, focusing on both actual proficiency levels and confidence in these skills. Drawing on a representative sample from Germany, we first demonstrate that both dimensions strongly predict labor market success. We then use this sample to identify gender and socioeconomic disparities in levels and confidence. Finally, using a long-run RCT panel framework ...

15 Euro Mindestlohn sind gut für Deutschland

Optimal Discounts in Green Public Procurement

We provide an auction-theoretical analysis of Green Public Procurement (GPP) as a preferential program aimed at stimulating investment in green technologies. We find that GPP incentivizes more competitive firms to invest. We also show that GPP can be an optimal mechanism for a procurer who cares about minimizing the purchasing price while triggering green investment.

Neue Regierung investiert Milliarden: wie gefährlich ist unsere Abhängigkeit vom Erdgas?

15 Euro Mindestlohn sind gut für Deutschland

Als vor zehn Jahren eine Lohnuntergrenze von 8,50 Euro eingezogen wurde, warnten Ökonomen vor Massenarbeitslosigkeit. Eine erneute Erhöhung wird der Wirtschaft helfen. Vor zehn Jahren wurde in Deutschland erstmals ein allgemeiner gesetzlicher Mindestlohn eingeführt – und er hat sich als großer Erfolg erwiesen. Auch deshalb hat die SPD in den Koalitionsverhandlungen gefordert, ihn ab kommendem Jahr ...

Public Communication and Collusion: New Screening Tools for Competition Authorities

Competition authorities increasingly rely on economic screening tools to identify markets where firms deviate from competitive norms. Traditional screening methods assume that collusion occurs through secret agreements. However, recent research highlights that firms can use public announcements to coordinate decisions, reducing competition while avoiding detection. We propose a novel approach to...

What is the “Right” Geographic Market Definition?

This paper examines the “right” geographic definition of relevant markets by analysing how excise tax pass-through varies with local competition in the retail gasoline market of Athens, Greece. Using a natural experiment from three unanticipated and exogenous fuel tax hikes in 2010 and detailed station-level price data, we show that average pass-through is almost complete and invariant to the...