The article explores the effectiveness of divestitures as a remedy for upstream horizontal mergers in vertically related markets. We argue that competition authorities ignoring the asymmetric bargaining power between upstream and downstream firms when assessing the choice of the buyer of the divested brands is likely to implement an inadequate policy. First, a small buyer with high bargaining power ...
A large group of people is unable to keep up with the increasing retirement age and remain in the workforce until retirement for health reasons. The disability pension that exists today is only suitable to a limited extent to protect this group. The decisive factor for the reduced earning capacity is not the last activity performed, but all activities "under the usual conditions of the general...
Promoting fathers to take parental leave is seen as a promising way to advancegender equality. However, there is still a very limited understanding of its impact on fathers’ labor market outcomes. We conducted a correspondence study to analyze whether fathers who take parental leave face discrimination during the hiring process in three different occupations. Fathers who took parental leave in a female-dominated ...
Conversational AI models are becoming increasingly popular and are about to replace traditional search engines for information retrieval and product discovery. This raises concerns about monetization strategies and the potential for subtle consumer manipulation. Companies may have financial incentives to steer users toward search results or products in a conversation in ways that are unnoticeable...
Countries are increasingly turning to non-tariff barriers that are hard to measure and often illegal under WTO rules. What are the impacts of these policies, and what do they reveal about market power in international trade? We study a comprehensive system of discretionary import licenses imposed by Argentina, where we observe the universe of transaction-level requests and approval decisions...
In this project, we analyze whether the arts can mitigate negative impacts of social distancing and isolation on mental health and wellbeing, ease the burden of closed day-care and school facilities on families, and preserve attitudes of solidarity and trust. Using the SOEP-CoV questionnaire, we examine whether experience with music enabled individuals and households to handle social isolation and ...
Combining the frameworks of fundamental causes theory and diffusion of innovation, scholars had anticipated a delayed COVID-19 vaccination uptake for people in lower socioeconomic position depending on the socioeconomic context. We qualify these propositions and analyze educational differences in COVID-19 vaccination status over the first ten months of Germany’s vaccination campaign in 2021. Data from ...
Stock market participation among working household heads jumped upwards in 2020-in Germany by about 25%. A major cause is the required use of work from home (WfH). We show this by repeating a benchmark study and adding WfH to the explanatory variables. Moreover, we implement an instrumental variables estimation based on industry-specific levels of WfH-capacity. The transmission channels seem to work ...
