External refereed essays

Efficiency Analysis of East and West German Electricity Distribution Companies: Do the "Ossis" Really Beat the "Wessis"?

External Debt in Post-Conflict Countries

In the development literature, there exists no systematic study of external borrowing in post-conflict countries. We address this gap by analyzing statistical and case study evidence from three African countries. We find that many war-affected countries face rising debt arrears and deteriorating relations with creditors. Rebuilding trust between lenders and borrowers is hence a crucial but often slow ...

Diversifizierungsstrategien deutscher Unternehmen: Auswertung eines Producer-Product-Panels der amtlichen Statistik

Unternehmen und Arbeitsmarkt in Bewegung: was gewinnt die Forschung durch amtliche Mikrodaten?

Using the Gravity Equation to Differentiate among Alternative Theories of Trade: Another Look

This study compares two alternative approaches - the traditional ordinary least square (OLS) and the Poisson Quasi Maximum Likelihood (PQML) procedures - to estimation of the home market effects for the heterogeneous, the reference priced and the homogeneous goods in the gravity model derived in Feenstra et al. (2001). Despite our findings that the PQML estimation results oftentimes (significantly) ...

On Estimating an Asset's Implicit Beta

A.F. Siegel (1995) has developed a technique with which the systematic risk of a security (beta) can be estimated without recourse to historical capital market data. Instead, beta is estimated implicity from the current market prices of exchange options that enable the exchange of a security against shares on the market index. Because this type of exchange options is not currently traded on the capital ...

Distributive Effekte der deutschen Abgeltungssteuer auf Kapitaleinkünfte

The Excess Demand for Subsidized Child Care in Germany

The extension of publicly provided or subsidized child care is currently one of the priorities of the political agenda in many European countries. In this article, the excess demand for subsidized child care slots in Germany is estimated using a partial observability model. The results show that there is considerable excess demand for child care for children aged less than 3 years in East and West ...

Modeling Structural Change: An Application to the New EU Member States and Accession Candidates

The rapid changes in the transition economies must be evaluated in a comparative context. This paper provides a comprehensive comparative analysis using a large panel data set of market economies as a reference point. We wish to establish the extent and speed with which the structures of the transition economies converge toward other country groups, ranked according to income levels. The exercise provides ...

Gerechtigkeitsprobleme im Wohlfahrtsstaat: Besteuerung, wohlfahrtsstaatliche Transfers und die Gerechtigkeit des eigenen Erwerbseinkommens

Why Are Mothers Working Longer Hours in Austria than in Germany? A Comparative Microsimulation Analysis

Labour force participation rates of mothers in Austria and Germany are similar; however, full-time employment rates are much higher among Austrian mothers. In order to find out to what extent these differences can be attributed to differences in the tax-transfer system, we perform a comparative microsimulation exercise. After estimatingstructural labour supply models for both countries, we interchange ...

The Cross-National Equivalent File (CNEF) and Its Member Country Household Panel Studies

Introduction

Computation of Standard Values for Physical and Mental Health Scale Scores Using the SOEP Version of SF-12v2

The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP): Scope, Evolution and Enhancements

Determinants of Fertility: An Application of Machine Learning Techniques

Initial Predictors of Life Satisfaction in Early Adulthood

Budget Processes: Theory and Experimental Evidence

This paper studies budget processes, both theoretically and experimentally. We compare the outcomes of bottom-up and top-down budget processes. It is often presumed that a top-down budget process leads to a smaller overall budget than a bottom-up budget process. Ferejohn and Krehbiel [Ferejohn, J., Krehbiel, K., 1987. The budget process and the sizeof the budget, Amer. J. Polit. Sci. 31, 296-320] showed ...

Innovationen für ein klimafreundliches Stromsystem

Renewable Energy and Employment in Germany

The positive impacts of an increasing share of renewable energy on the mitigation of climate change as well as on the decrease of the dependency of energy imports are indisputable. However, one persistent problem for the German economy has been its high level of unemployment in the recent past. Therefore, any policy strategy will be measured also by its net impact on the labor market. The paper describes ...