Potable water supply in Germany is highly fragmented. A consolidation of the industry could, therefore, lead to lower cost of water supply and price savings for the customers. In this paper we estimate a total cost function for potable water supply based on a unique sample of German water utilities observed between 2004 and 2010. Newly available data allows for a detailed cost modeling approach. Capital ...
We present a medium-term market equilibrium model of the North American crude oil sector via which we develop a scenario analysis to investigate strategies to mitigate the environmental and public-safety risks from crude-by-rail transportation across the United States. The model captures crude oil movements across rail- roads, pipelines and waterways, while distinguishing between light and heavy crude ...
Die Digitalisierung verändert heute viele Märkte auf dramatische Weise. Im Mittelpunkt des aktuellen Interesses stehen Chancen und Potentiale der sogenannten „Sharing Economy“, also des Teilens von Ressourcen über das Internet. Neue Vermittlungsdienste wie Uber, BlaBlaCar oder WunderCar für Autofahrten, sowie AirBnB oder Wimdu für Übernachtungen...
In the German financial sector, the majority of employees are women, but it is still men who hold the top positions. With women making up only 4.2 percent of the boards of the largest banks and savings banks, they were still vastly underrepresented at the end of 2012 (up 1 percentage point from the end of 2011). The story is similar on the boards of the major insurance companies. The situation is somewhat ...
Using data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) earnings differentials between self-employed and wage-employed workers in the German labor market are explored. Previous research based on US data reports lower incomes for entrepreneurs. In contrast to that, the findings of this contribution suggest the opposite for German entrepreneurs. They have considerably higher earnings than wage-employed ...
Often, a person will become an entrepreneur only after a period of dependent employment, suggesting that occupational choices precede entrepreneurial choices. We investigate the relationship between occupational choice and self-employment. The findings suggest that the occupational choice of future entrepreneurs at the time of labor market entry is partly guided by a taste for skill variety, the prospect ...
This paper analyses how increased offshoring impacts on labor income risk. It is therefore distinct from a large number of studies explaining the level effects of globalization on the labor market in that it takes a look at effects on the variability of incomes. It provides an assessment that directly connects labor income risk and offshoring trends in a panel setting at the industry level. Importantly, ...
Im Finanzsektor stellen Frauen die Mehrheit der Beschäftigten, an der Spitze stehen aber nach wie vor Männer. Bei einem Anteil von gut vier Prozent waren Frauen in den Vorständen der größten Banken und Sparkassen auch Ende 2012 noch immer die große Ausnahme (+1 Prozentpunkt gegenüber Ende 2011). In den Vorständen der großen Versicherungen sieht es ähnlich aus. Etwas besser stellt sich die Situation ...