In this paper, we investigate how changes in the skill mix of local labor supply are absorbed by the economy. We distinguish between three adjustment mechanisms: through factor prices, through an expansion in the size of those production units that use the more abundant skill group more...

The traditional monetary policy transmission mechanism is based on the fact that, in the wake of a restrictive monetary policy stance, the interest rate rises and that therefore interest-rate-related variables, such as corporate asset formation, dec1ine or increase less sharply than at the given...

This paper introduces a statistical technique, Support Vector Machines (SVM), which is considered by the Deutsche Bundesbank as an alternative for company rating. A special attention is paid to the features of the SVM which provide a higher accuracy of company classification into solvent and...

Virtually all empirical firm-level studies on the demand for labor do not include labor cost in the econometric specification. This is due to the fact that business and innovation survey data usually lack information on labor cost. This paper shows how reliable skill-specific and firm-specific...

This paper uses a game theoretic model to investigate the 1993-94 split-up of the main German pharmaceutical association into an association for multinational, researchbased companies and an association representing small and medium-sized firms. In order to explain the breakdown of cooperation...