Why do some countries join the EU earlier than others, why do others wait? In order to answer this question we apply the theory of investment under uncertainty (Dixit and Pindyck, 1994) to the decision on EU-membership. We develop a simplified model of two periods to study how the value of...

Welfare gains from increasing product variety are an important source of the gains from international trade. Recent empirical studies have largely focused on measuring the gains from an increased variety of imports. Trade theory, however, suggests that international trade heavily affects the...

This paper examines the unprecedented decimation of sharks. We develop a Ricardian Gordon-Schaefer model with a continuum of heterogeneous species which are subject to combined harvesting and perfect substitutability in consumption. The model implies that slow-growing species, surviving in...

Why do some countries join the EU earlier than others, why do others wait? In order to answer this question we apply the theory of investment under uncertainty (Dixit and Pindyck, 1994) to the decision on EU-membership. We develop a simplified model of two periods to study how the value of...

This article challenges the view that a lack of competition and a high level of regulations are the main causes of Switzerland's high prices. First, we point out a number of stylized facts which are inconsistent with this popular view. Second, we econometrically asses the "competition-regulation...

This paper argues that economic competition and political contestability are two key determinants of the successful development of the Swiss economy in the nineteenth and twentieth century. We describe how Switzerland evolved from a relatively poor country with no natural resources and net...

Die Integration der Volkswirtschaften führt neben anderen Effekten auch zu einer Zunahme der gehandelten Produktvielfalt. Seit den theoretischen Modellen von Nobelpreisträger Paul Krugmann beschäftigt sich die Handelstheorie mit der Frage, wie stark die Konsumenten von einer Zunahme dieser...

In den letzten 10 Jahren scheint sich die Arbeitsmarktsituation der niedrig qualifizierten Arbeitskräfte in der Schweiz verschlechtert zu haben. In der öffentlichen Debatte ist man sich uneins bezüglich Ausmass und Ursache dieser Entwicklung. Allgemein wird jedoch der Globalisierung...

Die Frage der Zulassung von Parallelimporten von patentierten Gütern wird in der Schweiz kontrovers diskutiert. Medikamente stellen dabei einen Spezialfall der Güter mit Patentschutz dar, da die Preise für Medikamente in allen westlichen Ländern durch staatliche Behörden direkt oder...