We estimate the causal impact of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme on manufacturing firms using comprehensive panel data from the German production census. Semiparametric matching estimators yield robust evidence that the policy caused treated firms to abate one fifth of their CO2 emissions...

We compare, based on German data, the income of self-employed individuals with and without employees with the income of dependently employed individuals. Our results show that self-employed with employees tend to earn significantly higher incomes than their salaried counterparts, while with the...

Communism in East Germany sought to dampen the effect of market forces on firm productivity for nearly 40 years. How did East German firms respond to the free market after being thrust into it in 1990? We use a formal learning model and German business survey data to analyze the lasting impact...

This paper provides empirical evidence on the relationship between cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and innovation. For the empirical analysis a unique firm-level data set is constructed that combines balance sheet data and an M&A database with information on patent applications....

The elasticity of business capital to changes in its user cost is central to the economic analysis of fiscal policies. As a major component, the user cost of capital includes a firm's marginal tax rate. Due to the asymmetric treatment of tax losses and profits, the marginal tax rate can depart...

Using a representative establishment data set for Germany, we show that, in line with the existing literature for several countries, fi rms' adjustment costs for employment are characterized by a fixed and convex functional form. Furthermore, they are asymmetric with dismissal costs exceeding...

This paper empirically evaluates the effects of a merger between the two largest book retail chains in the UK. We build an original dataset of book titles with data on the prices at the store level and at the national level. We then apply difference-in-differences techniques to assess the impact...

This papers analyses how horizontal mergers affect innovation activities of the merged entity and its non-merging competitors. We develop an oligopoly model with heterogeneous firms to derive empirically testable implications. Our model predicts that a merger is more likely to be profitable in...

We provide evidence on the growth patterns of microfinance clients. Our analysis is motivated by the debate on the impact of microfinance on client income and growth. Based on loan-level data from close to 40,000 clients in Sub-Saharan Africa we make use of an econometric approach widely...

The empirical investment literature provides evidence on financing constraints mostly by estimating cash-flow sensitivities for a priori (un-)constrained firms or develops rather ad-hoc indicators to explain firms' differential access to external capital. However, the sources and determinants of...