In this paper we analyze the money demand functions of the four largest EMU countries and of the four-country (EMU-4) aggregate. We identify reasonable and stable money demand relationships for Germany, France and Spain as well as the EMU-4 aggregate. For the case of Italy, results are less...

Due to labor market reforms in Germany some years ago, the incentives to work changed. The paper analyzes the effects on the reservation wages for specific groups. It is assumed that reservation wages are determined by the replacement rates implied by the system of unemployment benefits and by...

The income tax rate structure introduced in 2007 was changed in 2009. The income tax rates will be lowered in 2010, too. The effects on the wage income tax revenues and on the incentives to work are analyzed. It turns out that "bracket creep" will remain a problem in Germany.

This paper provides micro-econometric evidence on the relevance of non-market interaction for the timing of initial public offerings (IPOs) in the French and German primary equity markets. The surge of IPO volume in the late 1990s appears to be consistent with rational expectations, not with...

Die starken Preissteigerungen für Benzin in den letzten 2 Jahren sind häufig auf mangelnden Wettbewerb zurückgeführt worden. Die These wird überprüft, indem die Wettbewerbsstruktur bei Tankstellen und deren Vorleistungsbeziehungen dargestellt werden und ökonometrische Schätzungen über...

Es wird untersucht, wie ein System privater Versicherungen gegen das Risiko der Arbeitslosigkeit beschaffen sein sollte. Zu dem Zweck wird ein Trennsystem vorgeschlagen, das Arbeitnehmern und Arbeitgebern gleichermaßen Anreize zur Verminderung von Arbeitslosigkeit gibt. Für die Arbeitnehmer...

Facing very modest GDP growth in Germany in 2001 and 2002, it is investigated if potential output will – as usually expected – grow by 1.5 to 2.0 percent until 2005. The incentives to work and to invest and their changes in the nineties are analyzed. Given the foreseeable changes of these...