In the paper we analyze the convergence process of the West German Laender from 1970 to 1995 using descriptive tools as well as panel estimation methods. Although there have been some winners in this process, the main finding is that convergence was insufficient in the sense that no gains have...

Voluntary environmental management programs for firms have become an increasingly popular instrument of environmental policy. However, the literature’s conclusion on the effectiveness of such programs is ambiguous, and for the European region there is a lack of evidence based on a large...

A trend towards softer regulation, especially in the form of negotiated environmental agreements, is observable in national and international environmental policies. Such agreements are controversial, because there are fears that government will relinquish its responsibility for environmental...

Die Europäische Investitionsbank (EIB) mobilisiert in quantitativ bedeutendem Ausmaß Finanzmittel für EG-Politikfelder außerhalb des EG-Haushalts. Die von der Bonität des Schuldners abhängige implizite Zinssubvention ist wohlfahrtstheoretisch nicht zu rechtfertigen. Es ist zu vermuten,...