Based on a non-linear equilibrium model of the banking sector with an occasionally binding equity issuance constraint, we show that the economic impact of changes in bank capital requirements depends on the state of the macro-financial environment. In ”normal” states where banks do not face...

This study identifies empirically the impact of various macroeconomic factors on the default risk premium. Using monthly data for the period 1970-2010 for the U.S., our estimations indicate that the monetary policy aggregates, risk-free interest rate, term structure of interest rates, inflation,...

We consider optimal incremental capital accumulation in the presence of investment irreversibility and general price uncertainty. We present a set of general conditions under which the optimal capital accumulation path can be explicitly characterized in terms of an ordinary threshold rule...

We investigate within a continuous time setting how Knightian uncertainty characterized by k-ignorance affects the optimal timing policies of a risk-neutral and uncertainty averse investor in the case where the exercise payoff is monotonic. We prove that increased Knightian uncertainty...

Pure strategy Markov perfect equilibria (MPE) in dynamic cake sharing problems are analyzed. Each player chooses under perfect information how much to eat from the current cake and how much to leave to the next period. The left over cake grows according to a given growth function. With linear...

This paper studies investment incentives in the steady state of a dynamic bilateral matching market. Because of search frictions, both parties in a match are partially locked-in when they bargain over the joint surplus from their sunk investments. The associated holdup problem depends on market...

This paper studies the innovation dynamics of an oligopolistic industry. The firms compete not only in the output market but also by engaging in productivity enhancing innovations to reduce labor costs. Rent sharing may generate productivity dependent wage differentials. Productivity growth...

What began as a financial crisis in the United States in 2007-2008 quickly evolved into a massive crisis of the global real economy. We investigate the importance of the bank lending and firm borrowing channel in the international transmission of bank distress to the real economy - in...

This study investigates firm survival and employment growth of start-ups by unemployed people in East and West Germany as promoted by the Work Support Act (so called bridging allowances). In 1994, the services provided were improved considerably, which led to a sharp increase in the number of...

This article describes ZEW-EviSTA®, the microsimulation model developed and used at ZEW - Centre for European Economic Research in Mannheim. The model simulates the German tax and transfer system using household micro level data. By estimating fiscal effects, labor market outcomes as well as...