This study analyzes the causal effect of an increase in the retirement age on health. We exploit a sizable cohort-specific pension reform for women using two complementary empirical approaches - a Regression Discontinuity Design and a Difference-in-Differences approach. The analysis is based on...

We present a new method for imposing and testing concavity of a cost function using asymptotic least squares, which can easily be implemented even for cost functions which are nonlinear in parameters. We provide an illustration on the basis of a (generalized) Box-Cox cost function with six...

The problem is to predict whether a random outcome is a "success" (R=1) or a "failure" (R=0) given a continuous variable Z. The performance of a prediction rule $D=D(Z)\in \{1,0\}$ boils down to two probabilities, beta =Pr (D=1

The empirical and theoretical literature on long-term relationships in public finance is dominated by two approaches: Fiscal sustainability and Wagner’s law of an increasing state activity. In this paper, we argue that these two relationships should be analyzed simultaneously and not...

A decade ago, the German Advisory Council to the Federal Government on Global Environmental Change (Wissenschaftlichen Beirats der Bundesregierung für Globale Umweltveränderungen - WBGU) published its main report. This attempt to take stock in 2011 made an impact and provided orientation on...

Vor einem Jahrzehnt wurde das Hauptgutachten des Wissenschaftlichen Beirats der Bundesregierung für Globale Umweltveränderungen (WBGU) veröffentlicht. Dieser Versuch einer Bestandsaufnahme im Jahre 2011 hat national und international Impulse gesetzt und Orientierung gegeben. Der WBGU ging...

Losing a partner is a life-changing experience. We draw on numerous datasets to examine differences between widowed and partnered older women and to provide a comprehensive picture of well-being in widowhood. Most importantly, our analysis accounts for time use in widowhood, an aspect which has...