Forderungen nach Lockerungen der Schuldenbremse haben seit dem Urteil des Bundesverfassungsgerichts zum zweiten Nachtragshaushalt 2021 Auftrieb erhalten. Oft wird argumentiert, dass die Schuldenbremse wichtige Zukunftsinvestitionen behindere und eine ambitionierte Investitionspolitik mehr...

Der Bundeshaushalt hat im Jahr 2023 mit 20,0 Prozent jeden fünften Euro für Zukunftsausgaben eingesetzt. Die Zukunftsausrichtung des Bundeshaushalts war zuvor in der Pandemie auf einen Wert von nur 18,2 Prozent abgesackt, hat sich seitdem jedoch wieder erholt. Zum Anstieg der Zukunftsausgaben...

Collective bargaining in Germany takes place either at the industry level or at the firm level; collective bargaining coverage is much higher than union density; and not all employees in a covered firm are necessarily covered. This institutional setup suggests to explicitly distinguish union...

Using data on a sample of manufacturing establishments in Germany, we find that the use of self-managed teams is associated with increased intra-firm wage inequality between skilled and unskilled blue-collar workers. We also show that moderating factors play an important role. While teamwork...

This paper investigates the impact of in-house R&D and innovation management practices on innovation success in small and medium-sized firms (SMEs). While there is little doubt about the significance of technology competence for generating successful innovations, inhouse R&D activities may be a...

Long-term public sector sponsored training programs often show little or negative short-run employment effects and often it is not possible to assess whether positive long-run effects exist. Based on unique administrative data, this paper estimates the long-run differential employment effects of...

We estimate the effects of R&D on firms' credit ratings and on financial distress. The main purpose is the comparison of firms in Western Germany and Eastern Germany as a transitional economy. Innovative activity has a positive impact on firm value proxied by ratings in Western Germany, but a...

Union density in Germany has declined remarkably during the last two decades. We estimate socio-economic and workplace-related determinants of union membership in East and West Germany using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel by means of Chamberlain-Mundlack correlated random effects...