Recent theoretical advances in consumption theory suggest that there may exist predictable consumption surges which, if not taken sufficiently into account in forecasting, may lead to predictable forecast errors. We use this insight to identify economic variables that might help improve the...

The paper explores the interaction between the proposed monetary union for ECOWAS and structural reforms of fiscal policy. The effects depend to a large extent on the degree of similarity of member countries. In a monetary union of similar countries, member states run a more distortive fiscal...

Using entropy indices and associated bootstrap tests, we describe the distribution of economic sectors across Western European regions over the 1975-2000 period. We decompose geographic concentration into its within-country and between-country components. In addition, we estimate...

Der vorliegende Beitrag geht an Hand verschiedener Indikatoren der Frage nach, ob sich von der finanziellen Seite her die wirtschaftlichen Risiken bei westdeutschen Unternehmen vergrößert haben. Die Untersuchung stützt sich auf eine Sonderauswertung der Bilanzstatistik der Deutschen...

Mit dem vorliegenden Aufsatz wird das Ziel verfolgt, die Erklärung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Unternehmensinvestitionen (Ausrüstungsinvestitionen der Unternehmen und Wirtschaftsbauinvestitionen) durch die Einbeziehung von Variablen, mit denen sich Unsicherheit abbilden läßt, zu ergänzen. In...

This study has investigated to which extent rating events influence sovereign bond yield spreads and overall financial market volatility. While rating agencies are part and parcel of today's financial markets, the study succeeds in tracing some independent effect that ratings exert on financial...

Politicians and trade unions raise the issue of illegal employment in order to provoke support, voters feel negatively touched by the presence of illegal employment, often also associated with illegal immigration. In addition there was a severe discussion in Germany about passing a minimum wage...