In this paper we estimate the relevance of habits versus interpersonal comparisons for the consumption behavior of U.S. households. We exploit information from the recently released consumption expenditure data of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) covering the time span from 1999 to...

In this paper we estimate the relevance of habits versus interpersonal comparisons for the consumption behavior of U.S. households. We exploit information from the recently released consumption expenditure data of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) covering the time span from 1999 to...

In this paper we demonstrate that interpersonal comparisons do not only influence people's level of utility but also lead to "keeping up with the Joneses"-behavior as reference consumption substantially affects households' consumption-savings decisions. By applying the insights from the...

In this paper we demonstrate that interpersonal comparisons do not only influence people's level of utility but also lead to "keeping up with the Joneses"-behavior as reference consumption substantially affects households' consumption-savings decisions. By applying the insights from the...

In this paper, we measure the effect of changing capital income shares upon inequality of gross household income. Using EU-SILC data covering 17 EU countries from 2005 to 2011 we find that capital income shares are positively associated with the concentration of gross household income. Moreover,...

We show that actively stabilizing economic activity plays a more prominent role in the conduct of monetary policy when potential output is subject to hysteresis. We augment a basic NewKeynesian model by hysteresis in potential output and contrast simulation outcomes of this extended model to the...

In this paper we explore the reasons for the trend reversal in the development of household market income inequality in Germany in the second half of the 2000s. We analyse to what extent the increasing relevance of capital income as well as the rising share of atypically employed persons have...

This paper qualifies the view of pronounced overpricing of sovereign bonds for the so-called GIIPS countries during the financial crisis. We use annual data for 21 OECD countries from 1980 to 2012. As opposed to related studies, our data set allows us to contrast the pricing of macroeconomic...

In this paper, we measure the effect of changing capital income shares upon inequality of gross household income. Using EU-SILC data covering 17 EU countries from 2005 to 2011 we find that capital income shares are positively associated with the concentration of gross household income. Moreover,...

We show that actively stabilizing economic activity plays a more prominent role in the conduct of monetary policy when potential output is subject to hysteresis. We augment a basic NewKeynesian model by hysteresis in potential output and contrast simulation outcomes of this extended model to the...