Using a large panel data set of German manufacturing establishments, this paper investigates the impact of competition on training incidence as well as on the number of trained workers. According to theory, one would expect a negative relationship between product market competition and firms'...

The classical Heckman (1976, 1979) selection correction estimator (heckit) is mis-specified and inconsistent if an interaction of the outcome variable and an explanatory variable matters for selection. To address this specifi cation problem, a full information maximum likelihood estimator and a...

For spatial data with a sufficiently long time dimension, the concept of global cointegration has been recently included in the econometrics research agenda. Global cointegration arises when non-stationary time series are cointegrated both within and between spatial units. In this paper, we...

Using data on the presence of the Goethe Institutes (GI) in 134 importer countries between 1978 and 2014, we study the effect that language learning opportunities abroad have on German exports. We employ a gravity model of trade with a single exporter and use the Poisson-Pseudo Maximum...

Using a matched employer-employee panel dataset for Germany, we analyze the external effects of education on individual wages. Following the basic framework of Moretti (2004), we allow spillover effects to occur both within a specific firm and a specific region rather than analyzing spillover...

The second and third generation of immigrants have been the centre of a lively debate about the economic integration of immigrants into their host societies, but there is little empirical evidence on the German case. In this study I comprehensively portray the labour market outcomes of second...

This paper employs quantile panel regression to the study of fuel price elasticities. Contrasting with standard panel approaches, this method reveals the impact of explanatory variables across all points in the conditional distribution of the response variable while controlling for unobserved...

This paper evaluates the R&D enhancing effects of two large public grant schemes for the German biotechnology industry (BioRegio, BioProfi le). Both grant schemes are organized in the form of contents for cooperation with the goal to foster the performance of innovative firms by their...

Individual heterogeneity plays a key role in explaining variation in self-reported well-being and, in particular, health satisfaction. It is hypothesised that the influence of this heterogeneity varies over levels of health and increases over the life-cycle. These hypotheses are tested with data...

This paper tests the importance of social contacts on entrepreneurship. To measure differences in the interconnectedness of social contacts, we compare rural and agglomerated areas. A smaller community size in rural areas generates greater network closure. Agents' neighborhoods are more likely...