Trade unions are typically able to convert their industrial power into political power. We show that, depending on the parameter constellation, stronger trade unions may be welfare-improving in terms of an increase in aggregate employment and output, if they successfully lobby for lower trade...

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoins may revolutionize the financial system by at least partially replacing intermediaries such as central banks and commercial banks. The blockchain technology enables users to transact on a peer-to-peer basis. This imposes a serious threat on the financial...

Empirical evidence suggests that the bargaining power of trade unions differs across firms and sectors. Standard models of unionization ignore this pattern by assuming a uniform bargaining strength. In this paper, we incorporate union heterogeneity into a Melitz (2003) type model. Union...

Der Prozess der Digitalisierung führt zunehmend zu einer Verdrängung der Nachfrage nach Bargeld und zu einer Privatisierung des Zahlungsverkehrs. Eine in jüngerer Zeit viel diskutierte Antwort der Zentralbanken ist das digitale Zentralbankgeld (Konto für Jedermann bei der Zentralbank)....

In almost all Western economies the median age of the workforce is increasing due to demographic factors. Given the empirical fact that workers of different ages are not perfect substitutes in production, this paper explores how change in the age pattern affects wages and (un)employment. We...

Ist die Arbeitsnachfragekurve eher steil oder eher flach? Die diesbezüglichen Überlegungen von John Hicks (1932) und Alfred Marshall (1920) haben nichts an Aktualität verloren. Ihre vier Gesetze der Nachfrage sind nach wie vor Ausgangspunkt vieler Studien zur Theorie und Empirie der...

This paper contributes to the economics of examination rules. We show how rational students reallocate their learning effort as a response to a charge for the second exam attempt, a cap on the maximum resit mark, an adjustment of the passing standard, a variation of the time span between two...