This analysis shows that multivariate generalizations to the classical Heckman (1976 and 1979) two-step estimator that account for cross-equation correlation and use the inverse Mills ratio as a correction-term are consistent only if certain restrictions apply to the true error-covariance...

It is frequently hypothesized that environmental management systems (EMSs) may improve a firm’s environmental performance. Whether or not this hypothesis is true is as important from the perspective of environmental policy as questions relating to the relevant incentives for (1) a firm’s...

In this paper we analyse to what extent movements in oil prices can help to explain business cycle fluctuations in Germany.We proceed in several steps:As a starting point we use a standard real business cycle model for the German economy and introduce energy as an additional factor in the...

This study investigates the influence of urban form on automobile travel using travel-diary data from Germany. Two dimensions of car use are considered: the discrete decision to own a car and the continuous decision of distance traveled. Because these decisions are likely to be influenced by...

Huge underinvestment increases the need for private borrowing in the German hospital sector, the access to which is partly determined by the probability of default (PD) of individual hospitals. Using ordinary least squares and quantile regression techniques this paper provides first empirical...

This paper analyses the association between health outcomes of newborn children and mother’s poverty status during pregnancy.We use a new questionnaire accompanying the GSOEP which collects abundant information on health outcomes. The findings indicate that there is generally no effect from...

The paper develops a theoretical model showing a mutual relationship between corruption and capital account restrictions. According to the model, higher corruption induces stricter restrictions and vice versa. We test the model using panel data for 112 countries over the period 1984–2002 and...

In this paper, a general Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition is derived that can also be applied to non-linear models, which allows the differences in a non-linear outcome variable between two groups to be decomposed into a part that is explained by differences in observed characteristics and a part...

Guaranteeing tax reductions and exemptions, the European governments intend to increase the share of biofuels in total EU fuel consumption to 5.75% by 2010. The financial support of this EU objective is frequently justified by expected positive environmental impacts, most notably the mitigation...

Measures of Active Labor Market Policy are widely used in European countries, but despite many econometric evaluation studies no conclusive cross- country evidence exists regarding “what program works for what target group under what (economic and institutional) circumstances?”. This paper...