This paper uses firm-level data from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Surveys to study the process of convergence of transition countries with developed market economies. The study focuses on competition and market structure, finance and the structure of lending to firms, and...

With the tax reform 2000 Germany has seen the implementation of the most ambitious tax reduction programme in its post-war history. In the period from 1998 to 2005, taxpayers will benefit substantially from net tax relief more than DM 100 billions in total. It is expected, that private...

How does the age of risk-averse individuals affect investments in private projects? This question is analyzed under the assumption that such individuals have to invest a large fraction of their personal wealth in order to establish a new firm. Thresholds conditional on age that trigger a switch...