Forecasting real economic activity poses a considerable challenge not only due to hard-to-predict events like the current financial crisis but also due to the fact that targeted variables often undergo significant revisions after their first publication. In this paper we report the results of a...

In der Diskussion um die Frage, wie ökonomische Bildung im allgemeinbildenden Schulwesen in Deutschland verankert werden soll, wird der Stellenwert der Wirtschaftswissenschaften als Bezugsdisziplin aktuell kontrovers diskutiert. Wir vertreten in dieser Diskussion die These, dass die Anbindung...

Nach der deutschen Vereinigung halbierte sich die Geburtenhäufigkeit in Ostdeutschland. Sie ist damit noch unter die international gesehen niedrige Geburtenhäufigkeit in Westdeutschland gesunken. Der starke Rückgang der Geburten in Ostdeutschland wird in der Öffentlichkeit vielfach beklagt....

This project employs the theory of equality of opportunity, described in Roemer’s book (Equality of Opportunity, Harvard University Press, 1998), to compute the extent to which tax-and-transfer regimes in ten countries equalize opportunities among citizens for income acquisition. Roughly...

This paper provides an overview on the existing systems of natural hazards insurance in Europe, their structural characteristics and peculiarities. It also discusses the difficulties of an adaptation of these systems to climate change and a growing number of natural disasters. Using the case of...

This paper presents new evidence on the distribution of risk attitudes in the population, using a novel set of survey questions and a representative sample of roughly 22,000 individuals living in Germany. Using a question that asks about willingness to take risks in general, on an 11-point...