Public referenda on Olympic bids have drawn considerable interest in the recent past, also because - with few exceptions - the voters decided against the Olympic ambitions of the local governments and/or local bid committees. For example, within the last five years before the finalizing of this...

Becoming unemployed has negative effects on life satisfaction; a transition from unemployment to employment, however, has only small positive effects. This asymmetry indicates a potential "omitted variable bias" in previous empirical happiness studies, with the consequence of underesti-mated...

We use a public referendum on a new air traffic concept in Berlin, Germany as a natural experiment to analyze how the interaction of tenure and capitalization effects shapes the outcome of direct democracy processes. We distinguish between homevoters, i.e., voters who are homeowners, and...

We estimate the economic effects of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Our difference in difference model checks for serial correlation and allows for a simultaneous test of level and trend effects, but otherwise follows HOTCHKISS, MOORE, & ZOBAY (2003) in this journal. We were not able to...

This paper tests the hypothesis that a nation's hosting of a mega-sporting event is an experience good for its residents. Applying data from an ex-ante and ex-post query based on contingent valuation methods, we use the Soccer World Cup 2006 as a natural experiment. The significant ex-post...

To assess the likely effects of population ageing on the outcomes of direct democracy, we analyze the effect of age on voting decisions in public referenda. To this end, we provide the first quantitative review of the literature and a case study of the Stuttgart 21 referendum on one of the...

To assess the likely effects of population ageing on the outcomes of direct democracy, we analyze the effect of age on voting decisions in public referenda. To this end, we provide the first quantitative review of the literature and a case study of the Stuttgart 21 referendum on one of the...