This dissertation contains economic microanalyses of voting, regulation and higher education. It is about individual decisions, institutions, and the incentives the latter create. Three chapters of this dissertation are based on empirical results, whereas one chapter is a purely theoretical...

We study the role of self-interest and social preferences in referenda. Our analysis is based on collective purchasing decisions of university students on deep-discount flat-rate tickets for public transportation and culture. Individual usage data allows quantifying monetary benefits associated...

We develop and test a theory of voting and turnout decisions that integrates self-interest, social preferences, and expressive motives. Our model implies that if pocketbook benefits are relevant, voters either perceive their impact on the outcome to be non-negligible, or expressive motivations...

We develop and test a theory of voting and turnout decisions that integrates self-interest, social preferences, and expressive motives. Our model implies that if pocketbook benefits are relevant, voters either perceive their impact on the outcome to be non-negligible, or expressive motivations...

Economic models on voting usually assume that voters maximize their own material interests. Yet there is convincing evidence that people also tend to care about fairness and the common good. Furthermore, some voters may derive utility from the act of voting in a certain way, independent of...

This paper studies the determinants of academic success using a unique administrative data set of a German university. We show that high school grades are strongly associated with both graduation probabilities and final grades, whereas variables measuring social origin or income have only a...

We study the role of self-interest and social preferences in referenda. Our analysis is based on collective purchasing decisions of university students on deep-discount flat rate tickets for public transportation and culture. Individual usage data allows quantifying monetary benefits associated...

Das Land Mecklenburg-Vorpommern und seine Gemeinden und Gemeindeverbände sehen sich wegen der demographischen Entwicklung und wegen des Rückgangs der Mittel aus dem Solidarpakt II bedeutsamen finanzpolitischen Herausforderungen gegenüber. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist zu begrüßen, dass der...

This paper studies the determinants of academic success using a unique administrative data set of a German university. We show that high school grades are strongly associated with both graduation probabilities and final grades, whereas variables measuring social origin or income have only a...

Im Auftrag des Innenministeriums von Mecklenburg-Vorpommern befasst sich das vorliegende Gutachten mit den konkreten Reformen zur Neuordnung des kommunalen Finanzausgleichs und zur Kreisstruktur. Im Mittelpunkt des Gutachtens stehen die finanziellen Auswirkungen der neuen Kreisstruktur und der...