Advances in human development are closely linked to increasing access to water and sanitation services in developing countries. The present study investigates the role of governance for mastering this challenge. The motivation for choosing this subject is the insight that the focus on...

This dissertation is a collection of four research papers written during my doctoral studies at the University of Konstanz between October 2004 and November 2008. These papers are empirical studies dealing with different aspects in the field of university economics. The focus of the first two...

Die Arbeit untersucht die Anwendbarkeit des HarrisTodaro Modells für Land-Stadt-Migrations-Prozesse inEntwicklungsländern. Dabei geht es nicht nur um das Basismodel,sondern auch um die Modell-Erweiterungen, die internationalenHandel, einen städtischen informellen Sektor und die Aspekte...

Mit der Gründung der WTO am 1.1.1995 trat das TRIPS-Übereinkommen in Kraft. Es verpflichtet alle WTO Mitglieder zur Umsetzung von Rechten zum Schutze des geistigen Eigentums, welche dem Niveau industrialisierter Staaten nahezu entsprechen. Die Stärkung internationaler Immaterialgüterrechte...

In der Steuerreformdiskussion sind sich Ökonomen durchaus über die theoretischen Vorzüge der konsomorientierten Besteuerung gegenüber dem Konzept der Einkommensbesteuerung einig. Aus der qualitativen Analyse in der vorliegenden Arbeit stellen sich die zwischen 1994-2000 in Kroatien...

The purpose of this study is to identify key institutional determinants of firm emergence and growth. We do this using various types of data from Sweden. A characterization of a number of institutions and policy measures shows that they are likely to have contributed to an environment that...

Empirical evidence strongly suggests that R&D increases a firm's “absorptive capacity” (its ability to absorb spillovers from other firms) as well as contributing directly to profitability. We explore the theoretical implications of this. We specify a general model of the absorptive capacity...

In this paper we consider the case for subsidies towards firms which generate R&D spillovers in open economies. We show that in the presence of strategic behaviour by firms many expected results are overturned. Local R&D spillovers to other domestic firms may justify an R&D tax rather than a...