Consider a market with switching costs that is initially served by a monopolistic incumbent. How can a competitor successfully enter this market? We show that an offer to undercut the incumbent by a fixed margin serves this purpose. This strategy dominates traditional entry where the entrant...

This article concentrates on the possible relationship between trade and pension systems. I consider trade between a capital-abundant home and a labor-abundant foreign country. The underlying model is a two-period overlapping generations-model augmented with factor-price changes resulting from...

The demographic problems in developed countries are getting more and more important. Very low fertility rates especially among skilled individuals will soon become relevant for a country's economy. Also of importance is education of children. Since there is an increasing demand for skilled...

In this paper a network model is developed in which three players sequentially choose their strategies. In the first stage, a profit-maximizing network firm chooses the price and thus the size of the network. In the second stage the consumers decide whether to join in the network or not. In the...

Weimar achieved urban recovery as a ‘consumer city’ with sub-brandings like a population magnet with a high living-quality, a cultural city with touristic attractions, and a university city. Its intensive cultural promotion policies combined with urban regeneration programs have contributed...

This paper summarizes and connects the main findings of the habilitation project. The important social developments analyzed, result from the demographic change that many economies will face in the future. Especially on the regional level, problems arise due to increasing disparities in...

Based on an extended welfare chauvinism concept that more systematically integrates the labor market and public finance aspects, this paper examines the impact of the refugee crisis − which culminated in the EU in 2015/16 − on changes in voting behavior in Germany (revealed in the two German...

The coronavirus pandemic poses major challenges for governments. Especially in the beginning when news of the virus was breaking, information about the virus was limited. Many minor (e.g., facemasks) and major (e.g., curfews) restrictions were implemented to contain the virus. However, the...

Während Populismus in Europa weiterhin weitverbreitet ist, sieht sich der Kontinent mit einer neuen Flüchtlingsdynamik konfrontiert. Nach der Krise von 2015/2016 ist die EU nun damit beschäftigt, die Herausforderungen der ukrainischen Zuwanderung besser und effizienter zu bewältigen....

In the current economic policy debate, there are often calls to reverse advanced developments in globalisation and the international division of labour. Reasons such as greater business resilience, political independence and, from a climate perspective, less harmful production argue for not...