The vocational training system is an important factor within the German institutionalframework. Its high output of skilled and well-educated employees provides a basis for Germany's export success and innovation. In the last few years, however,growing concern has been expressed about the...

This paper analyses trends in sectoral specialisation in the EU and concludes the following: 1) The European production structure appears more homogenous than that of the US. 2) While sectoral specialisation has shown a slight increase in some smaller euro area countries towards the end-1990s,...

Chapter 1 provides an overview and assessment of the price competitiveness and export performance of the euro area and the larger euro area countries, as well as an evaluation of how standard equations have been able to explain actual export developments. Chapter 2 carries out a constant market...

This report analyses the main developments in housing finance in the euro area in the decade, covering the period from 1999 to 2007. It looks at mortgage indebtedness, various characteristics of loans for house purchase, the funding of such loans and the spreads between the interest rates on...

The aim of this study is to analyse and assess the contrasting national skills policies associated with ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) skill supply in Britain and Germany. We also aim to examine the impact of these strategies on firms and to assess the utilization of skills at...

Ein klarer Fachkräftemangel behindert das Wachstum der Informationstechnik (IT)-Branche nicht nur in Deutschland, sondern auch in anderen Ländern. In dieser Studie wird untersucht, in welchem Ausmaß Schulabgänger mit einem Studium der Informatik in fünf industrialisierten Ländern, den USA,...

Obwohl gegenwärtig viele Autoren das "Produktivitätsparadox der Informationstechnik" als ein Thema ansehen, das, zumindest in den USA, auf der Firmenebene gelöst wurde, bleiben noch einige Unklarheiten auf den Ebenen von Branchen- und Volkswirtschaft bestehen. Der vorliegende Beitrag...

This paper implements a structural model of the yield curve with data on nominal positions and survey forecasts. Bond prices are characterized in terms of investors' current portfolio holdings as well as their subjective beliefs about future bond payoffs. Risk premia measured by an...