Why do large European banks lobby for monetary union? We show in a game-theoretic model that monetary union can trigger a change in the structure of the market for international banking transactions with asymmetric effects on profits: large banks are induced to cooperate internationally and gain...

The EU has long viewed economic and institutional convergence as important goals, but the results thus far have been decidedly mixed, and there remain several open questions: How exactly should convergence be defined? How much convergence is necessary? What steps can be taken to improve...

We study how the optimal degree of conservatism relates to decision-making procedures in a Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). In our framework, central bank conservatism is required to attenuate the volatility of monetary decisions generated by the presence of uncertainty about the committee...

We develop a formal model that looks at the mutually endogenous determination of foreign direct investments in natural resource-rich countries, the decision of host governments to expropriate these investments, and the level of corruption. Higher resource production makes expropriation more...

Seit der Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise ist die Staatsverschuldung einiger Euroländer so stark gestiegen wie nie zuvor, und eine glaubwürdige Konsolidierungsstrategie ist nicht in Sicht. Im Gegenteil, vermehrt wird sogar eine Lockerung der Sparpolitik gefordert, um so die Wirtschaft anzukurbeln....