The European Commission actively evaluates occupational entry restrictions in all member states. This has attracted a growing interest among scholars of the German crafts sector as it is governed by an idiosyncratic national set of rules. We estimate the effects of the deregulation of the German...

Occupational Licensing may reduce the entry of minorities, such as migrants, into a profession if the likelihood of fulfilling the licensing requirements is lower in this group. While policy makers typically justify occupational licensing on the grounds of quality control it, thus, also has the...

The aim of this paper is to give deeper insights into the impact of regulatory reforms and privatization on R&D spending of electricity utilities. Building on a panel data set including the biggest European utilities from eight EU-countries over a period from 1985 until 2010, we find a strong...

In the course of the 1990s, the EU has embarked on an ambitious regulatory reform programme for a number of European network industries, such as telecommunications, energy and transport. This paper analyses the potential benefits of successful reforms in these sectors with a focus on the price...