German municipalities are expected to suffer from (often significant) population losses in the upcoming decades. We assess these local governments' vulnerability to the fiscal consequences of this demographic decline through two means (using a sample of 1021 municipalities in the state of...

We estimate the causal effect of direct elections on the economic performance of politicians. Candidates running in direct elections to head local governments in the German state of Brandenburg need an absolute majority, and votes for the winner must represent at least 15% of eligible voters. If...

Stefanie Gäbler prepared this study while she was working at the ifo Center for Public Finance and Political Economy. The study was completed in March 2020 and accepted as doctoral thesis by the Department of Economics at the University of Munich. It consists of six distinct empirical essays...

International comparisons show that the reasons why e-government development in Germany does not occupy the desired "top spot" in rankings lie primarily in the inadequate provision of online services with little corresponding user orientation. In order to provide better and faster public...

This article analyzes the efficiency impacts of PPP-projects in the highway sector. The economic analysis concludes that the PPP-approach should primarily be considered as an alternative procurement strategy. PPP can be suitable for the new built, extension and renewal of certain highway...

"Wettbewerb" und "Bildungspolitik" stehen in zweifacher Hinsicht im Zusammenhang: Erstens erfordert der internationale Wettbewerb den Erhalt und Ausbau des deutschen Humankapitalbestands. Damit dabei die Ressourcen effizient eingesetzt werden, ist es zweitens notwendig, mehr Wettbewerbselemente...

We estimate the causal effect of direct elections on the economic performance of politicians. Candidates running in direct elections to head local governments in the German state of Brandenburg need an absolute majority, and votes for the winner must represent at least 15% of eligible voters. If...

This paper studies the effects of the introduction of a new mass medium on criminal activity in Germany. The paper asks the question of whether highspeed internet leads to higher/lower sex crime offences and murder. I use unique German data on criminal offences and broadband internet measured at...

Die vorliegende Studie wurde im Auftrag der Robert Bosch Stiftung im ifo Arbeitsbereich "Sozialpolitik und Arbeitsmärkte" erstellt und im Juni 2005 abgeschlossen, um die Arbeit der von der Bosch Stiftung initiierten Kommission "Familie und demographischer Wandel" zu unterstützen. Gegenstand...

This paper studies effects of the introduction of a new digital mass medium on reemployment of unemployed job seekers. We combine data on high-speed (broadband) internet availability at the local level with individual register data on the unemployed in Germany. We address endogeneity by...