As the debate on a possible new second legislative chamber proceeds both in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Canada, it is useful to note recent amendments to the German Constitution (Basic Law) affecting the federal upper house of Parliament (Bundesrat). Despite all the differences among the House...

The aim of the present article is twofold. Firstly, to put the German Federal Constitutional Court (i.e., the BverfG) judgment into the context of a drawn-out conflict between the German Republic and the European Union regarding the setting up of a crisis management tool in the area of monetary...

Develops a pragmatist sociology of the State with an analysis of the conflict between urban guerrilla groups and the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1970s.

With increased privatization of natural resource regulation, green or sustainable public procurement policies are emerging as incentives for sustainable development. Thus, a revival of governmental influences on so-called non-state, market-driven governance systems takes place. The paper...

The Berlin Aging Study II (BASE-II) is a multidisciplinary study that allows for the investigation of how a multitude of health status factors as well as many other social and economic outcomes interplay. The sample consists of 1,600 participants aged 60 to 80, and 600 participants aged 20 to...

Ongoing pressure on prices for construction projects adds to the significance of cost estimation accuracy in building construction. Due to competition from Asian entrants, main contractors in the plant engineering industry are starting to face a similar situation. In the present paper, the cost...

Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Survey (SOEP), this paper assesses the relationship between life satisfaction and religious practice. The main new result here is longitudinal. It is shown that individuals who become more religious over time record long term gains in life...

The gap between actual and perceived inflation is one of the more unexpected consequences of the euro changeover in January 2002. In this note we argue that this gap was caused by a lack of preparation and experience of the authorities to appropriately communicate with the public during the...

The discrepancy between popular impressions of how the 2002 changeover to the euro affected prices and its actual impact is perhaps the most surprising consequence of the single currency’s introduction. Following the changeover, perceived inflation rose significantly and returned to its...

Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Survey (SOEP), this paper assesses the relationship between life satisfaction and religious practice. The main new result here is longitudinal. It is shown that individuals who become more religious over time record long term gains in life...