This dissertation is a collection of four research papers written during my doctoral studies at the University of Konstanz between October 2004 and November 2008. These papers are empirical studies dealing with different aspects in the field of university economics. The focus of the first two...

Using data on the B.E. Journals that rank articles into four quality tiers, this paper examines the accuracy of the research evaluation process in economics. We find that submissions by authors with strong publication records and authors affiliated with highly-ranked institutions are...

This paper proposes a generational accounting approach to valuating research. Based on the flow of scientific results, a value-added (VA) index is developed that can, in principle, be used to assign a monetary value to any research result and, by aggregation, on entire academic disciplines or...

The O-Ring theory provides a framework for analyzing the effects of team production on the emergence of firms in the New Economy. Given risk-aversion of the potential team members, the productive advantage of perfect ability matching in teams suffices to establish an equilibrium which separates...