Die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit deutscher Wirtschaftsräume wird vor dem Hintergrund der Globalisierung mehr und mehr von der Innovationsfähigkeit der ansässigen Unternehmen bestimmt. Nicht von ungefähr verkörpert die Förderung von Innovationsaktivitäten daher einen wesentlichen Bestandteil des...

Chapter 2 investigates whether the relatedness of populations across the world shapes international trade flows. Using data on common ancestry for 172 countries covering more than 99% of global trade, we document that country pairs with a larger ancestral distance are less likely to trade...

Chapter 3 explores how income inequality affects patterns of international trade. Many early economists including Linder [1961], Kuznets [1966], and Chenery and Syrquin [1975] suggested that per-capita income could play a major role in international trade. Yet this crucial insight was abandoned...

Chapter 1 investigates whether the presence of migrants has an impact on decisions concerning foreign direct investments (FDIs). Using a novel data set on world bilateral FDI stocks, I show that the presence of migrants is a key factor in determining bilateral direct investment allocation. A...