This paper analyzes the efficiency consequences of local revenue policies if jurisdictions try to attenuate the pressures of inter-regional competition for mobile factors by substituting attention-grabbing tax instruments that spotlight an additional tax burden with rather inconspicuous ones. We...

This paper studies the impact of the state-dependent risk of a government default on the correlation of the scal balance and current account. We use a small open economy model where nonlinear risk premia arise endogenously when the government operates close to its scal limit, i.e. the maximum...

We re-examin the notion of identifying macroeconomic effects using the narrative approach taking as an application the estimation of tax multipliers. We point out to a test for the checking the adequacy of regressing the narrative measure directly on the outcome variable. This test...

The consequences of tobacco control policies for individual welfare are difficult to assess. We therefore evaluate the impact of smoking bans and cigarette prices on subjective well-being by analyzing data for 40 European countries and regions between 1990 and 2011. We exploit the staggered...

Does the proliferation of aid donors lead to visible changes in the world of foreign assistance? Aid provided by low- and middle-income countries, autocratic regimes and donors operating outside the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD is gaining in importance. This article uses...

We investigate the effects of short-term political motivations on the effectiveness of foreign aid. Donor countries political motives might reduce the effectiveness of conditionality, channel aid to inferior projects, reduce the aid bureaucracy s effort, and change the power structure in the...

Since the 9/11 attacks more attention has been given to the question why the United States is a major target for transnational terrorism. What conditions motivate these terrorist activities? Are there specific characteristics in the terrorists home countries that provide a breeding ground for...

This paper surveys the various forms of market failure that can arise when innovating entrepreneurs consider entering an industry, and outlines possible implications for public policy. Externalities can arise from entrepreneurial activities such as spillover benefits from new innovations and...

I analyze the effects of profit taxation on the financing decision of corporate acquisitions. The deductibility of interest expenses from the corporate tax base creates an incentive for acquiring companies to finance a takeover with debt. Regarding the particular decision how to finance the...

Die vorliegende Studie möchte einen Beitrag zur Analyse der Wirkung öffentlicher Wirtschaftsförderung leisten. Mit Daten des IAB-Betriebspanels der Jahre 1996 bis 2009 wird die der Einfluss staatlicher Unterstützung auf verschiedene Indikatoren, die einen Einblick in die betriebliche...