This dissertation consists of six self-contained chapters that are related to the behavior of firms and politicians in a broader sense. After an introduction to the topic, the first part of the dissertation elaborates on how institutional and political framework conditions influence the behavior...

Child care and education are important inputs in the human capital production function. The research of Nobel prize winner James Heckman shows that skills are built from the early childhood on and increase the returns of later educational inputs, in short: skill begets skill. Therefore, it is...

This thesis is composed of three essays on the residential electricity demand and its efficient use. In order to design and implement effective energy policy measures it is important for policy makers and utilities to have information on the response of consumers to an increase in electricity...