The theory of international environmental agreements overwhelmingly assumes that governments engage as unitary agents. Each government makes choices based on benefits and costs that are simple national aggregates, and similarly on a single set of national-level motivations, together drawing a...

Es wird häufig angenommen, dass nationale und grenzüberschreitende Klimapolitik, die aufgrund des Kyoto-Protokolls in den Industriestaaten eingeführt wird, durch die Einschränkung der Nutzung fossiler Energieträger ökonomische Kosten verursacht. Damit kann es zwischen den...

Drawing on Transaction Costs Economics, this paper develops a new approach to conflict of law rules. It outlines a concept of constitutional uncertainty in international trade and presents a model of international transactions in the presence of a diversity of legal orders. We develop a general...

Müllexporte werden von Umweltpolitik und Rechtswissenschaft nahezu einhellig abgelehnt. Aus Sicht der neoklassischen Außenhandelstheorie ist diese Einschätzung überraschend, denn freiwilliger Handel sollte alle Beteiligten besser stellen. Das Paper schöpft aus der ökonomischen Analyse des...

Before joining the European Union countries from Central and Eastern Europe have to adopt the acquis communautaire, i.e. the system of legal rules developed in the Union. The paper outlines an economic theory of optimum legal areas, that is used to determine the optimal size of the Union as well...

The conventional theory of international trade is dominated by a model presupposing a legal order that is perfect in its specifications and controllability, binding for all economic agents, no matter their nationality. World order appears to be cosmopolitan in the sense of Kant. An international...

It is the purpose of the paper to shed light on the question to what extent there is a need for a unified contract law in the European Union. The paper outlines a concept of constitutional uncertainty in international trade and presents a model of international transactions in the presence of a...

Drawing on a new analytical framework provided by the economic theory of optimal legal areas, this paper identifies the factors determining the optimal size of the European Union. It applies this theory to the question of how enlargement affects the welfare of the current and the new members of...

While focusing on the protection of distressed sovereigns, the current debate intended to reform the International Financial Architecture has hardly addressed the protection of creditors rights that varies among laws. I suspect however that this constitutes an essential determinant of the...

Stärker werdender Wettbewerb zwischen den Krankenhäusern stellt diese vor erhebliche wirtschaftliche Herausforderungen. Kostendruck und Sanierungsstau wegen veralteter baulicher Infrastruktur verschärfen die durch die Einführung des Fallpauschalensystems (G-DRG) angespannte finanzielle Lage...