The official view on ECB monetary policy claims that monetary decisions are based solely on average data for the euro zone and that diverging regional developments are disregarded. However, experience from other two tier central banks and theoretical considerations suggest that this official...

This paper focuses on two aspects being neglected in the analysis of agglomeration tendencies so far. First, it regards regional agglomeration patterns and secondly, the allocation of capital across industrial sectors. Indeed, the average relative concentration of capital turns out to be of a...

This paper considers the effect of different firm leadership on the innovative performance of firms from seven EU countries. We investigate whether owner-led or manager-led firms achieve a larger share of their turnover with product innovations. Economic theory does not propose clear answers to...

The Eastern European Associates (EEA) have committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions according to their targets set in the Kyoto Protocol. Furthermore since 1993 trade liberalization has taken place between all associated countries and the EU. There is meanwhile a large quantitative...

This study analyses relative sectoral investment patterns in EU regions. In an exploratory spatial data analysis, spatial clusters of high relative investments can be identified for some sectors. In the econometric analysis, we control for heteroscedasticity and potential endogeneity and find...

Zwischen den International Accounting Standards (IAS) und der Steuerpolitik der Europäischen Kommission zeichnet sich eine immer deutlichere Verbindung ab. Innerhalb der EU könnten IAS über die im Juni 2002 verabschiedete EU-Verordnung zur Harmonisierung der handelsrechtlichen...

This paper analyses the distributive impacts of various regulatory and institutional settings of European schemes of social assistance. For this purpose, two sets of classifications of European schemes of social assistance are introduced that classify the systems according to regulatory...

The communication policy of the European Central Bank attracts a lot of attention from financial markets. This paper analyses the informational content of the monthly introductory statements of the ECB president explaining interest rate decisions with regard to inflation expectations of...

This paper analyses the level of relative specialisation in terms of gross fixed capital formation in EU regions. Larger market and regional sizes diminish; a higher unemployment rate, population density, the fact of being a central region, the distance to the economic centre, and economic...