We develop a model of R&D competition between an incumbent and a potential entrant with network externalities and durable goods. We show that the threat of entry eliminates the commitment problem that an incumbent may face in its R&D decision due to the goods? durability. Moreover, a potential...

Um Hinweise für die Erträge von Investitionen in die Fähigkeiten von Kindern im Vorschulalter geben zu können, möchten wir in diesem Beitrag die Ergebnisse von Simulationen zur Diskussion stellen. Der Humankapitalerwerb wird als Funktion von kognitiven und nichtkognitiven Fähigkeiten...

In der folgenden Studie möchten wir ausgewählte Aspekte von intra- und intergenerationalen Umverteilungseffekten im System der bundesdeutschen Alterssicherung auf der Basis der Humankapitalheorie mit Simulationsmethoden analysieren. Falls es das Ziel der Politik ist, die Ungleichheit des...

The aim of this paper is to describe and discuss the weak and strong sustainability approach of assessing climate change and to show reasonable applications, weaknesses, possible improvements and linkages of both approaches. Main features of ?weak? and ?strong? sustainability approaches are...

In this paper targets, institutions and policy measures for describing and implementing sustainable development are evaluated in terms of their conformity with the economic framework of a market system. Firstly, from the viewpoint of neo-liberal economic thinking as conceived by the German...

The Box-Cox quantile regression model using the two stage method suggested by Chamberlain (1994) and Buchinsky (1995) provides a flexible and numerically attractive extension of linear quantile regression techniques. However, the objective function in stage two of the method may not exists. We...

The paper investigates the evolution of wages and wage inequality in Germany based on samples from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) 1984 to 2005. Real gross hourly wages for prime age dependent male workers increased on average by 23 percent between 1984 and 1994 in West Germany and the...

This paper presents an empirical evaluation of recently proposed asset pricing models which extend the standard preference specification by a reference level of consumption. We motivate an alternative model that accounts for the return on human capital as a determinant of the reference level....

The paper addresses the welfare implications of conditional grants if government failure leads to inefficiencies in the production of regional public goods and services. Conditional grants may improve welfare by setting incentives for regions to improve efficiency. At the same time, resources...

In January 2007, first evidence of an asymmetric pass-through of CO2 emission allowance prices was reported for the German electricity spot market. This paper explores the theoretical basis for such an asymmetry in the context of a supply function bidding duopoly. It interprets fluctuating...