The economic crisis has made it difficult to achieve the key objectives of the European Union and the cohesion policy as a result of the increase in regional disparities. The main causes are the decrease of employment rates, increasing poverty and social exclusion. Among the effects of the...

Charitable donations provide positive externalities and can potentially be increased with an understanding of donor preferences. We obtain a uniquely comprehensive characterization of donation motives using an experiment that varies treatments between and within subject. Donations are increasing...

The political business cycle theories describe that election-motivated politicians manipulate economic policy-making. Election cycles occur in many fiscal variables, for example tax rates. I examine whether electoral motives influence communal fees in Germany. Fees have to be paid for the use of...

This paper proposes a theory of migration decisions in which cultural traits play a role. Individuals are assumed to value comfort (high wages) and conformity (interactions with individuals who share similar world views). Regions are assumed to differ economically (average wages) and culturally...

Based on data from a large-scale computer-based survey among more than 3700 German citizens, this paper empirically disentangles the determinants of the general change of electricity contracts and the specific change to green electricity contracts. Our econometric analysis reveals a strong...

Finland is characterized by a substantial heterogeneity across its regions. Key economic indicators, such as the GDP per capita and the unemployment rate, vary widely for different areas, with Uusimaa, the region where Helsinki is located, being significantly richer than regions such as Kainuu...

Does tax evasion run in the family? To answer this question, we study the case of the commuter tax allowance in Austria. This allowance is designed as a step function of the distance between the residence and the workplace, creating sharp discontinuities at each bracket threshold. It turns out...

Der Artikel zeichnet die Debatte über die Einführung eines separaten Schulfachs Wirtschaft nach und präsentiert ausgewählte Ergebnisse einer Befragung von Studierenden in den neuen Studiengängen mit Lehramtsoption Wirtschaft beziehungsweise Politik in Baden-Württemberg. Oft wird gefordert,...

If individual abilities are imperfectly observable, statistical discrimination may affect hiring decisions. In our lab experiment, pairs of subjects solve simple mathematical problems. Subjects then hire others to perform similar tasks. Before choosing whom to hire, they receive information...

Many studies examine the effect of environmental values on environmental behavior. In such empirical analyses it is typically at least implicitly assumed that environmental values are independent of economic preferences from behavioral economics like risk and time preferences, trust, or...