This paper proposes a new unit root test against a non-linear exponential smooth transition autoregressive (ESTAR) model. The new test is build upon the non-standard testing approach of Abadir and Distaso (2007) who introduce a class of modified statistics for testing joint hypotheses when one...

Does the labeling of tradable products like carpets which have been produced without child labor contribute to decreased vulnerability of poor households and their children? This paper analyzes which factors determine the probability of a child to work in the carpet industry, and examines the...

Hosting the 2006 FIFA World Championship induced a boom in stadium investments in Germany. A second wave of smaller arena constructions can currently be observed across the country. These projects are promoted by smaller clubs of the first and the second Bundesliga, aiming not to fall behind the...

Early warning systems (EWSs) are subject to restrictions that apply to exchange rates in general: fundamentals matter but their influence is small and unstable. Despite this limitation four major lessons emerge: First, EWSs have robust forecasting power and thus help policy-makers to prevent...

When the centre-left government came into power in Germany in 1998, a core promise of the new Chancellor, Schroeder, was to reduce the lack of jobs and to increase welfare. Facing persistently increasing unemployment rates from then on, the government finally launched Hartz IV in 2004; the largest...

In this paper, I examine an inter-temporal exchange economy with a complete financial market. The economy is populated by two heterogeneous investors who differ from each other in their attitudes towards risk. In such a model, a single representative agent can be created who generates the same...

This paper extends earlier studies on exchange rate expectations' formation by using new data and adding information about forecasters' reliance on fundamental analysis for the first time. We replicate the conventional result of non rational expectations. Moreover, biases in expectations are...

We study the relationship between foreign exchange trading activity and volatility on the USD/EUR foreign exchange market on the basis of a unique data set around the events of 09/11/2001. We find that volatility and bid-ask spreads are by far larger at that time, but the shock is not...

This article examines the question whether a point and figure (P and F)-based investment strategy yields statistical significant excess returns compared to a buy-and-hold (B and H)-strategy. The simulations show that P and F slightly outperforms B and H with respect to returns as well as with...

This paper analyzes the impact of pollution and abatement policy within a stochastic endogenous growth model. The agents have environmental preferences, but they neglect their individual contribution to aggregate abatement. Therefore, environmental care is done by the government and financed via...