In recent years, economists have attempted to explain the rising levels of obesitynot only in the U.S. during the last three decades but in many developed countries. Forthe most part, these economists’ models have utilized neoclassical economic tools andrelied on the conventional wisdom of...

Studies about Mobile TV show that this way of television generally meets with user interest.Disagreement about technical standards, discrepancies between the actors in the mobile TV sectorand little user acceptance about the concrete Mobile TV offering are reasons for the failure of MobileTV in...

We study the influence of technological efficiency and organizational inertia on the emergence of competition when firms decide myopically. Using an agent-based computer simulation model, we observe the competitive reaction of a former monopolist to the advent of a new competitor.(...)

Daß in vielen Bereichen "Made in Germany" zu einem Mythos geworden ist, dem die Substanz entzogen ist, läßt sich aufgrund von unterschiedlichen statistischen Daten nicht mehrlänger verheimlichen.

We analyze a situation where a principal wants to induce two firms to produce an output, e.g. electricity from renewable energy sources. Firms can undertake non-contractible investments to reduce production cost of the output. Part of these investments spills over and also reduces productioncost...

The laws of thermodynamics constrain transformation of materials and energy, and thus have implications for material and energy use in the economy, for environmental impact, and for policy. This paper provides an overview over the applications of concepts from thermodynamics in economics at the...

Globalization and technological innovation are two of themost pervasive forces affecting the financial system andits infrastructure. Perhaps nowhere are these trends moreapparent than in the internationalization and automation ofpayments. The evolving landscape is most obvious in retailpayments...

[...]This article explores in several ways the structure andvocabulary of emerging payments system risks and theirmitigation. We begin by recounting several incidents of fraudand losses associated with emerging payment methods. Wethen describe an economic framework for understanding riskcontrol...