In this paper, an Unobserved Components Model is used to decompose the balances of Ifo Business survey data into the cyclical, the seasonal and the irregular components, as well as the working day effect. The empirical results show that the total cycle consists of three subcycles with about 3,5...

In this paper we assess the information content of seven widely cited early indicators for the euro area with respect to forecasting area-wide industrial production. To this end, we use various tests that are designed to compare competing forecast models. In addition to the standard...

In many OECD countries, statutory corporate tax rates are lower than personal income tax rates. This tax rate difference is often particularly large for small firms. The present paper argues that a reduction of the corporate tax rate below the personal tax rate is an optimal tax policy if there...

We measure productivity in leading edge economic research by using data envelopment analysis (DEA) for a sample of 21 countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Publications in ten top journals of economics from 1980 to 1998 are taken as the research...

Based on a stochastic dynamic model of a firm’s optimal innovativebehavior we derive a simultaneous equation system for product andprocess innovations with intertemporal spillover effects. We estimatevarious versions of the model with dichotomous innovation data at thefirm level by using a...

The European Central Bank (ECB) recently announced its willingness to do whatever is needed to save the euro. This has raised the question whether such a role of the ECB must lead to higher rates of inflation. Under current recessive macroeconomic conditions in the eurozone, the ECB’s...

Aus neoklassischer Sicht bestimmen sich Löhne und Zinsen (und damit die funktionelle Einkommensverteilung) so, daß eine richtige Wahl der Pruktionsverfahren induziert wird. In neokeynesianischer Sicht bilden sich Löhne und Zinsen (und damit die funktionelle Einkommensverteilung) so, daß der...

For the open economy, the workhorse model in intermediate textbooksstill is the Mundell-Fleming model, which basically extends theinvestment and savings, liquidity preference and money supply (IS-LM)model to open economy problems. The authors present a simple NewKeynesian model of the open...

Despite its efforts and obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, the EU has not succeeded in even making a dent in the rapidly rising trend of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions. If anything, the trend has accelerated in recent years. In his Thünen Lecture given to the Verein für Socialpolitik in...