Public schemes for sickness benefits and disability insurance are often criticized for the lack of incentive they provide for preventive and reintegration activities by employers. To stimulate the interest of employers in engaging with these schemes, several modes of privatization could be...

Der Zugelassene Wirtschaftsbeteiligte (AEO) wurde mit Wirkung vom 1. Januar 2008 geschaffen. Sechs Jahre sind vergangen, nach denen es nun erneut gilt, eine Zwischenbilanz zu ziehen – wurden die Erwartungen und Antragszahlen erreicht, was gibt es an Neuerungen und welche Tendenzen sind...

Der Zugelassene Wirtschaftsbeteiligte (AEO) wurde mit Wirkung vom 1. Januar 2008 geschaffen. Acht Jahre sind vergangen, nach denen es nun erneut gilt, eine Zwischenbilanz zu ziehen - wurden die Erwartungen und Antragszahlen erreicht, was gibt es an Neuerungen und welche Tendenzen sind erkennbar?...

During a time in which the subject of climate change is deemed high on the list of priorities of many governments, it is important to assess to what extent policies in this field are achieving meaningful results. The link between energy usage and global warming is clear and today in the European...

This paper investigates the short-term effects of public smoking bans on individual smoking behavior. In 2007 and 2008, state-level smoking bans were gradually introduced in all of Germany's sixteen federal states. We exploit this variation in the timing of state bans to identify the effect that...

When liability for environmental spills, product failures, or other types of accidents is imposed on firms with insufficient wealth, those firms may file for bankruptcy ---thereby becoming ''judgement proof''--- as soon as a major accident occurs. As a result, they are unlikely to choose...

The Environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure foresees that the information on the environmental effects of a specific activity is used to support the decision on whether to give a project consent, and has the ability to ensure no more than that the decision taken is an informed one. As...

We extend the economic theory of regulation to allow for strategic self-regulation that preempts political action. When political "entry" is costly for consumer, firms can deter it through voluntary restraints. Unlike standard entry models, deterrence is achieved by over-investing to raise the...

This paper provides an overview of the Italian water management system, with particular reference to the links between agriculture and water resources, and emphasis on underground resources. Our objective is mainly descriptive at this level; nonetheless, we try to evaluate patterns of...

The Kyoto Protocol sets legally binding emission targets for industrialised countries without accounting for reductions carried out prior to 2008, the beginning of the first commitment period. There exists only one exception, the project-based Clean Development Mechanism where credits accrue...