We study the effects of competition on loan rates and portfolio-at-risk in microcredit markets using a new database from rating agencies, covering 379 microbanks located in 67 countries between 2002 and 2008. Our study reveals different competitive effects in nonprofit and for-profit microbanks....

We provide evidence of an inherent trade-off between access regulation and investment incentives in telecommunications by using a comprehensive data set covering 70+ fixed-line operators in 20 countries over 10 years. Our econometric model accommodates: different investment incentives for...

International standards have the potential to both promote and hinder international trade. Yet empirical scholarship on the standards-trade relationship has been held up due to some methodological challenges: measurement problems, varied effects, and endogeneity concerns. We are able to surmount...

In general, the spreading of egalitarian family values has often been associated with a decline in fertility. However, recently a rebound in fertility has been observed in several industrialized countries. A possible explanation of this trend may be the spread of egalitarian values that induced...

The gender gap in smoking prevalence is closing in several developed countries due to decreasing smoking rates among men and increasing among women. Previous studies present a variety of hypotheses with the central argument that the process of gender equality is related to the declining trend...

Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden die wechselseitigen Beziehungen von demographischen Veränderungen und Arbeitsmarktentwicklungen anhand eines Literaturüberblicks diskutiert. Insbesondere werden die Effekte von demographischen Strukturen und Prozessen auf die Lohnstruktur und auf die...

The global airline industry is slowly returning to profitability, but there is a long and difficult road ahead. According to IATA, the industry raised a profit of $8 billion in 20112 and it is forecasted to make a profit of $11 billion in 2013.3 However, these improved profit margins continue to...

Die Arbeit untersucht die Aussagen des Sachverständigenrates zur Beurteilung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung (SVR) bezüglich der Stabilität der Finanzmärkte. Die systemischen Risiken von Finanzmärkten werden vom SVR klar angesprochen, die Notwendigkeit einer staatlichen Regulierung...

Der Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über das Recht der internationalen Produkthaftung. Dabei wird zunächst das auf internationale Produkthaftungsfälle anwendbare Recht und dann exemplarisch die Produkthaftung in Europa, Deutschland und den USA vorgestellt. Nach einer kurzen Darstellung der...