In this paper, we present a spatial model of the public provision of the performing arts. Agents behave boundedly rational. Art directors set performance quality according to their aspiration levels. While taking into account the spatial distribution of the population, administrative directors...

Proponents of RPM argue that RPM helps to sustain a high level of service at the point of sale and that such a high level is efficient. This paper provides a simple model which leads to the following conclusions: 1) RPM may increase or decrease the level of service. 2) Whether the service level...

This paper explores the impact of university funding reform on teaching quality competition. It shows that a graduate tax with differentiated, but state-regulated fees maximises the higher education surplus, whereas student grants as well as pure and income contingent loans do not. Fee autonomy...

Am Beispiel der Wirtschaftswissenschaften wird untersucht, inwieweit Studierende die Qualität der Fachbereiche bei der Studienortwahl berücksichtigen. Im Rahmen eines Gravitationsansatzes zeigt sich, dass vor allem die Nähe zum Heimatort und die Lebenshaltungskosten am Ort der Hochschule die...

The missing effect of investments of firms in information and communication technologies on productivity is studied by various recent papers (e.g. Oliner and Sichels 1994, Landauer 1995, Brynjolfsson and Hitt 1996). Several explanations are given for this missing link. Our paper deals with two...

In this paper we analyze the incentive of the German postal service (Deutsche Post AG, DPAG) to increase quality in the light of the upcoming liberalization of the postal services market. Currently, there would be no incentive for DPAG to increase its quality if the market were not to be...

In the advent of postal market liberalization in several European countries we expect that the incumbent operators anticipate entry by competitors who are not required to offer universal service, i.e. coverage of the entire country and uniform pricing. The market for postal service exhibits...

In the international health care literature there is a broad discussion on impacts of competition in health care markets. But aspects of standardization in regional health care markets with no price competition received comparatively little attention. We use a typical Hotelling-framework...

Die Entlohnung und Regulierung unabhängiger Versicherungsvermittler, wird aktuell vor allem vor dem Hintergrund der Bedeutung und Zukunft der Honorarberatung und -vermittlung intensiv diskutiert. Im Rahmen des vorliegenden Beitrags werden zunächst wichtige ökonomische Erkenntnisse zur...

Am 26. Januar 2005 hat das Bundesverfassungsgericht das Studiengebührenverbot aufgehoben. Damit ist es den einzelnen Bundesländern freigestellt, ob sie Gebühren erheben oder nicht. Während in der Literatur zum Thema Studiengebühren deren Finanzierungsfunktion im Vordergrund steht, widmet...