Integration a.ects economic growth mainly through two different channels : The scale-effect channel and the factor-reallocation channel. In order to investigate both channels within a unifying framework, we employ a simple descriptive growth model. The scale-effect channel increases either the...

We propose the relaxation algorithm as a simple and powerful method for simulating the transition process in growth models. This method has a number of important advantages: (1) It can easily deal with a wide range of dynamic systems including multi-dimensional systems with stable eigenvalues...

We analyse long-term consumption paths in a dynamic two-sector economy with overlapping generations. Each young generation saves for the retirement age, both with private savings and pension funds. The productivity of each sector can be raised by sector-specific research while the essential use...

Models of the Environmental Kuznets Curve, particularly those with an ex- plicit abatement technology, often involve that pollution becomes negative in the long run. This, of course, is a highly implausible prediction. The paper at hand examines the problem of negative pollution by, ¯rst,...

Production often causes pollution as a by-product. Once environmental degra- dation becomes too severe, regulation is introduced by which society forces the economy to make a transition to cleaner production processes. We model this transition as a change in "general purpose technology" and...

In recent years Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) has received considerable attention from both private investors as well as pension funds. Despite this proliferation in interest, several topics are still unresolved, namely selection methods, performance and effects regarding sustainability....

The paper aims at extending the debate on Environmental Kuznets Curves to the case of non-renewable resources and to discuss the driving forces that might give rise to EKC's in this case. The paper at hand deviates from the standard EKC analysis in two ways: First, mostly EKC's are analyzed for...

This paper analyzes overlapping-generations models where natural capital is owned by selfish agents. Transfers in favor of young agents reduce the rate of depletion and increase output growth. It is shown that intergenerational transfers may be preferred to laissez-faire by an indefinite...

In this paper, we extend the well known result that hyperbolically discounting agents tend to postpone costs into the future. In a simple model we show that, without commitment to the ex ante optimal plan, no investment in environmental protection is undertaken over the whole time horizon, no...

Although pension funds have gained importance in the last two decades, their role has not been described in detail by economic models. This paper focusses on the scope of these institutional investors when they are not satisfied with a management team of a company in which the pension fund holds...