This paper summarizes and connects the main findings of the habilitation project. The important social developments analyzed, result from the demographic change that many economies will face in the future. Especially on the regional level, problems arise due to increasing disparities in...

In this paper a network model is developed in which three players sequentially choose their strategies. In the first stage, a profit-maximizing network firm chooses the price and thus the size of the network. In the second stage the consumers decide whether to join in the network or not. In the...

The demographic problems in developed countries are getting more and more important. Very low fertility rates especially among skilled individuals will soon become relevant for a country's economy. Also of importance is education of children. Since there is an increasing demand for skilled...

Consider a market with switching costs that is initially served by a monopolistic incumbent. How can a competitor successfully enter this market? We show that an offer to undercut the incumbent by a fixed margin serves this purpose. This strategy dominates traditional entry where the entrant...