There are striking differences between relative and absolute poverty rates in the European Union and the United States. In this paper, we apply the official poverty measurement methods of the United States (absolute) and the European Union (relative) to both regions. Official poverty rates...

This paper investigates to what extent Russian households have been able to protect their consumption against income shocks during the transition and whether the ability to smooth consumption is related to poverty. We use the cross-section and panel dimensions of the Russian Longitudinal...

The increasing availability of rich (panel) data provides many opportunities to test theories on consumption smoothing behaviour. At the same time, the informational requirements in terms of data and modelling are high and very context specific, thus requiring a filtering of essential...

This thesis consists of 4 chapters in the field of applied microeconomics. Chapter 1 develops a model of international roaming. International alliances emerge endogenously and serve as a commitment device to soften competition on the retail market. Chapter 2 provides an explanation for why...

This dissertation encompasses three essays on entry and competition in the German generic drug market. The first paper examines the market entry decisions of generic companies and finds that original drug producrs do not create barriers to entry by launching a generic version of the brand drug...