We study empirically daily French and German interest rate changes since the Basel-Nyborg agreement of September 1987. In particular, we ask whether the shock associated with German unification altered the degree of leadership of German monetary policy in the ERM. We conclude that Germany's...

We build a general equilibrium macroeconomic model of a transitional economy to reflect five stylized facts. Among these are that central planning has left a legacy of highly concentrated industry and a residue of price controls and rationing. An `almost Classical' dichotomy obtains in the...

The determinants of migration propensities of East Germans in the German Socioeconomic Panel are investigated. The option value of waiting is proposed to capture important aspects of the migration decision. Logit analysis of migration intentions reveals that age, rents, friends and relatives in...

An inflation and stabilization bias may arise as a result of the principal-agent nature of monetary policy. Both depend on the degree of political uncertainty and the type of relationship between central bankers and the incumbent political leaders. Specifically, our analysis indicates how a...

Empirical evidence on the labour market performance of immigrants shows that migrant workers suffer from an initial earnings disadvantage compared to observationally equivalent native workers, but that their subsequent earnings tend to increase faster than native earnings. Economists usually try...