Bargaining between different groups, which differ in objectives, preferences and interests, is at the core of political decision-making. Yet, it is logical to presume that negotiations involving more parties will lead to inertia and a slow pace in the legislative process. According to this...

There seems to exist a consensus that transnational labour mobility will help to equalize workers` incomes and domestic product per head between the member countries of a monetary union. However, the ´the new economic geography` which stresses the centrifugal spatial forces of economic activity...

It is regularly stated that political fragmentation has negative effects on reforms leading to delays or even blockades. This connection is reflected in the ‘weak government hypothesis’ arguing that fragmented governments create higher budget deficits. Although the assumption seems logical,...

Against the background of the euro-sceptic view many German economists expressed during the 1990ies and the traditional as well as modern debate on the optimum currency area the outcomes of the first ten years of the European Monetary Union are analysed. It is checked to what extent the concerns...

The paper analyses on an experimental basis the phenomenon of non-optimal under-diversification in portfolio choice decisions and investigates the reasons behind it. The most important obstacles for optimal diversification are studied – the correlation neglect hypothesis and the overconfidence...

Innovationen sind das Kernelement des Überlebens und der Positionierung von Volkswirtschaften, da sie zur Befriedigung der Marktbedürfnisse beitragen. Vor dem Hintergrund knapper Ressourcen werden jedoch regelmäßig nur die Innovationen realisiert, die aus einer betriebswirtschaftlichen...

In diesem Diskussionspapier werden die Ergebnisse einer im Mai/Juni 2007 durchgeführten Unternehmensbefragung im Raum Niedersachsen vorgestellt in Bezug auf die Fragestellung, ob sich Unternehmen, die In-novationsförderung erhalten, von nicht geförderten Unternehmen in Bezug auf generelle...

Reform delays emerge frequently in politics but can be solved using compensation payments. A higher degree of fragmentation among the addressees may- according to the theory- reduce these costs. The number of groups and the inherent uncertainty normally influence agents’ behaviour. When this...

The topic of reforms is hotly debated among politicians and researchers. There are many approaches to explore the origins of reform deadlocks and budget deficits. Central to all these approaches are the costs generated either by the Status Quo or by eliminating the Status Quo via a reform. Costs...

Cette étude par ordre de la Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) fournit un aperçu préliminaire au sujet de la définition et du système statistique de l’Union Européenne concernant les PME. La définition européenne des PME est examinée en particulier relative à...