Sind die steigenden Benzinpreise ein Zeichen mangelnden Wettbewerbs auf den Öl- und Kraftstoffmärkten? Was kann die Einrichtung einer »Markttransparenzstelle« beim Bundeskartellamt bewirken? Für Justus Haucap, Universität Düsseldorf und Vorsitzender der Monopolkommission, sollten...

Using a unique dataset for Germany that links individual longitudinal data from the SOEP to regional data from the federal employment agency and data of real estate prices, we evaluate the impact of neighborhood unemployment on individual employment propects. The panel setup and richness of the...

Die aktuelle Diskussion um die Ausgestaltung der wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Politikberatung und die zum Teil harsche Kritik von Politikern am Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung in jüngster Zeit lenkt den Blick auf den Einfluss von Ökonomen auf die...

In this paper we apply standard cartel theory to identify the major institutional stabilizers of Germany?s area tariff system of collective bargaining between a single industry union and the industry?s employers association. Our cartel analysis allows us to demonstrate that recent labor policy...

This paper provides a descriptive analysis of the demand for high-skilled workers using a new firm data set, the IZA International Employer Survey 2000. Our results suggest that while workers from EU-countries are mainly complements to domestic high-skilled workers, workers from non-EU countries...

The paper examines real and nominal wage rigidities.We estimate a switching regime model, in which the observed distribution of individual wage changes, computed from West German register data for 1976-1997, is generated by simultaneous processes of real, nominal or no wage rigidity, and...

Based on a large employer-employee matched data set, the paper investigates the effects of variable enforcement of German dismissal protection legislation on the employment dynamics in small establishments. Specifically, using a difference-in-differences approach, we study the effect of changes...