Advances in human development are closely linked to increasing access to water and sanitation services in developing countries. The present study investigates the role of governance for mastering this challenge. The motivation for choosing this subject is the insight that the focus on...

This dissertation is a collection of four research papers written during my doctoral studies at the University of Konstanz between October 2004 and November 2008. These papers are empirical studies dealing with different aspects in the field of university economics. The focus of the first two...

Die Arbeit untersucht die Anwendbarkeit des HarrisTodaro Modells für Land-Stadt-Migrations-Prozesse inEntwicklungsländern. Dabei geht es nicht nur um das Basismodel,sondern auch um die Modell-Erweiterungen, die internationalenHandel, einen städtischen informellen Sektor und die Aspekte...

Mit der Gründung der WTO am 1.1.1995 trat das TRIPS-Übereinkommen in Kraft. Es verpflichtet alle WTO Mitglieder zur Umsetzung von Rechten zum Schutze des geistigen Eigentums, welche dem Niveau industrialisierter Staaten nahezu entsprechen. Die Stärkung internationaler Immaterialgüterrechte...

In der Steuerreformdiskussion sind sich Ökonomen durchaus über die theoretischen Vorzüge der konsomorientierten Besteuerung gegenüber dem Konzept der Einkommensbesteuerung einig. Aus der qualitativen Analyse in der vorliegenden Arbeit stellen sich die zwischen 1994-2000 in Kroatien...

This paper models the fertility decision of individuals who differ in their wage rate and their intensity of preferences for rearing children, and whose utility of having a child out of wedlock depends on the level of “social approval” associated with doing so. This social approval in turn...

The first two essays of this dissertation use policy experiments to show that low-skilled newly arriving immigrants help keep the economy in geographic equilibrium by differentially selecting destinations that provide better labor market prospects. The first essay finds that immigrants choose...

In 1993, the State of Iowa, through waivers, implemented reforms to its welfare program creating the Family Investment program (FIP), a program similar to the Federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program created in 1996. This paper examines the experiences of individuals and...