The obvious difference in the economic performance of countries has led to the question why some countries are so much wealthier than others, and whether the size, the structure, and the organisation of the public sector contribute to cross-country income and growth gaps. Public sector...

To fulfil their tasks, governments rely on public expenditures and taxes. Both influence the incentives and shape the decisions and actions of private economic agents. As governments resort to both instruments simultaneously, their combined theoretical impact on economic performance is a priori...

Die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung in Deutschland ist mit hoher Dynamik in das Jahr 2011 gestartet. Vieles spricht derzeit dafür, dass das Jahr 2011 mit einer Zunahme des BIP von 2,7 % ein Jahr des Aufschwungs sein wird. Dabei wird sowohl die Binnen- als auch die Auslandsnachfrage die Konjunktur...

The German economy entered the year 2011 buoyantly. The upswing is expected to continue throughout 2011 with GDP increasing at an average rate of 2.7%. Both internal and external demand will drive the economy. In the course of the forecast horizon, however, economic activity will become less...

Die deutsche Wirtschaft ist im Jahr 2012 nur schwach gewachsen. Das Bruttoinlandsprodukt (BIP) stieg im Jahresdurchschnitt um 0,7 %, im Jahresverlauf sogar nur 0,4 %. Die Aussichten für den Prognosezeitraum sind verhalten optimistisch. Die Weltkonjunktur wird sich vorerst nur allmählich...

The German economy achieved only a weak growth performance in 2012. GDP grew by 0.7 % on annual averages and by just 0.4 % over the course of the year. The prospects during the forecast period are mildly optimistic. The global economy will initially pick up only slowly, but the growth dynamic is...

This study demonstrates the importance of accounting for correlated unobserved heterogeneity to correctly identify the relevance of career and education for fertility decisions. By exploiting individual‐level life‐cycle information on fertility, career and education from large administrative...

The paper provides an overview of the development of public procurement (PP) rules in the EU and in selected international organisations. The EU rules were originally designed to foster competition and efficiency, and the dominant award criterion was the price. Over time, and in particular in...

In the wake of monetary integration in Europe, Austria abandoned the tested hard currency policy (HCP) for joining EMU as a member. The final target of monetary policy and real sector adjustment needs are similar in both regimes, and the HCP may therefore be viewed as a convenient "training...