In the German wastewater sector, innovations are often regarded to be the key to both more efficient service provision and reduction of environmental and health-related problems. However, it is unclear what factors foster these innovations. One possible candidate factor is increased competition...

Die Umweltpolitik in Deutschland konnte in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten beachtliche Erfolge aufweisen. Als Beispiele können der Rückgang der Emissionen verschiedener klassischer Luftschadstoffe, die Verbesserung der Abwasseraufbereitung sowie der Einstieg in die Kreislaufwirtschaft genannt...

The European Commission's proposal for a Directive on the award of concession contracts has sparked vigorous public debate and intense opposition. This Directive is controversial because of the nature of the policy it proposes and because the sectors involved are highly sensitive. This Forum...

The question non longer is if more competition should be introduced in the German water and sewerage sector. The issue rather is what kind of competition ought to be implemented. There are mainly three different approaches: Competition in the Market; Competition for the Market and the...

The purpose of the paper is to explain why and how American universities have taken the lead in continuing education compared to their European counterparts. In a first step we will discuss different notions of continuing education and develop an analytical framework to handle its various forms....

Due to recent legislation, Benchmarking in the German water and sewerage sector will be introduced as widely as possible. Under certain conditions this decision by the German Bundestag might help to improve the efficiency of the industry. I will define two sets of conditions. First, a useful...

There is a lack of competition in the German water and sewerage sector. According to economic theory levels of service can be expected to be inefficient. I will check this hypothesis and therefore take a closer look at various categories of levels of service. In analysing the internet pages of...

Information and communication technologies are transforming economies and societies around the world. In this respect, E-Commerce has the capability to build a new global economy. That is why government, industries, non-profit-organisations, trade unions and consumers would like to come together...