The most important policy instruments of the Bundesbank and of the coming European Central Bank involve lending to domestic credit institutions. In this monetary setup, banks use short-term central bank credits extensively in order to refinance long-term loans to the public, which makes them...

We study the reasons and conditions under which mediation is beneficial when a principal needs information from an agent to implement an action. Assuming a strong form of limited commitment, the principal may employ a mediator who gathers information and makes nonbinding proposals. We show that...

A firm can either subject its workers to strict rules and regulations or grant them independence. If independent, they can make entrenchment-investments which will not only raise their productivity but also make the firm depend on their cooperation. However, in contrast to a standard holdup...

Many utilities are regulated with respect to prices and quality, and there is uncertainty about market conditions when regulation is chosen. We consider four different regulation regimes, based on two-part tariffs: A cap on the fixed fee is combined with either (i) quantity and quality...

We study the reasons and conditions under which mediation is beneficial when a principal needs information from an agent to implement an action. Assuming a strong form of limited commitment, the principal may employ a mediator who gathers information and makes non--binding proposals. We show...

This paper offers a new type of explanation for economic institutions as playing the role of mediators in the sense of Myerson (1985) to facilitate communication in contracting settings with ex ante asymmetric information and limited commitment. It derives necessary and sufficient conditions...

We analyse the potential for shifting freight transports to the railways in Western and Central Europe. This potential arises for large and concentrated freight flows over long distances of about 300 km or more. However, we show that there are only few such freight flows in Europe, and that they...