Advanced economies are increasingly based on intangible capital. Intangible capital has at least two special characteristics compared to tangible capital. First, it can be simultaneously used to produce different goods. Second, it is less suitable as collateral for obtaining external funds than...

Die deutsche Wirtschaft hat sich zu Jahresbeginn berappelt und besser entwickelt als zunächst erwartet. Kräftig gestiegene Bauinvestitionen - wenngleich aufgrund des milden Winterwetters eher ein Strohfeuer - und starke Warenexporte halfen ihr auf die Beine und konnten die enttäuschende...

The German economy began recovering at the beginning of 2024 and has developed better than initially expected. A sharp rise in construction investment, albeit more of a flash in the pan as a result of mild winter weather, along with strong goods exports helped the economy onto its recovery path...

While the labor share of income has decreased in most advanced economies since the 1980s, it has remained relatively stable in Switzerland. However, this does not imply that the capital share of income has also remained stable. Our results suggest that the share of imputed capital rental...

Models of political budget cycles assume that politicians use fiscal policy to increase their chances of re-election. However, empirical results for advanced economies provide ambiguous support for the existence of such electoral cycles. Also, studies focusing on the regional or local level of...

The macroeconomic literature has found puzzling effects of government spending on private consumption, the real exchange rate and the terms of trade. Some authors find that private consumption increases after a shock to government spending, while others report a decrease. The same ambiguity can...

Sound public finances are crucial for ensuring a successful transformation of transition countries to democratic market economies. The transition countries in North Africa are an important example for this. These countries experienced increasing budget deficits in 2011 and 2012. Public finances...

Over the last years, microloans to small and medium-sized enterprises have grown in significance in many countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Empirical evidence on the economic and social impact of microfinance is, however, scant. In trying to shed more light on this important issue, this...