This thesis is motivated by the wish to balance the public debate on regulation. It aims to teach public and policy-makers about the seen und unseen effects as well as regulatory options of a particular form of regulation – occupational licensing – by using the German crafts experience....

The wave of upbeat stories on the developing world's emerging middle class has reinvigorated a debate on how social class in general and the middle class in particular ought to be defined and empirically measured. With the aim of adding clarity to this debate, this dissertation provides a...

Social networks can serve as an instrument to link agents with each other over space and time. The emerging pattern can display the flow of information, the diffusion of technology or the trade flow of products between all kinds of agents. Networks are very flexible constructs, which are defined...

The vast majority of the efficiency and productivity measurement literature has been based on the static viewpoint of the firm. Few studies have developed the dynamic analog of static efficiency measurement, introducing the notions of long-run efficiency and inefficiency persistence. However,...

High levels of carbon emissions and rising income inequality are interconnected challenges for the global society. Commonly-applied linear regression models fail to unravel the complexity of potential bi-directional transmission channels. Specifically, consumption, energy sources and the...

Access to electricity is typically the main benefit associated with solar panels, but in economically less developed countries, where access to electricity is still very limited, solar panel systems can also serve as means to generate additional income and to diversify income sources. We analyze...

Access to electricity is typically the main benefit associated with solar panels, but in economically less developed countries, where access to electricity is still very limited, solar panel systems can also serve as means to generate additional income and to diversify income sources. We analyze...