The distribution of income and wealth in Germany grew increasingly unequal until the beginning of the financial crisis. But inequality has not risen in either Germany or Switzerland since 2005. Nevertheless, Germans overestimate inequality. The German gap between reality and perception of...

Throughout the world, strong dispersions of both regional and national unemployment rates can be observed. The economic theory has developed various explanations on how this differences occur. Corresponding models mainly aim at institutional and political framework, insider effects, efficiency...

Die gegenwärtige Ruhe in der Eurozone trügt. Der Euro steht weiter auf der Kippe. Das Machtwort von Mario Draghi hat nichts gelöst. Die Dreifach-Krise - Banken-, Staatsschulden- und Wettbewerbskrise - schwelt weiter. Das Grundübel der Währungsunion ist multiples 'moral hazard'....

This paper investigates the causes of the "vanishing effect of finance" detected in recent studies. The results highlight that the negative effect of the financial system on growth is mainly driven by advanced economies, whereas finance is still beneficial for income increases in developing...