In this paper we empirically discuss the question whether or not debt relief in the past fifteen years has been economically rational. Analysing the determinants of debt relief our results suggest that governance quality did not play a role in the decision of creditor countries to forgive debt...

We analyse whether biodiversity can improve the economic growth of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) by increasing the receipts of tourism as one of the world biggest and fastest growing industries. The intention of our examination is to present an alternative utilization of biodiversity, rather...

Die aktuelle bildungspolitische Diskussion hat mit dem Vorschlag, Eliteuniversitäten zu schaffen, einen vorläufigen Höhepunkt erreicht. Von vielen Seiten wird hierzu Stellung bezogen. Der vorliegende Beitrag dient zum Einen zur Versachlichung der Diskussion und zum Anderen dazu, in knapp...

Almost all international environmental agreements include a minimum participation rule. Under such a rule an agreement becomes legally binding if and only if a certain threshold in terms of membership or contribution is reached. We analyze a cartel game with open membership and heterogeneous...

Anecdotal evidence suggests that journalists and bureaucrats in some countries are killed when they try to blow the whistle on corruption. We demonstrate in a simple game-theoretical model how murders can serve as an enforcement mechanism of corrupt deals under certain regime assumptions....

Foreign aid, especially official development assistance (ODA), has received increasing criticism in past decades. In particular, it has been put into question if and to what extent aid can help foster the aims for which it has been paid. In most cases, it seems that there is no discernable...

Viewing individual contributions as investments in emission reduction we rely on the familiar linear public goods- game to set global reduction targets which, if missed, imply that all payoffs are destroyed with a certain probability. Regulation by milestones does not only impose a final...

The article analyzes FDI inflows into Baltic countries using a gravity approach. The results of the empirical estimation allow us to explain how difference in corporate taxation between countries, geographical and cultural distance, institutions such as regulations and the size of the economy as...

In this paper we develop a methodology which is based on two important criteria - sensitivity in delivery time and value-to-weight ratio - to classify products relevant for air transport. Detailed trade data by mode of transport are used to check the loading of an average airplane between South...

South Africa's trade barriers are still relatively high compared to other emerging market economies, and its industrial policy still preferentially treats certain industries. Based on a static GTAP model, we estimate the economic impact of further trade liberalization on the South African...