Do the skilled and prime-aged unemployed benefit more from training? Effect heterogeneity of public training programmes in Germany

This study analyses the treatment effects of public training programmes for the unemployed in Germany. Based on propensity score matching methods, we extend the picture that has been sketched in previous studies by estimating the treatment effects of medium-term programmes for different skill and age groups. Our results indicate that programme participation has a positive impact on employment probabilities and earnings for almost all sub-groups. We find little evidence for the presence of heterogeneous treatment effects, and the magnitude of the differences is quite small. Our results thus – at least in part – conflict with the strategy to provide training increasingly to individuals with better employment prospects.     

Asset Ownership and the Threat to Sell

In this paper the effects of selling assets are examined in a property rights model à la Grossmann, Hart and Moore. The possibility of selling an asset gives its owner a bargaining tool which can strengthen his bargaining power under certain circumstances. This offers a form of protection against opportunistic behavior in the hold-up problem, which has not yet been considered in the literature on property rights. With this model it is possible to give a rationale for unconditional joint ownership. Moreover, an explanation for privatization, outsourcing and the existence of passive outside owners can be derived within the model.     

Robust monetary policy in a small open economy

We study how a central bank in a small open economy should conduct monetary policy if it fears that its model is misspecified. Using a new-Keynesian model of a small open economy, we solve analytically for the optimal robust policy rule and the equilibrium dynamics, and we separately analyze the consequences of central bank robustness against misspecification concerning the determination of inflation, output, and the exchange rate. We show that an increase in the preference for robustness makes the central bank respond more aggressively or more cautiously to shocks, depending on the type of shock and the source of misspecification.     

Option Contracts in Supply Chains

This paper considers optimal contracts in supply chains that consist of   n ≥ 2  firms and face a potential investment hold-up problem. We show that option contracts may solve the incentive problems. First, we provide case-study evidence for the use of option contracts in the semiconductor industry. As our second contribution, we generalize the earlier option contract approach by introducing continuous quantities. Third, we extend the setting to n parties. For long supply chains, the first-best allocation can be achieved if there is a particular order of renegotiations .     

Preferences for improvements in attributes associated with basal insulin: a time trade-off and willingness-to-pay survey of a diabetic and non-diabetic population in Sweden

Objective: Apart from improved health outcomes, treatment convenience per se may have a value to individuals. This is sometimes referred to as process utility and can be estimated in terms of willingness-to-pay (WTP) or quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Previous research has produced multiple studies on QALY gains and WTP estimates of insulin-related attributes. There are, however, significant variations between studies, and it is not clear to what extent the value is a reflection of the true preferences or a consequence of the methodological approach. The aim of this study is to estimate the preferences for treatment attributes associated with basal insulin (administration frequency, administration flexibility, and treatment-induced weight gain) using both QALYs—elicited using time trade-off (TTO) and WTP—among a sample of the Swedish general population and among a sample of the Swedish diabetes population.

Methods: Data was collected using web-based surveys which were distributed to members of internet panels. The WTP survey presented five hypothetical scenarios with an offer to pay the incremental cost to receive basal insulin with improved attributes. The TTO survey presented six hypothetical scenarios where the respondent could choose between living for the rest of his/her life with diabetes and receiving treatment with a basal insulin with certain attributes or live for a shorter time with full health. The scenarios were combined with either a basal or a basal–bolus treatment regimen. Results from the TTO analysis were translated into monetary estimates using a threshold value of SEK500,000 per QALY.

Results: In total, 2012 responses were included. The ratings of the attributes were almost identical, irrespective of method for the general population, while it differed to some extent for the diabetes population. The methods produced the same value for flexibility, but the estimates generated with the TTO approach were higher for one less injection and avoided weight gain. The general population assigned a higher utility gain to convenience attributes, while the diabetes population assigned a higher utility gain to avoiding weight gain.

Limitations: About a quarter of the respondents did not accept the scenario in the WTP survey, i.e. protesters.

Conclusions: The ranking of the attributes was generally independent of evaluation method, but the TTO method resulted in similar or higher values compared to the WTP method.     

A European view on the legitimacy of accounting procedures: Towards a deliberative-accountability framework for analysis

Accounting rules affect fundamental areas of social interaction encompassing groups that have diverse and conflicting interests regarding financial reporting. In the absence of a coherent social choice theory, concepts of legitimacy can be used to assess the acceptance of accounting standard-setting processes and their resulting norms. In this paper, we analyze the standard-setting process in Europe. Accounting rules in Europe are developed in a two-stage process involving both private standard-setting and public rule-making. From a structural perspective, the European Union (EU) is well positioned to develop legitimate accounting procedures. However, the original purpose and the ensuing legitimacy of its control mechanism are jeopardized when EU structures are used and sometimes abused for policy formation and the creation of EU-IFRS.