Determinanten der Strom-und Gaspreisentwicklung in Deutschland — Eine empirische Bestandsaufnahme für die Jahre 1998 bis 2007

The price worthy supply of energy is an indispensable requirement for growth and employment in highly industrialized countries as Germany. For energy intensive production processes — with limited opportunities to accomplish efficiency gains or substitute fuel — energy prices and costs are important determinants for competitiveness. But the other manufacturing sectors and households too, are affected by these high energy costs respectively expenditures, which result in real production losses or correspondingly in cutting back expenditures for non-energetic consumer goods. In view of the strongly increased level of energy prices — the price for crude oil hit the historic peak of $121 per barrel in May 2008 — especially grid bound energy sources as electricity and gas are in focus of the public. A recent study of the EEFA research institute illustrates the determinants of the development of electricity and gas prices in Germany from 1998 to 2007.     

Uniqueness of Markov equilibrium in stochastic OLG models with nonclassical production

A large class of stochastic OLG economies with nonclassical production is shown to possess a unique Markov Equilibrium (ME) which is also the unique sequential equilibrium. Additional properties such as monotonicity, continuity, and smoothness of the ME are also discussed.     

Trade Liberalization and Heterogeneous Technology Investments

We propose a trade model where heterogeneous firms decide on a productivity‐enhancing technology investment. The model analyzes the impact of multilateral trade liberalization on firm‐ and industry‐level productivity. Freer trade increases the incentives to invest in technology by raising export profits. It also dampens these incentives, however, as profits stemming from domestic sales are reduced. Only exporters benefit from the former positive effect. The shape of the distribution of efficiency draws, the level of trade costs and the technology intensity of the industry are key elements removing the ambiguities regarding the net impact of trade liberalization.     

An interdisciplinary approach to regional land use analysis using GIS, with applications to the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica

Policy makers and other stakeholders concerned with regional rural development increasingly face the need for instruments that can improve transparency in the policy debate and that enhance understanding of opportunities for and limitations to development. To this end, a methodology called SOLUS (Sustainable Options for Land Use) was developed by an interdisciplinary team of scientists over a 10-year period in the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica. The main tools of SOLUS include a linear programming (LP) model, two expert systems that define technical coefficients for a large number of production activities, and a geographic information system (GIS). A five-step procedure was developed for GIS to spatially reference biophysical and economic parameters, to create input for the expert systems and the LP model, to store and spatially reference model output data, and to create maps of both model input and output data. SOLUS can be used to evaluate the potential effects of alternative policies and incentive structures on the performance of the agricultural sector. A number of practical applications demonstrate SOLUS's capability to quantify trade-offs between economic objectives (income, employment) and environmental sustainability (soil nutrient balances, pesticide use, greenhouse gas emissions). GIS-created maps visualize the spatial aspects of such trade-offs and indicate hotspots where local goals may conflict with regional goals.     

Deriving target selection rules from endogenously selected samples

The selection of the most profitable customers in a customer database for targeted activities is often done based on observed behaviour in the past. Consequently, databases arising from the responses to, for example, direct mailings in the past are not random samples. When not all heterogeneity across customers is observed, target selection will be based on unobserved heterogeneity and hence it is endogenous. We develop a method to adjust the likelihood function of latent class models to correct for this endogenous sampling process. We apply this technique to the selection of mail targets for a Dutch charity. Based on a joint model for the response rate and the amount donated, we create a target selection rule that maximizes expected revenues. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Contribution of Migration to Economic Development in Holland 1570–1800

Migration always played an important role in Dutch society. However, little quantitative evidence on its effect on economic development is known for the period before the twentieth century even though some stories exist about their effect on the Golden Age. Applying a VAR analysis on a new dataset on migration and growth for the period 1570–1800, we find that migration had a positive effect on factor accumulation during the whole period, and a positive direct effect on the per capita income during the Golden Age. This seems to confirm those studies that claim that the Dutch economy during its Golden Age at least partially benefitted from immigration.     

Flat income taxation,redistribution and labour market performance

A flat tax rate on labour income has gained popularity in European countries. This article assesses the attractiveness of such a flat tax in achieving redistributive objectives with the smallest distortions to employment. We do so by using a detailed applied general equilibrium model for the Netherlands. The model is empirically grounded in the data and encompasses decisions on hours worked, labour force participation, skill formation, wage bargaining between unions and firms and a wide variety of institutional details. The simulations suggest that the replacement of the current tax system in the Netherlands by a flat rate will harm labour market performance if aggregate income inequality is contained. Only flat tax reforms that reduce redistribution will raise employment. This finding bolsters the notions from optimal tax literature regarding the equity-efficiency trade off and the superiority of nonlinear taxes to obtain redistributive goals in an efficient way.     

“Too Good to be True!”. The Effectiveness of CSR History in Countering Negative Publicity

Corporate crises call for effective communication to shelter or restore a company’s reputation. The use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) claims may provide an effective tool to counter the negative impact of a crisis, but knowledge about its effectiveness is scarce and lacking in studies that consider CSR communication during crises. To help fill this gap, this study investigates whether the length of company’s involvement in CSR matters when it uses CSR claims in its crisis communication as a means to counter negative publicity. The use of CSR claims in crisis communication is more effective for companies with a long CSR history than for those with a short CSR history, and consumer skepticism about claims lies at the heart of this phenomenon.