Stabile Allokationen und Matching-Märkte

The Nobel prize in economics in 2012 was awarded to Lloyd S. Shapley and Alvin E. Roth for “the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design” (Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences). The prize honours Lloyd Shapley’s theoretical foundations of the theory of stable allocations (in particular the celebrated deferred-acceptance algorithm) as well as the theoretical and practical contributions to the design of matching markets by Al Roth. As prices do not play their usual role in equating supply and demand, market failure is widespread (congestion, unravelling, lack of thickness). The actual design of two-sided matching markets, such as school choice, labour markets and kidney exchange, relies on both theory as well as on empirical investigations of the market and its rules.     

Investitionen und Regulierung bei schnellen Internetzugängen in Deutschland und der Schweiz

The transition from copper-based internet access to ultra-fast broadband networks requires large investments. However, regulation has a serious impact on (private) investment incentives. We describe and evaluate the regulatory frameworks of European countries, in particular those of Germany and Switzerland. Our article argues that the ex-ante sector-specific regulation in EU countries like Germany, with its focus on cost-oriented access and service-based competition, is likely to have a detrimental effect on investment. In contrast, the Swiss approach of ex-post regulation provides a more conducive investment environment. We provide preliminary evidence on investment behaviour supporting our theoretical conclusions.     

Außenhandel,Arbeitsmärkte und die globale Verteilung der Einkommen

The authors assess the scope and sources of changes in the technical efficiency of German hospital care in the period 1993 to 2013. German states (Länder) differ substantially in terms of efficiency. The length of stay is the most important driver of efficiency, while the effects of other policy measures depend on funding systems and regional idiosyncrasies. For example, East German hospitals were drastically restructured after reunification, reducing the scope for further improvements. In West Germany, by contrast, increased capital could enhance efficiency. The authors conclude that appropriate policy measures should be pursued, especially in West Germany, in order to increase efficiency.     

Wie lässt sich die Dominanz der Finanzmärkte über die Politik lösen?

Der Krisenverlauf und die Bemühungen der Politik gegenzusteuern lassen den Eindruck entstehen, dass die Finanzm?rkte die Politik vor sich hertreiben. Die Politik hat offenbar durch ein Regulierungsversagen die Marktkr?fte nicht genügend geb?ndigt. Wurden die Kapitalm?rkte nicht schon seit langem von der Politik privilegiert? Welche konkreten Vorschl?ge gibt es, die Eurol?nder von den Finanzm?rkten unabh?ngiger zu machen? Welche Erfahrungen wurden in der Vergangenheit mit Verschuldungskrisen gemacht?     

Finanzmärkte und (soziale) Nachhaltigkeit – ein schwieriges Verhältnis

In the catalogue of “Sustainable Development Goals” approved by the UN General Assembly in September 2015, financial market regulation is mainly described as an issue of social sustainability. This classification is appropriate because inadequate regulation leads to imbalances between profits and liability, as private gains are accompanied by social costs. Consequently, the distribution of wealth and income deteriorates inasmuch as people with high fortunes tend to have more opportunities to benefit from investments in capital markets. Financial market regulation, aiming to prevent such a development, should mainly focus on fighting moral hazard, limiting too -big -to- fail problems and banning short -term-oriented remuneration structures in banks.     

Disparitäten in der Entwicklung der Gemeindesteuern

Generally, taxes are the most relevant source of revenue for German municipalities. In the period from 2004 to 2014, tax revenues were growing at remarkable rates. However, statistical analyses show that not all municipalities were benefitting in the same way, and thus state-wide averages are of limited value, since they tend to whitewash inner-state inequality. Disparities are even significant in states with strong economic fundamentals. According to absolute measures, disparities are growing at the national level. This can be explained by a few tax-strong outliers. In contrast, relative inequality remains static. The alarming finding is that intertemporal mobility among municipalities in the allocation of tax revenues is limited, and thus tax-weak municipalities face a cloudy outlook.     

Treibhausgasneutralität 2045/2050: Verschärfung der nationalen und der europäischen Klimaziele

Wirtschaftsdienst - Auf nationaler und auf europäischer Ebene sind die zuvor bestehenden Klimaziele deutlich verschärft worden. Die neuen Vorgaben, mit denen in Deutschland 2045 und in...     

Das Rätsel der Niedrigzinsphase

The article disputes that low interest rates, a characteristic of the German Economy since the Great Recession, indicate a low marginal productivity of capital. It advocates the use of WACC (weighted average cost of capital) as a proxy of the marginal productivity of capital. Using proprietary data from Bloomberg, the article demonstrates that WACC did not fall to zero in Germany during recent years. On average, the marginal productivity of capital was around ten per cent, and it never fell below six per cent.     

Altschuldenentlastung der Bundesländer: Verteilungswirkungen ausgewählter Vorschläge

Due to large public deficits in the past, many German states face high interest payments in their budgets today. Therefore, a restructuring of this outstanding debt will be a major topic in forthcoming negotiations on the future design of the fiscal equalisation scheme. This article presents some proposals that are currently being discussed and calculates their redistributional effects between the federal government and the states. It is shown that all models would lead to a significantly higher burden for the federal budget. The only way to afford this is either to increase the value added tax rates or to keep the so-called solidarity surcharge that was originally introduced to finance transfers to East Germany.     

Grunderwerbsteuer im Länderfinanzausgleich: Umverteilung der Zusatzlast der Besteuerung

Apart from Bavaria and Saxony, all Federal States in Germany have considerably raised property transfer taxes in recent years. There is empirical evidence that increasing property transfer taxes leads to lower turnover on real estate markets. The corresponding negative fiscal impact is partly counterbalanced in the German fiscal equalisation scheme. This paper explicates the relationship between tax hikes and the transfer volume and calculates the responses of the fiscal equalisation scheme in various scenarios.     

Konjunkturschlaglicht: Ergebnis der Steuerschätzung

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Konjunkturschlaglicht: Ergebnis der Steuersch?tzung