Trump: Reckless Free Trader or Genuine Protectionist?

The question that remains unanswered is whether Trump’s tariff strategy is a tactical one, intended to wring concessions from China, Germany, Mexico and others, or whether it represents a genuine abandonment of the U.S. commitment to free trade that dates back to the mid-1930s. The answer will determine whether the Trump tariffs prove to be a minor skirmish, or trigger a major trade war that will rip apart the fabric of global trading rules.     

Roche’s Clinical Trials with Organs from Prisoners: Does Profit Trump Morals?

This case study discusses the economic, legal, and ethical considerations for conducting clinical trials in a controversial context. In 2010, pharmaceutical giant Roche received a shame award by the Swiss non-governmental organization Berne Declaration and Greenpeace for conducting clinical trials with organs taken from executed prisoners in China. The company respected local regulations and industry ethical standards. However, medical associations condemned organs from executed prisoners on moral grounds. Human rights organizations demanded that Roche ended its clinical trials in China immediately. Students are expected to review the economic and ethical issues regarding the outsourcing of clinical trials to controversial human rights contexts, and discuss how to make business decisions when there are conflicts between making profit and ethical considerations. Was Roche complicit in the human rights violations that were related to its clinical trials? Future patients might benefit from these clinical trials. Do profit and the greater good, in general, trump morals?     

Pflege Dual: Verknüpfung gelungen?

Der ausbildungsintegrierende Bachelorstudiengang – Seit dem Wintersemester 2009/10 gibt es an der Katholischen Stiftungsfachhochschule München den ausbildungsintegrierenden Bachelorstudiengang „Pflege Dual“. Dieser verzahnt Studium und Ausbildung. Doch was halten die Auszubildenden der herk?mmlichen Pflegeausbildung davon?     

Energieeffizienz: größte Energiequelle oder Quell zusätzlicher Nachfrage?

Energy efficiency improvements are generally seen as the royal road to sustainability and energy security. The underlying idea is simple: if the same amount of output can be produced with fewer inputs, this saves resources and alleviates environmental issues. But this logic fails to recognise basic economic principles. Efficiency improvement may eventually stimulate energy consumption. This so-called rebound effect limits the effectiveness of policies inducing energy efficiency by means of standards. Policy makers should acknowledge this and take rebound into account when designing climate and energy policy.     

Österreichs Alterssicherung: Vorbild für Deutschland?

As a result of political reforms, pension provision in Germany is the task of a multi pillar model including private and occupational schemes in addition to the public pension insurance. By contrast, the Austrian single pillar model has been developed into an encompassing public insurance system now also covering the self employed and civil servants. A comparison of the two countries shows that the Austrian system provides much higher benefits. Economic developments in Germany and Austria have been rather close in recent years. This, we argue, shows that a strong public pension insurance does not hamper a country’s economic performance.     

Vorratslager für Seltene Erden: Eine Aufgabe für die Wirtschaftspolitik?

Im Zentrum der aktuellen Debatte um die chinesische Exportverknappung bei den Metallen der Seltenen Erden steht die Sorge einer strategischen Abh?ngigkeit mit daraus entstehenden Wettbewerbsnachteilen für die europ?ische Wirtschaft. Entsprechend werden Forderungen nach einer industriepolitischen Antwort laut. Die dabei diskutierten Rohstoffvorratslager k?nnen dazu beitragen, extreme Preissteigerungen abzufedern und Zeit für eine Reaktion des Angebots au?erhalb Chinas zu gewinnen. Allerdings sollte sich die Wirtschaftspolitik auf die Koordination bei der Einrichtung solcher Vorratslager konzentrieren und die Finanzierung der Industrie überlassen.     

Der dichte Kern des Netzwerks deutscher Aufsichtsr?te und Unternehmensvorst?nde

In a previous study the authors have identified a small core of directors who are both highly central to the entire network of German corporate boards as well as closely connected among themselves. In this note the authors provide an update of their previous results using the composition of management and supervisory boards as of December 2010. Almost all qualitative properties of previous samples are confirmed despite considerable turnover within the group of people constituting the network core.     

China: Globales Leitbild für Wachstum und Fortschritt?

Ohne Zusammenfassung Carsten Herrmann-Pillath ist Academic Director der Sino-German School of Governance an der Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.     

EU-Investitionsförderung für kleine und mittlere Unternehmen in Südeuropa: empfehlenswert?

The president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, has repeatedly pointed out that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face major constraints to access to credit and that removing these constraints could contribute to reducing unemployment. According to press reports, the new president of the EU Commission and even the European Central Bank are also considering low-cost loans for national banks if they provide credit for SMEs. It is argued theoretically and empirically that single-firm investment support does not address the causes of high unemployment and, due to the difficulty in monitoring, could result in great inefficiencies.     

Niedrige Preis-Dividende-Verhältnisse: Einstiegssignal für den Aktienmarkt?

Zusammenfassung  Die Finanzmarktkrise ging weltweit mit einem Rückgang der Aktienkurse einher. Sind diese niedrigen Aktien-Bewertungen als überreaktion mit der Aussicht auf baldige Korrektur zu bewerten? Oder bringen sie realistische Erwartungen einer schw?cheren Entwicklung b?rsennotierter deutscher Unternehmen zum Ausdruck? K?nnen anhand der aktuellen Entwicklung der Preis-Dividende-Verh?ltnisse Aussagen über die zukünftige Kurs- und Dividendenentwicklung gemacht werden? Prof. Dr. Oliver Holtem?ller, 37, ist Juniorprofessor für Allgemeine Volkswirtschaftslehre an der Fakult?t für Wirtschaftswissenschaften der Rheinisch-Westf?lischen Technischen Hochschule Aachen.