A New Regulatory Paradigm for the Digital Sector in Europe

The new regulatory framework in the digital sector in Europe is likely to fall short of expectations. A fragmented digital market with insuffi cient incentives for investment is the probable outcome. European regulators should abandon their approach in favour of a new and more flexible set of ideas discussed in this paper.     

Hedging costs and joint determinants of premiums and spreads in structured financial products

Evaluating more than 317,000 discount certificates in the German secondary market, we find that premiums and spreads are endogenous and negatively related but depend on different key determinants. The fundamental determinants of the premiums are mainly profit-related, that is, dividends of the underlying, issuers’ credit risk, lifecycle effect, and competition, whereas hedging costs are less important. However, initial hedging costs (IHC) are priced into the premium in the case of large inventory changes. The spread is mostly determined by hedging costs and risk components, such as IHCs, rebalancing costs, volatility, scalper risk, and overnight gap risk—but also by dividends.     

Einnahmen- und ausgabenseitige Multiplikatoren der deutschen Volkswirtschaft

Theoretically based on the Haavelmo theorem, this study analyses the economic effects that increasing public expenditure or reducing public income have on the gross domestic product of Germany, with the help of two medium-sized macro-econometric models, the RWI business cycle model and the Econometric Model of the German Economy. The major finding is that most of the public revenue multipliers are considerably lower than most of the public spending multipliers. However, both the dimension and the time course of the effects are a function of the specific kind of politico-economic measures taken by the government.     

Kurz Kommentiert

KURZ KOMMENTIERT

Kurz Kommentiert     

Das „saldenmechanische Modell“ von Fritz Helmedag und die Empirie

In der Januarausgabe 2006 des WIRTSCHAFTSDIENST ver?ffentlichten wir einen Aufsatz von Professor Fritz Helmedag über die „Abh?ngigkeit der Besch?ftigung von Steuern, Budgetdefiziten und L?hnen“. Nach einer Replik von Professor Bernd Lucke in der M?rzausgabe desselben Jahres und einer Erwiderung von Professor Fritz Helmedag hierzu eine weitere Replik von Dr. Georg Quaas und eine Erwiderung von Professor Helmedag. Doz. Dr. Georg Quaas, 55, ist Mitarbeiter am Institut für Empirische Wirtschaftsforschung (IEW) der Universit?t Leipzig.     

European Transport Policy in a Broader Perspective

On 12 July 2007 the European Parliament passed, with an overwhelming majority, a resolution on the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament of 22 June 2006 entitled “Keep Europe moving – Sustainable mobility for our continent – Mid-term review of the European Commission's 2001 Transport White Paper”.1 This article outlines the main positions of the European Parliament in relation to the focal points of the Commission's position concerning present and future European transport policy.