Optimierte Integration der Elektromobilität in das Stromversorgungssystem bei hohen Anteilen erneuerbarer Energien

Electric mobility will play a key role for the transformation of the energy supply in Germany [the “Energiewende”]. A successful market development of plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles and a full fleet penetration in the long-term are the most efficient and effective measure for integrating large amounts of renewable energy into the transport sector and for reaching the efficiency targets. These new electricity consumers in the supply system will cause additional electricity loads strongly dependent on the mobility needs of the vehicle users. A controlled battery charging is able to avoid new peak demands and to increase the efficiency of the power generation system by using excess power. By scenario analysis, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) and the Institute for High Voltage Technology of the RWTH Aachen investigated a possible successful development path of electric mobility in Germany and its integration into and interaction with the future power supply system. From both perspectives—the one of the total supply system as well as the other of local distribution grids—the results show promising potentials but also limits.     

Retail investor information demand – speculating and investing in structured products

We study the impact of retail investor information demand on trading in bank-issued investment and leverage structured products, which are specifically designed for retail investors. Stock-specific information demand positively predicts speculative trading activity. Furthermore, we find a positive relationship between market-wide information demand and order aggressiveness and order uncertainty for speculating and investing activity. Whereas information supply is associated with speculative long positions, information demand does not induce investors to be predominantly long or short. Finally, we do not find retail investor information demand to contribute to an upward price pressure on security prices. In contrast, information supply exerts negative price pressure. Overall, retail investor trading in individual stocks is much more strongly influenced by market-wide information demand instead of firm-specific information demand. This implies a low informational efficiency of retail investor speculation and investing activity.     

The “sugar rush” from innovation subsidies: a robust political economy perspective

The governments of most advanced countries offer some type of financial subsidy to encourage firm innovation and productivity. This paper analyzes the effects of innovation subsidies using a unique Swedish database that contains firm level data for the period 1997–2011, specifically informa tion on firm subsidies over a broad range of programs. Applying causal treatment effect analysis based on matching and a diff-in-diff approach combined with a qualitative case study of Swedish innovation subsidy programs, we test whether such subsidies have positive effects on firm performance. Our results indicate a lack of positive performance effects in the long run for the majority of firms, albeit there are positive short-run effects on human capital investments and also positive short-term productivity effects for the smallest firms. These findings are interpreted from a robust political economy perspective that reveals that the problems of acquiring correct information and designing appropriate incentives are so complex that the absence of significant positive long-run effects on firm performance for the majority of firms is not surprising.     

Growth, inequality, and welfare: comparisons across space and time

We propose and apply several welfare measures that combine averageincome with a measure of inequality to undertake cross-countrycomparisons of aggregate welfare for the 1970 to 2000 period.Our welfare measures, which are based on theoretical and empiricalfindings on the role of inequality in social welfare, drasticallychange the impression of levels of welfare, significantly affectthe welfare ranking of countries in different benchmark years,affect changes in ranking over time, and affect convergencebetween industrialized and developing countries. While the resultsare sensitive to the type of inequality and its presumed effecton welfare, the results are robust to different ways to addresscomparability problems inherent in the inequality data used.     

Idiosyncratic risk and the cost of capital: the case of electricity networks

We analyze the treatment and impact of idiosyncratic or firm-specific risk in regulation. Regulatory authorities regularly ignore firm-specific characteristics, such as size or asset ages, implying different risk exposure in incentive regulation. In contrast, it is common to apply only a single benchmark, the weighted average cost of capital, uniformly to all firms. This will lead to implicit discrimination. We combine models of firm-specific risk, liquidity management and regulatory rate setting to investigate impacts on capital costs. We focus on the example of the impact of component failures for electricity network operators. In a simulation model for Germany, we find that capital costs increase by \(\sim \) 0.2 to 3.0 % points depending on the size of the firm (in the range of 3–40 % of total cost of capital). Regulation of monopolistic bottlenecks should take these risks into account to avoid implicit discrimination.     

Chasing assets abroad: Ideas for more effective asset tracing and recovery in cross-border insolvency

Asset tracing and recovery (ATR) has become highly challenging in the digital age, where, with the touch of computer keys, assets can be shifted through multiple jurisdictions within minutes, creating significant challenges for recovering value. While many countries have tools to enable ATR, these tools differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and often are not recognized across borders in a manner that keeps pace with the need for rapid ATR, particularly during insolvency. This article takes stock of the myriad ATR tools available in domestic systems to discern parameters of key ATR tools that have common objectives, features, and safeguards, and that can form the basis of more standardized understanding and application of such tools. It also explores the extent to which cross-border ATR is aided by the leading frameworks for global, cross-border insolvency—the UNCITRAL Model Laws on Cross-Border Insolvency, insolvency-related judgments, and enterprise groups—in the process, revealing gaps and uncertainties. Such uncertainties can result in losses to stakeholders affected by insolvencies of different business sizes but can be particularly detrimental in small and medium enterprise (SME) cross-border insolvencies where there are typically more limited resources to chase assets. Against this backdrop, this article proposes ideas for the enhancement of the cross-border insolvency framework, to allow for effective cross-border access to information held abroad, the freezing of assets in cross-border cases, and the cross-border recovery of assets.     

Short-term fluctuations in incidental happiness and economic decision-making: experimental evidence from a sports bar

Experimental Economics - We develop a new experimental paradigm to study how emotions affect decision-making. We use it to investigate the impact of short-term fluctuations in incidental happiness...     

Unravelling the JPMorgan spoofing case using particle physics visualization methods

On 29 September 2020, JPMorgan was ordered to pay a settlement of $920.2 million for spoofing the metals and Treasury futures markets from 2008 to 2016. We examine these cases using a visualization method developed in particle physics (CERN) and the messages that the exchange receives about market activity rather than time-based snapshots. This approach allows to examine multiple indicators related to market manipulation and complement existing research methods, thereby enhancing the identification and understanding of, as well as the motivation for, market manipulation. In the JPMorgan cases, we offer an alternative motivation for spoofing than moving the price.     

Partner country selection between development narratives and self-interests: A new method for analysing complex donor approaches

Partner country (PC) selection lies in the centre of development policy decision-making of donor countries and institutions, and plays a significant role in shaping aid patterns. This paper proposes a comprehensive analysis contrasting donor intentions in PC selection with actual aid flows. Having analysed selected members of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, namely, the European Union, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, we suggest that (1) donors might not only be either altruistic or self-interested but also motivated by an intention to contribute to the provision of global public goods; (2) self-interest in aid provision can be an explicitly-stated strategy, contrary to what has been argued in the majority of the literature, which often treats self-interest as a non-stated donor intention; and (3) donors' self-interested intentions do not always lead to a less development-oriented donor approach.