Rezension

Ohne Zusammenfassung

---

Rezension

     

Am Puls des deutschen Wohnimmobilienmarktes

In its recent history, Germany has faced many serious economic crises. Remarkably, these crises all had a completely different impact on local housing markets. Some crises occurred at the national level, while others only took place at the regional level. Interestingly some crises were seemingly unnoticed by the German housing market. Hence, the question arises why the German housing market reacted differently to these crises and to what extent economic policy decisions were involved.     

The economics of quality in the specialty coffee industry: insights from the Cup of Excellence auction programs

This study estimates price determinants for specialty green coffee auctions using records from the 2004–2010 Cup of Excellence programs hosted by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence. While some literature on coffee has focused on certifications and sustainability labels, the discussion of price determinants has been limited. This article replicates one of the first publications on price determinants and formulates a new model to more accurately describe the market. We include the necessary additional variables and estimate the model using a truncated maximum likelihood estimation technique. While sensory quality has a strong effect on price, the highest premiums stem from obtaining a top rank compared to other coffees from the same country, and North American buyers are more responsive to sensory quality than buyers in Asian and European markets.     

Quo vadis Wohnungspolitik?

The massive increase of property prices in some regions of Germany is a direct consequence of the ongoing financial and debt crisis. Low interest rates and high inflation expectations increase the demand for real estate. In addition to a potential price bubble risk, social problems arouse more and more public interest. Currently, many tenants are facing significant rent increases. Thus, the shortage of housing dominates the current housing policy discussions. The so-called “package for affordable building and living” includes stricter rent controls and other economic policy interventions which aim to ease the situation in the real estate market, but the interventions have the opposite effect.