Entwicklung der Risiko- und Prognoseberichterstattung am deutschen Kapitalmarkt

To decrease information gaps between accounted equity and firm value the management forecast- and risk reporting is of great importance according to the agency and communication theory. The present study gives an overview about the normative development of the management reporting. Earlier reforms of the German legislator and the principles of management reporting can only partially limit the discretions by drawing up the forecast and risk report. The central focus of the following meta-analysis lies on measuring the quantity, quality and influence factors of forecast and risk reports at the German capital market during the business years 2000?C2009. The management intention of a precise forecast- and risk reporting, which can be explained by the Blackwell theorem and the Unraveling principle, is mainly not realized. The main influence factors on forecast and risk reporting are firm size, the index notation and the industry. In fact of reporting gaps we discuss the normative development of management reporting in Germany with regard to the management commentary of the IFRS, the management??s discussion & analysis (MD&A) of the US-GAAP and the potential implementation of certain rules of DRS 5 and DRS 15 into German commercial law.     

Interest rate reaction functions for the euro area

Estimating interest rate reaction functions for the euro area is still hampered by the short time span since the conduct of a single monetary policy. This is why estimates of union-wide reaction functions are usually based on historical pre-EMU data. In this paper we circumvent the common use of aggregated data before 1999 by estimating interest rate reaction functions based on a panel including actual EMU Member States. We find that exploiting the cross-section dimension of a multi-country panel and accounting for cross-country heterogeneity in advance of the single monetary policy improves the ability of historical reaction functions to describe actual interest rate dynamics. We retrieve a panel reaction function which is employed for evaluating interest rate setting since 1999.     

The Action Plan on European Contract Law: Perspectives for the Future of European Contract Law and EC Consumer Law

The European Commission's Action Plan on European Contract Law is the follow-up to the Communication of July 2001. It reveals the conclusions of the Commission and proposes a mix of regulatory and non-regulatory measures aimed at removing obstacles to the smooth functioning of the internal market and ensuring the uniform application of EC law. These measures are (a) the improvement of the acquis through the elaboration of a common frame reference containing common rules and terminology, (b) promotion of the use of standard terms for cross-border contracts, and (c) further reflection on an optional horizontal instrument in the field. This article will undertake a general discussion of the likely impact of the measures on the future of EC consumer law and European contract law, and treat certain questions relating to the conflict of laws. It is also hoped that the article will acquaint the new reader with some of the (mainly) recent discussions in English and French on the subject matter from different jurisdictions.     

Asymmetric price transmission in the US and German fuel markets: a quantile autoregression approach

This paper proposes a new econometric model for asymmetric price transmissions. We estimate long-run equilibrium equations between upstream and downstream     

Heterogeneous effects of competitiveness shocks on macroeconomic performance across euro area countries

This paper considers how competitiveness impacts macroeconomic performance in 11 euro area countries. VAR models are estimated for the individual countries using quarterly data from 1995Q4 to 2013Q4. Besides unit labour costs as a competitiveness measure, the models include GDP, the current account balance and domestic credit. The empirical analyses show that changes in unit labour costs help explain GDP dynamics in the short and medium term in most countries, whereas they have little explanatory power for the current account balance or domestic credit for most countries. Overall, the effects of the unit labour costs vary substantially across the countries in the euro area. The heterogeneity suggests that policy measures aiming to improve economic growth, correct current account imbalances and ensure financial stability need to take country‐specific features into account.     

New constitutional “debt brakes” for Euroland? A question of institutional complementarity

Despite the EU Stability & Growth Pact and existing constitutional limits on public deficit/debt at the (sub)national level in many EU member countries, in the wake of the 2010 Greek bailout, many politicians and policy advisors have proposed new constitutional “debt brakes” to prevent future fiscal crises and bailouts. This paper puts a question mark behind this popular policy recommendation. Public choice scholars and other critical observers have repeatedly emphasised that constitutional deficit/debt limits are not per se credible commitments to run a sound fiscal policy in the future. To demonstrate this, design defects of such fiscal constraints are usually pointed out (no politically independent control, no sanctions, etc.). Going beyond this standard approach of credibility assessment, this paper argues for taking the issue of institutional complementarity seriously. To assess its credibility, one has to not only examine the design of a deficit/debt limit but also the institutional environment (tax/expenditure policy, capital market, etc.) in which such a constitutional commitment is embedded.     

China's Approach to Social Market Economics: The Chinese variant of Market Socialism Seeks to Escape from the Difficulties of Central Command Planning

Abstract . The paradigm of a social market economy provides a rational basis for resolving structural socioeconomic changes, as presently evidenced in the People's Republic of China. China's approach to socioeconomic change, labeled as “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics,” resembles a modified version of Eucken's paradigm of a social market economy.¹ The Chinese paradigm, leaning on that of Walter Eucken, provides for a “limited”free market, which not only accommodates economic growth and change, but which also makes allowance for some degree of human, especially economic freedom, and dignity. Eucken's model is based on a sound institutional and legal framework which he considered to be essential for a viable modern market economy. China's new socioeconomic program is moving the country in this direction. It takes into account people's desire for a useful and Just socioeconomic order (however defined), characterized by stable socioeconomic and political policies and by a flexible price mechanism, to enable them to live a life in dignity, free of economic deprivation.     

Measuring wage effects of plant size

There are large plant size–wage effects in the Nordic countries after taking into account individual and job characteristics as well as systematical sorting of the workers into various plant-sizes. The plant size–wage elasticities we obtain are, in contrast to other dimensions of the wage distribution, comparable to the plant-size effects in other countries such as the U.S. with completely different institutions of wage setting. We also investigate the consequence of measurement error associated with the common practice of using midpoints of plant-size classes to estimate the plant size–wage elasticity. Our results indicate that using size–class midpoints yields essentially the same results as using exact measures of plant size.     

International maritime transport and climate policy

The contribution of international maritime transport to anthropogenic climate change has so far attracted little attention. This may be expected to change in the near future due to both ongoing research and the political processs. The present article looks at the relevant trends in international maritime transport and discusses both the greenhouse gas emissions from shipping and the possible repercussions of climate change on shipping. It concludes with an overview of policies and measures that should be implemented to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from shipping in a cost-efficient way.