Die reale Zahlungsbereitschaft für Klimaschutz

Der Klimawandel und das globale ?ffentliche Gut Klimaschutz genie?en gro?e Aufmerksamkeit in der ?ffentlichen Debatte. Klimaschutz verursacht jedoch Kosten und es stellt sich die Frage, was die Menschen in Deutschland tats?chlich für Klimaschutz bereit sind zu zahlen. Dieser Beitrag stellt eine neue Studie zur Ermittlung der realen Zahlungsbereitschaft für Klimaschutz vor und diskutiert die Ergebnisse aus der Perspektive der Klimapolitik.     

Revealed comparative advantages in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain

Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain were all hit by the economic downturn in the course of the financial crisis and have been struggling with national debt crises and recession. A problem common to all of these countries is the collapse of national demand. Foreign trade might seem a logical way to restore economic strength, but little is known about the international competitiveness of these countries’ industries. This paper sheds light on their export structures using the revealed comparative advantage indicator.     

Match Point Management — Gleichzeitig Kosten- und Marktperformance verbessern

Der Matchpoint entscheidet über Sieg oder Niederlage. Match Point Management zeigt, wie man Krisen meistert, indem man gleichzeitig Gewinn und Kosten verbessert — ohne in die Falle eines zyklischen Auf und Ab zu tappen.     

Temporary trade and heterogeneous firms

Using Hungarian firm-transaction level export data, we show that about one third of firm–destination and about one half of firm–product–destination export spells are short-lived, or temporary, each year. This is in odds with theories where comparative advantage is stable and market entry costs are sunk. We show how endogenous choice between variable and sunk cost trade technologies can explain the empirical importance and some characteristics of temporary trade. We build a model in which the likelihood of temporary trade depends on productivity and capital cost of the firm as well as well-known gravity variables of destinations. These predictions are borne out by the data; the likelihood of permanent trade, defined by a simple filter, rises with firm productivity, financial stability, proximity and GDP of destination countries.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Purpose: Companies engage in business relationships for a variety of reasons, including specialization, product development, and building competitive networks. Research has demonstrated that mergers and acquisitions (M&As) may challenge ongoing business relationships. The purpose of this article is to investigate whether and how competition authorities consider business relationships when evaluating M&As.

Methodology: The article uses the documentation from 450 M&As reported to the Swedish competition authority to capture the way in which an authority evaluates M&As. The Swedish competition authority evaluation corresponds to other national and international evaluation procedures.

Findings: The findings indicate that the competition authorities neglect an important aspect of business life, namely companies forming business relationships. The competition authorities evaluate M&As on the basis of risk for price increases, and consequently disregard such issues as heterogeneity in demand and offerings, and values built into existing business relationships.

Originality/Value/Contribution: The article contributes to research on business relationships through exploring how a public authority deals with such relationships. It also contributes to research on mergers and acquisitions through examining how these activities are evaluated by competition authorities. Furthermore, the article contributes to competition research by reflecting on competition law concerning M&A regulations in relation to business relationships.