Does mutual fund ownership reduce stock price clustering? Evidence from active and index funds

Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting - The literature is rich with examples of price clustering in financial markets. This study focuses on the relation between mutual fund ownership (both...     

Does enterprise software matter for service innovation? Standardization versus customization

This paper analyzes the relationship between service innovation and different types of enterprise software systems, i.e. standardized enterprise software designed to fit one certain business sector and enterprise software specifically customized for a single firm. Using recent firm-level data of a survey among information and communication technology service providers as well as knowledge-intensive service providers in Germany, this is the first paper which empirically analyzes whether the use of sector specific or customized enterprise software triggers innovation. The results based on a knowledge production function suggest that customized enterprise software is related to the occurrence of service innovation. However, there is no relationship between sector specific enterprise software and innovation activity. The results stay robust to several different specifications and suggest that the causality runs from customized software usage to service innovation.     

The Residency Discount for Rents in Germany and the Tenancy Law Reform Act 2001: Evidence from Quantile Regressions

Most countries show a residency discount in rents for sitting tenants. In the wake of strong rent increases and housing shortages, Germany implemented a reform in 2001 to curtail rent increases. Based on linked housing‐tenant data for Germany, this paper estimates panel OLS and quantile regressions of rents within tenancies. The results show that rents deflated by the CPI increase strongly from 1984 until the reform in 2001, and there is a reversal in the trend afterwards. Before the reform, there is a significant residence discount which decreases in absolute value with tenure. The reform reduces rents, in particular for expensive apartments and for new leases. There is no residency discount after the reform.