Cross-country evidence on the link between the level of infrastructure and capital inflows

The relationship between public infrastructure and international capital flows is empirically investigated. Out of a sample of 30 countries a cross-sectional econometric model is constructed to estimate the effects. Different components of infrastructure variables are tested in relation to their impact on different kinds of external capital liabilities. The results suggest a positive relationship between the level of infrastructure and capital inflows. However, statistical significance cannot be established for all variables in question.     

Ist die Katharsis-Theorie zu retten?

Catharsis theory is regarded as refuted. This widespread belief can be questioned for two reasons. First, most test films used in experimental studies do not meet the requirements of catharsis theory; second the social consequences of catharsis were not measured. Two films were produced for our experiment, one which meets the requirements of catharsis theory and should reduce aggressiveness and one which, according to alternative theories, should increase aggressiveness. A control group saw a neutral film. As dependent variables (a) level of general aggression, (b) aggressive inclinations in social situations, and (c) willingness to use aggressive stereotypes were measured. The film that was assumed to reduce aggressiveness increased aggressiveness even more than the film that was assumed to increase it. This surprising finding and its consequences are discussed.     

Do watching eyes affect charitable giving? Evidence from a field experiment

The presence of implicit observation cues, such as picture of eyes, has been shown to increase generosity in dictator games, and cooperative behavior in field settings. I combine these approaches, by testing if a picture of watching eyes affects unconditional giving in a natural environment, where the recipient is a charity organization. Taken together, this study reduces the influence of three potential confounding factors in previous experiments: (i) experimenter demand effects, (ii) that the facial cue reminds subjects of a human counterpart, and (iii) a social multiplier effect. Specifically, the paper reports results from an experiment, conducted in a Swedish supermarket chain, where customers face a naturally occurring decision problem. People who recycle cans and bottles have to choose whether to keep the recycled amount or donate it to a charity organization. By posting a picture of human eyes on recycling machines, I am able to test whether this causes an increase in donations to the charity. Based on a sample covering a 12-day period, 38 stores and 16775 individual choices, I find no general effect. However, when controlling for store and day fixed effects, and using a proxy for store attendance, the picture of eyes increased donated amount by 30 percent during days when relatively few other people visited the store. This result gives further support to the conclusion that subtle social cues can invoke reputation concerns in humans, although the relatively small effect suggests that previous estimates could be biased upward, or at least that the influence of observational cues is context dependent.     

Nachhaltige Weiterbildungen

Implementierung von Expertenstandards anhand eines Multiplikatorenmodells - Multiplikatoren werden eingesetzt, um theoretisches Wissen im beruflichen Alltag effizienter anzuwenden. Dieses Model wird inzwischen auch bei der Implementierung von Expertenstandards in der station?ren Altenpflege eingesetzt: Speziell geschulte Mitarbeiter sollen sicherstellen, dass die Umsetzung und Anwendung der Standards am Arbeitsplatz nachhaltig gelingt. Wie l?sst sich aber der hierzu notwendige Lerntransfer sicherstellen?     

Der prognostische Gehalt der Nachrichtenwert-Theorie

In this article, news value theory is reformulated in a way that allows for predicting the length of news stories by the news value of news factors, and by the news factors of single stories. From a part of a sample, the news value of news factors is determined, and the expected length of stories is calculated for another part of the sample. Calculated length is then compared with measured length. There is a correlation of r =.54 between theoretical and empirical values. Theoretical and methodological conclusions are drawn from the results of the various analytic steps.     

DELAYED OVERSHOOTING AND REAL EXCHANGE RATE PERSISTENCE IN AN IMPERFECT INFORMATION MODEL

Recent studies have pointed out that monetary shocks in sticky price models cannot generate real exchange rates that exhibit delayed overshooting and are highly persistent. This paper demonstrates that such exchange rate dynamics can be generated by incorporating incomplete information about the true nature of the monetary shock into a standard New Keynesian model of a small open economy.     

On the optimality of a minimum wage: New insights from optimal tax theory

We build a theoretical model to study whether a minimum wage can be welfare-improving if it is implemented in conjunction with an optimized nonlinear income tax. We consider this issue in a framework where search frictions on the labor market generate unemployment. Workers differ in productivity. The government does not observe workers' productivity but only their wages. Hence, the redistributive policy solves an adverse selection problem. We show that a minimum wage is optimal if the bargaining power of the workers is relatively low. However, if the government controls the bargaining power, then it is preferable to set a sufficiently high bargaining power.     

Die Bedeutung verhaltensorientierter Aspekte in der Controllingausbildung an deutschen Universit?ten

Die gestiegene Relevanz des verhaltensorientierten Wissens in der Controllingforschung und -praxis gab Anlass zu einer Studie über die Bedeutung verhaltensorientierter Aspekte in der Controllingausbildung an deutschen Universit?ten. Auf Basis einer schriftlichen Befragung von Controllingprofessoren wurde der Status Quo und die erwartete zukünftige Entwicklung der Controllinglehre erhoben. Im Vordergrund der Untersuchung stand die Frage, ob und inwieweit verhaltensrelevantes Wissen vermittelt wird. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Umfang, in dem verhaltensrelevantes Controllingwissen in den Lehrveranstaltungen vermittelt wird, auch und gerade vom zugrunde gelegten Controllingverst?ndnis des Lehrstuhlinhabers abh?ngt. Die Befragten gehen zudem davon aus, dass verhaltensorientierte Aspekte in Zukunft vermehrt in der Lehre thematisiert werden.     

Stock market booms and real economic activity: Is this time different?

Since World War II, the United States has experienced two large booms on the stock market. During the first boom, which lasted from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s, stock returns were clearly leading real activity. Moreover, the evidence also suggests the existence of predictable return variations in the discount rate through time as a response to changing business conditions. Therefore, the first boom does not stand out as unusual because previous studies, such as Fama (1990) or Chen (1991), confirm these results for the whole period from the 1950s to the 1980s. But during the current boom, which started in the early 1980s, these results do not hold up any more. Stock returns do not seem to lead real activity and predictable return variations as a response to business conditions cannot be detected.