Adaptive Estimation of a Conditional Density

The authors consider the problem of estimating a conditional density by a conditional kernel density estimate when the error associated with the estimate is measured by the L₁‐norm. On the basis of the combinatorial method of Devroye and Lugosi ( 1996 ), they propose a method for selecting the bandwidths adaptively and for providing a theoretical justification of the approach. They use simulated data to illustrate the finite‐sample performance of their estimator.     

Implications of the US Tax Reform for Transatlantic FDI

On 22 December 2017 President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This corporate tax reform can be considered the most significant amendment of the US corporate tax code since 1986. Besides the reduction of the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act entails features like a switch from worldwide income taxation to territorial taxation, as well as immediate deductions for certain assets. This leads to a substantial improvement for the US in global tax competition. In this paper, we analyse the effects of the US tax reform on FDI flows between Europe and the US. We find that European high-tax countries in particular will suffer from a net outflow of FDI.     

Service Systems Engineering

Service systems engineering (SSE) focuses on the systematic design and development of service systems. Guided by a value proposition, service systems enable value co-creation through a configuration of actors and resources (often including a service architecture, technology, information, and physical artifacts), therefore constituting complex socio-technical systems. IS research can play a leading role in understanding and developing service systems. SSE calls for research leading to actionable design theories, methods and approaches for systematically designing, developing and piloting service systems, based upon understanding the underlying principles of service systems. Three major challenges have been identified: engineering service architectures, engineering service systems interactions, and engineering resource mobilization, i.e. extending the access to and use of resources by means of IT. Researching SSE is challenging. Assessing the models, methods, or artifacts of SSE often requires embedded research within existing or even novel service systems. Consequently, approaches such as piloting IT-based innovations, design research or action research are the most promising for SSE research. As an integrative discipline, IS is in a unique position to spearhead the efforts in advancing the architecture, interaction, and resource base of service systems with evidence-based design.     

Heterogeneous Wage Effects of Apprenticeship Training*

The relatively small average wage effects of employer and occupation changes after apprenticeship training mask large differences between occupation groups and apprentices with different schooling backgrounds. People who change employer and occupation within industrial occupations enjoy large wage advantages, whereas apprentices in commerce and trading occupations, as well as in construction and crafts occupations, face wage losses from an occupation change. The differences between the firms that provide the apprenticeship training are found to be small or insignificant. In this paper, we reconcile the differences between previous findings by comparing and replicating the empirical estimation strategies used. This demonstrates that selectivity in occupations and changes, unobserved heterogeneity between occupations, and sample selection do matter.     

Gleichzeitigkeit als Leistungsgröße: Inter- und Intra-Klassen-Leistung volatiler EE-Einspeiser

The energy transition focuses on the expansion and enhancement of distribution grids and the integration of decentralized renewable generation plants. The integration of decentralized plants presents a major challenge for distribution system operators in particular. The planning and dimensioning of energy grids requires knowledge of all integrated generating units and power consumers, as well as their power ratings. Furthermore, knowledge about the diversity of renewable power plant types enables distribution system operators and scientists to selectively or cumulatively assess the maximum feed-in capacity. This is particularly important for the assessment of case studies or border scenarios. The purpose of this article is the evaluation of the maximum simultaneous feed-in power of PV and wind power plants. Furthermore, the ratio of the installed power to the maximum power generated by renewable power plants is also investigated. The diversity factor describes the ratio of the sum of all individual load’s maximum powers to the number of loads. This simultaneity can also be adapted to renewable power plants. However, it is differentiated here between simultaneous power within one renewable power plant type (intra-class performance) and simultaneous power of different renewable power plant types (inter-class performance). In cooperation with one of the largest national distribution network operator, regression lines are approximated by statistical analyzes, in order to determinate the diversity of the Central German area.     

Werte und Normen als Sollensvorstellungen in der KommunikationswissenschaftValues and norms as ought-statements in communication studies

Values and norms as research topics are central theoretical and empirical constructs in communication studies and are also used to substantiate research questions or to interpret results. Despite the relevance of values and norms, a respective debate within the discipline has been neglected so far. It is a challenge to discuss the values and norms of our discipline and to initiate an exchange of the societal relevance of one’s own research. The network “Values and norms as research objects and guiding principles in communication research”, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), makes a contribution to this by systematically analyzing values and norms in communication studies and by critically reflecting them. Therefore, the paper proposes to operationalize values and norms as “ought-statements”. Ought-statements either describe a situational state that is explicitly evaluated or address a desirable state. Three elements of an ought-statement are identified, which are coded in a multistage content analysis. The operationalization of norms and values as ought-statements allows not only to examine already known values and norms, but also to assess all possible values and norms, to assess the change of values and norms more validly in long-term studies, and to assess those constructs that are labeled as norms or values by the researchers themselves.     

SMOOTH QUANTILE‐BASED MODELING OF BRAND SALES,PRICE AND PROMOTIONAL EFFECTS FROM RETAIL SCANNER PANELS

Semiparametric quantile regression is employed to flexibly estimate sales response for frequently purchased consumer goods. Using retail store‐level data, we compare the performance of models with and without monotonic smoothing for fit and prediction accuracy. We find that (a) flexible models with monotonicity constraints imposed on price effects dominate both in‐sample and out‐of‐sample comparisons while being robust even at the boundaries of the price distribution when data is sparse; (b) quantile‐based confidence intervals are much more accurate compared to least‐squares‐based intervals; (c) specifications reflecting that managers may not have exact knowledge about future competitive pricing perform extremely well. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SOVEREIGN INSOLVENCY PROCEDURES – A COMPARATIVE LOOK AT SELECTED PROPOSALS

Abstract.  The most practicable short-term approaches for sovereign debt restructuring would include a code of conduct (voluntary approach) and collective action clauses (contractual approach). In the medium term, a sovereign insolvency procedure (statutory approach) may have an important role to play because it would be a comprehensive instrument designed to coordinate different creditor groups prior to and during a debt crisis. This paper provides a survey of six comprehensive policy proposals for a sovereign bankruptcy procedure. It points to approaches that could improve existing proposals and creates a basis for new proposals which could prove conducive to reaching political consensus.