Real Exchange Rate Misalignments in the Euro Area

Open Economies Review - Building upon a Behavioural Equilibrium Exchange Rate model, estimated at a quarterly frequency since 1999 on a broad sample of 57 countries, this paper assesses both the...     

Uncertainty in the Austrian Theory of Capital

This paper is based on the traditional Austrian Theory of Capital which deals with expected values of future returns of investments over various periods of time. The longer the time period that elapses between the beginning of a production process and its end, the higher the (expected) productivity must be due to positive time preferences of individuals. This paper focuses on the uncertainty of future returns and on uncertainty preferences, instead. Based on the Hayekian idea of the dispersion of knowledge in society, it will be shown that there is a systematic relationship between the structure of capital and uncertainty. This result will be derived for a production process characterized by complete vertical integration and one which is not completely vertically integrated. The distinction between these two settings is crucial, if one accepts the distinction between an individual and a social period of production and the planning horizon which are introduced in this paper.     

Evaluating the Validity of Self-Reported Deviant Behavior Using Vignette Analyses

In this paper, the validity of vignette analyses of various forms of deviant behavior in the presence of opportunities is analyzed on the basis of ideas derived from cognitive psychology. Abelson’s Script Theory together with insights into human memory of visual and verbal information, allow the assumption that vignette analyses using visual stimuli are valid measures of deviant behavior in particular. The study includes an empirical examination of these ideas (n = 450). Nonparticipant observations and vignette analyses with visual and verbal material were carried out with regard to three forms of deviant behavior occurring in the presence of opportunities presenting themselves in everyday life. Observed and self-reported frequencies of deviant behavior or deviant intentions were counted and cross-tabulated. Log-linear analyses with dummy coding using observation data as reference category were run. Data analyses yielded the result that frequencies of deviant behavior were related to the techniques of data collection under consideration. Especially vignette analyses of the return of ‘lost letters’ that use both visual and verbal stimuli overestimate ‘actual’ (i.e. observed) return rates. This result is discussed with regard to the underlying methodological assumptions as well as its implications.     

Do Domestic Firms Benefit from Foreign Presence and Import Competition in Irish Services Sectors?

This paper examines whether domestic firms benefit from the pro‐competitive effects of imports from abroad and from the presence of foreign‐owned firms in the host country in three Irish market‐services sectors between 2001 and 2007. Grouping the three sectors together masks opposing effects in individual sectors. Where significant, the effect of foreign presence on domestic firms tends to be negative, this is mainly the case in wholesale and retail trade. Despite it being of lesser importance than foreign presence in these sectors, import competition from abroad is negatively associated with domestic firms' productivity in wholesale and retail trade, but positively in transport, storage and communication. There is no significant effect of foreign presence or import competition in real estate, rental and business activities. Using capital‐labour ratios as an input‐based indicator related to productivity suggests that domestic firms adapt to increased foreign competition by adjusting their inputs.     

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: A MICROECONOMIC REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

This paper provides a review of the theoretical and empirical literature on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Depending on whether an individual can be considered as selfish, or whether she has also social preferences, motives for CSR, can be explained in different ways. Furthermore, we explicitly highlight the influence of different Corporate Governance System on CSR as well as the relationship between firms' size and social commitment. Because it is difficult to distinguish between different theories in empirical studies, we argue that an experimental approach might be suitable to test theories of CSR.     

Willingness to Pay for Green Products in Air Travel: Ready for Take‐Off?

We examine the willingness to pay (WTP) for green products in air travel. Green products in aviation are supplementary services, which are sold on top of the travel service (e.g. carbon offsets, organic on‐board food). We identify a set of potential green products in aviation and report the preferences for additional airline services of 811 Swiss air travellers using an adaptive choice‐based conjoint survey. We find that 20% of those passengers who are interested in purchasing supplementary services show a considerable WTP for green products. The green segment differs from the regular segment only in terms of behavioural features, not in terms of demographic or socio‐economic characteristics. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Reanalyzing Zero Returns to Education in Germany

Pischke and von Wachter (Review of Economics and Statistics 2008; 90 (3): 592–598) find zero earnings returns to compulsory schooling in the basic school track in Germany. We reanalyze their study using a different dataset. In an extension, we use additional instruments which allow estimation of heterogeneous effects for different groups of compliers. We can confirm the previous result and also find zero returns for other compliers in higher track schools. Moreover, we do not find a causal effect of schooling on cognitive skills. This is in line with a potential reason Pischke & von Wachter (2008) give for their result, namely that basic skills are learned earlier in Germany and additional years of schooling are no longer effective. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.