ZEW Discussion Papers

The authors study optimal auctions in a symmetric private values setting, where bidders’ care about winning the object and a receiver’s inference about their type. They reestablish revenue equivalence when…

The emergence of online labor markets calls the validity of traditional career models into question. Given the volatility and digital nature of this environment, short-term employment relationships and…

When consuming goods provided by public utilities, such as telecommunication, water, gas or electricity, the predominant payment scheme is pay-later billing. This paper identifies one potential consequence of…

We study the cyclicality of public R&D in 28 OECD countries (1995 – 2017). While procyclical on average, public R&D reacts asymmetrically over different phases of the business cycle and becomes acyclical during…

This paper examines the publication of quality indicators in service markets with public finance systems, such as education and healthcare markets. We provide a spatial model of product differentiation in which…

Research suggests that public subsidies for newly founded firms have a positive effect on follow-on financing, in particular, Venture Capital (VC). This study differentiates between Government VC, Independent…

This paper investigates relative earnings of individuals leaving tertiary education without a degree across 18 European countries employing survey data on adult workers. We find that, on average, university…

This paper provides estimates of the short-term individual returns to Higher Education (HE) in the United Kingdom, focusing on the effects of attending HE on the labour market outcomes for dropouts. Results show…

Previous research has expressed concerns about firms engaging less in basic research. We contribute to this debate by studying trends in the scientific publishing activities of firms located in Germany. Our…