1. Refereed Journal // forthcoming

    The Anatomy of U.S. Sick Leave Schemes: Evidence from Public School Teachers

    We study how public school teachers use paid sick leave. Most U.S. sick leave schemes operate as individualized credit accounts – paid leave is earned and unused leave accumulates, producing an employee-specific…

  2. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 26-029 // 2026

    Does Public Procurement Select (Real) Outsider Innovation? The Interplay Between Tender Design and Supplier Experience

    Public organizations rely on open innovation to maintain and improve public service performance. Suppliers are a key source of such innovation. Public contracting authorities act as the interface between public…

  3. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 26-027 // 2026

    More Is Not Always Better: An Economic Assessment of the EU's Anti-Avoidance Tax Framework

    Over the past decade, the European Union has built a comprehensive supranational framework to combat corporate tax avoidance. This article provides the first integrated assessment of the EU's post-2015…

  4. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 26-026 // 2026

    Does Tightening the Duration of Temporary Contracts Cost Jobs? Evidence from Germany

    Many countries limit how long a worker may be kept on a temporary contract, yet little is known about how firms and workers respond when this maximum duration is tightened. Does a shorter cap simply displace…

  5. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 26-025 // 2026

    Off the Labor Supply Curve: The Zero Employer Size Wage Effect Within Large Firms

    We revisit the employer size wage effect (ESWE)—arguably the most basic and influential departure from the law of one price for labor. Our main result is that this canonical fact disappears completely across…

  6. #ZEWPodcast // 2026

    How Many Jobs Were Lost as a Result of the U.S. Troop Withdrawal?

    After the end of the Cold War, the U.S. withdrew approximately 200,000 soldiers from Germany within a few years. A joint study by the ZEW in Mannheim and the University of Cologne shows that this had significant…