1. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 25-071 // 2025

    Using AI Persuasion to Reduce Political Polarization

    Rising political polarization generates significant negative externalities for democratic institutions and economic stability, yet scalable interventions to reduce polarization remain scarce. In this paper, I…

  2. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 25-070 // 2025

    Inference for Batched Adaptive Experiments

    The advantages of adaptive experiments have led to their rapid adoption in economics, other fields, as well as among practitioners. However, adaptive experiments pose challenges for causal inference. This note…

  3. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 25-068 // 2025

    VAT Collection Only at the Retail Stage: Evidence on Tax Compliance

    We investigate whether firms engage in VAT evasion at the retail stage—typically a point of weakness in VAT systems—in a high-enforcement, low-informality setting. To measure evasion, we exploit a reform of VAT…

  4. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 25-069 // 2025

    To Release or Not to Release? Preferences for Home Equity Products in Retirement

    How do retirees choose among home equity release products? Despite housing wealth being households’ largest asset, little is known about preferences for different equity release products. We conduct a survey…

  5. Discussion and Working Paper // 2025

    To Release or Not to Release? Preferences for Home Equity Products in Retirement

    How do retirees choose among home equity release products? Despite housing wealth being households’ largest asset, little is known about preferences for different equity release products. We conduct a survey…

  6. Discussion and Working Paper // 2025

    Creative Financing and Public Moral Hazard: Evidence from Medicaid and the Nursing Home Industry

    This paper studies the misallocation of Medicaid funds, its consequences for reimbursement rates, the quantity, and the quality of care provided. Combining two decades of administrative, audit, and survey data…

  7. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 25-065 // 2025

    Fair Market Value of Used Capacity Assets: Forecasts for Repurposed Electric Vehicle Batteries

    In response to growing economic and environmental concerns, companies in a range of industries seek to repurpose products (assets) that retain functional capacity beyond their initial first life. This paper…

  8. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 25-067 // 2025

    Harnessing Deductions to Increase Tax Compliance and Formalization

    We evaluate a tax reform in Ecuador that introduced generous deductions from personal income taxes (PIT), encouraging consumers to request receipts. The reform addresses tax evasion by targeting small…