ZEW Discussion Papers

The differential labor market developments in Germany and in the United States are often cited to support the hypothesis of a trade-off between more jobs for unskilled workers on the one hand, and a less equal…

We examine empirically the role of lending relationships in determining the costs and collateral requirements for external funds. The data originate from a recently concluded survey of small and medium-sized…

Since the crisis of the Metallgesellschaft AG in 1993, their roll over hedging strategy with short-term oil futures has been a subject of controversal debate. Main issues of this controversy are whether a woll…

We suggest a model of electoral competition between two parties which is extended by a third player: mass media. The classical one-dimensional competition model is changed by introducing an issue-specific…

Finance theory does not provide a comprehensive framework for explaining risk management within the imperfect financial environment in which firms operate. Corporate managers, however, rank risk management as…

Auch dreißig Jahre nach dem Artikel von Modigliani und Miller und zahllosen weiteren Veröffentlichungen ist die Frage zur Finanzierungsstruktur von Unternehmen weitgehend ungelöst. Dabei ist insbesondere in der…

Our study is based on the traditional Becker-Ehrlich deterrence model, but we analyse the model in the face of currently discussed factors of crime like demographic changes, youth-unemployment and income…

In this paper, a practicable scheme of SO2-emission permits for European power producers is developed. Background is the second UN-ECE Sulphur Protocol from 1994 (Protocol of Oslo). After discussing some…

This paper deals with the innovation behavior and the R&D activities at the firm level in East Germany. The theoretical and empirical analyses lead to the conclusion that the relatively low level of the R&D…