Bücher der Reihe Contributions to Economics

Methods used for regional development analysis are employed mainly to make forecasts and comparisons. Linear ordering methods, including standard methods, are the most popular among ta- nomic methods.

Russel Cooper and Gary Madden The present volume analyses the frontiers of broadband, electronic and mobile commerce markets.

New analysis and empirical evidence on several topics such as the determinants of shape and nature of the vertical relationships in the food system, the determinants of vertical co-ordination and competition, types and mechanisms of co-ordination as well as the consequences for competitiveness, consumer welfare and policy implications are provided.

This book provides a detailed examination of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) after closer integration in the European Union.

This volume discusses the impact of Financial Economics, Growth Dynamics, and the Finance & Banking sector in the economies of countries.

This book discusses various aspects of blockchains in economic systems and investment strategies in crypto markets. Further, it examines the opportunities and limitations of the taxation of crypto currency, as well as the political implications, such as regulation of speculation with crypto currencies.

The author critically scrutinizes and enhances the RIS (Regional Innovation System) approach, discussing innovation as a technological, institutional and evolutionary process. Moreover, she advances the ongoing discourse on the role of space and technological proximity in the process of innovation and technological externalities.

This book provides a detailed examination of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) after closer integration in the European Union.

This volume discusses the impact of Financial Economics, Growth Dynamics, and the Finance & Banking sector in the economies of countries.

These as pects were also of particular interest to the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS), one ofthe institutes of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, where most of the research work reported in this PhD-thesis was carried out.

This book explores some relevant distortions and market failures in financial and banking markets caused by the recent financial crisis and offers important insights to policymakers as well.

These are in a nutshell the questions that led CElS (Centre for International Studies on Economic Growth - University of Rome "Tor Vergata") to organize the International Seminar on "The Service Sector: Productivity and Growth" held in Rome in May 1993, whose revised proceedings are published in this volume.

In the past, intensive interest in Soviet research and development has been sporadic both in the West and in the USSR. As a result, a surge of attention has been given to t~e factors driving the motor of Soviet growth and development, as well as R&D.

This description and analysis of the national innovation system in Belgium pays attention to the institutional framework of Belgium, the inputs (human capital, R&D efforts, government support) into, and the outputs of the innovation system.

Part III is concerned with theoretical aspects of exchange rate policy and monetary union, and part IV with selected issues of monetary and exchange rate policy in developing and transition countries.

Encompassing fields of economics such as Industrial Organisation, Welfare Economics, General Equilibrium Theory and Input-Output-Analysis, the study of transport from an economic point of view serves as a test bench for applying methodologies of economic science to the real world.

Political Economy of the Swiss National Bank examines whether there exists any systematic political influence on Swiss monetary policy.

European environmental and energy policies are currently challenged by two mutually dependent issues: CO2 abatement and the completion of the Internal Market for energy. The simulation results indicate that the effects of measures to reduce European CO2 emissions depend considerably on the structure of the electricity supply system.

LIBERAL TRADE AND JAPAN THE INCOMPATIBILITY ISSUE IN ELECTRONICS What would be the cause of those many trade conflicts between Japan and the West?

Do more equal economies grow faster? Which role does the public sector play for the relationship between inequality and growth? What is the impact of technological changes and capital accumulation on the distribution of wealth, income, and wages? How do social comparisons among individuals affect redistributive taxation, the wage structure, and the growth rate of an economy? To answer these questions is the goal ofthis book. I became interested in the issues ofdistribution and growth during my study of economics at the University of Bonn and as an exchange student at the UC Berkeley. Most notably, I was stimulated by my academic teachers George Akerlof, Paul Romer and Axel Weber. This book was written during my stay at the department ofeconomics at the University of Regensburg, in the years 1997-2000. It is my doctoral dissertation in economics (University ofRegensburg; day ofdisputation was th July 24 2000). I am very grateful to my supervisors Wolfgang Buchholz and Josef Falkinger for their continuous support and very helpful suggestions on many drafts of parts of this book. I am also indebted to my colleagues Hartmut Egger and Martin Summer for illuminating discussions as well as to participants of many conferences and research seminars where parts of this book have been presented. Last but not least, I would like to thank my partner Ronke Osikominu for her moral support and my parents Gerda and Eberhard for more than Ican say.

This book analyzes the consequences that would arise if Germany's means-tested unemployment benefits were replaced with an unconditional basic income.

Since there exists a multi-level policy making system in the market economies, choices of decision makers at different levels should be considered explicitly in the formulation of sectoral plans and policies.

A ruling party decides each of two periods on the level of public goods which it finances by means of taxation and internal debt. Between the two periods elections take place, which may change the ruling party. The book analyzes the fiscal decision of the first government which aims to maximize the long run utility of its representative voter.

This volume examines the economics of platform structure and firm competition within and between online markets. It also details modern theoretical treatments of regulatory intervention in online markets and the consideration of forward-looking experimental analysis of demand for yet to be provided services.

Focuses on the pension reform experiences in Central-Eastern Europe, while starting from a broader theoretical and empirical context. This book provides evidence for the political feasibility of radical pension reform, considered unlikely in the West. It contains papers by economists, political scientists and sociologists.

This text studies the calculation of costs for road infrastructure and congestion in Europe, and the allocation of these costs to vehicle types, focusing on heavy goods vehicles. The different methodologies are applied to data sets from three countries and quantitatively compared.

Based on the gravity model this book investigates potential in foreign trade and foreign direct investment for selected CIS and CEECs with developed OECD economies. Policy options for some of these countries are discussed including issues of foreign trade, foreign direct investment, structural adjustment, and economic growth.

Since the fundamental work of Walras (1874), markets have received particular attention by economists because they lead to an efficient allocation of goods and services. Workers may profit from this vagueness by reducing effort to a comfortable amount -as long as tracks are laid, they do not violate contract conditions.

By exploring the price dynamics and business cycle of the Italian economy with reference to the most important international events, this text sheds new light on the country's current situation.