Bücher der Reihe Contributions to Economics

A comparison of the German and Dutch economies. It examines their macroeconomic performance, employment systems and labour markets, welfare states, monetary relations in the run-up to EMU, and competition policies.

The book explores both theoretically and empirically the impacts of housing reforms on housing provision in the context of the transition from a centrally-planned to a market-based economy.

This book deals with the impact that international trade is likely to have on the skilled-unskilled wage gap in a typical developing economy.

Not surprisingly, the necessary preparatory process has been accompa nied by an intensive discussion about the best way to manage the new Euro currency properly. Two years ago, Helmut Liitkepohl and Pentti Saikkonen asked me to join in on a related project which became the cornerstone of this chapter.

One aim of this book is to examine the causes of fluctuations in the mark/dollar, pound/dollar, and yen/dollar real exchange rates for the period 1972-1994 with quarterly data to determine appropriate policy recommendations to reduce these movements.

In writing this book, I increasingly became aware of the extent to which much of the finest social science research has been devoted to the issue of unemployment. Unemployment rightly is a key issue in the social sciences for search of social and political answers to the economic, social and psychological distress caused by un­ certainty and macroeconomic change. I was glad to find my own worries shared by eminent and respected scholars: George Akerlof once confessed to pursue the study of unemployment ultimately because of his father's distress from fear of un­ employment, and Wout Ultee started research on unemployment from the consid­ eration that parents' talk about unemployment risks should not come to dominate marriage parties or other family occasions. The problem of unemployment is thus hardly confmed to actual loss of income, but one where economic insecurity be­ gins to undermine the very fabric of society. In consequence, to combat unem­ ployment should indeed be a foremost issue in societies striving for freedom and justice for their citizenry, yet to succeed obviously requires an understanding of the underlying economic realities. If this study could contribute to this endeavor, all the time spent in writing would seem well spent indeed. Against the significant body of existing social science research on unemploy­ ment, it seems appropriate to be clear about the scope and limitations of the cur­ rent study, however.

The economic determinants of equilibrium employment covered by the analysis of the book are: New forms of work organization, changes in the skill structure of the labor force, market power of key factors for organization, expectations of investors and international capital movements.

Modern institutional economics witnesses a merging of formal and informal strands of theorizing. Some contributions use the theoretical approach of contract theory to explore other issues, like medical care, public good problems, the economics of crime, environmental economics, and international trade.

This book contributes to the literature studying such a phenomenon, by extending the analysis of its implications for firms' strategy in product markets, by investigating how it may affect the trade union's activity, by studying its dynamic influence on the evolution of strategic interactions that the delegating party is involved in.

This book unveils a gap in the governance of development projects that ultimately hinders effective, transparent and accountable usage of resources.

The pure theory of international economics operates within a methodological framework of (static) equilibrium modelling. Besides this "dynamic" component a point of view that includes space and time challenges us to find new possibilities to model heterogeneous agents.

This book reviews standard economic growth models concentrating on the relationship between population ageing and economic growth and develops a growth model with endogenous human capital and endogenous fertility. This model is used to analyse the effects of education policy and family policy on economic growth.

Illegal immigration is a problem to not only a labor importing country but also to a labor exporting country, since the implementation of strict immigration policies, i.e., border patrol and employer sanctions, affects both economies.

It gives a comprehensive overview of private transfer patterns in Germany, extends the methodology of generational accounting to include private intergenerational transfers, and presents a computable general equilibrium model that for the first time allows to analyze various bequest motives in a unified framework.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Appendix 2B: Some Further Details on the Replication Strategy ... . . . . . . . . . . . 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 . . . . .

Thus, I would like to mention some of my most heavily used software tools in order to let you, the reader, know that nowadays you don't depend on big commercial software packages any more.

This work examines the political economy of exchange-rate policies in the eastward expansion of the eurozone. Analysis shows that prospective members of the EMU are likely to pass on some costs of convergence to the current EMU members.

Based on interviews with Chinese experts, benchmarking with railways in the US, Germany, Russia, and Japan as well as broad coverage of Chinese-language sources, the book makes detailed recommendations on how to design a comprehensive turnaround program for Chinese Railways.

This intriguing study sheds light on the efficiency of corporate control allocation in Chinese listed firms. Using a panel data set for the period 1996 to 2006, it examines the frequency, causes and consequences of changes in corporate control. The results indicate that poorly performing firms are the predominant targets of control changes.

Increased financial performance and employee commitment are among the benefits the CSR model can offer corporations. This discussion presents practitioners and scholars with a unique examination of how firms can maximise productivity through the implementation of CSR programs.

This fascinating book offers up a window on one of today's key areas relating to globalization. The matter in question is to what extent national competition policy has to be regarded as a factor of international competitiveness. Should national antitrust policy be given priority over international antitrust rules?

This is a brilliant examination of the complex processes of the post-1990 transformation in the Czech automotive industry and its selective integration into the West European system.

This study empirically explores and quantifies the effects of EU accession on the risk and return of equity markets in eight Central and Eastern European markets joining the EU in 2004.

Based on the contributions of Greek regional science research presented at the 2006 Congress of the European Regional Science Association at Volos, Greece, this work also provides an overview of regional development concerns from Greek regional scientists.

In the first quarter century of reform and global opening, Chinese enterprises have been largely confined to a 'passive' role in the global division of - bor.

In this context, the present study aims to model the new conduct of the 'legacy' carriers in a new liberalized European market in terms of network and pricing competition with l- cost carriers and competitive reaction to the global economic crises.

Reviews contemporary issues in international monetary and financial economics in an emerging financial market using the example of Thailand. This book addresses contemporary issues in international monetary policy and finance from a welfare economics perspective, focusing on emerging market nations such as Thailand.

The recent global ?nancial crisis has made ?nancial liberalization a topic of great academic and practical interest.

2 Financial market imperfections, investment and cycles 9 2. 2 Agency costs and macroeconomic fluctuations 15 2. 3 Financial market imperfections and corporate capital structure 24 2. 2 Agency costs and capital structure choice 30 2.

Since the individuals are not just stimulus-response machines but more complex beings that think and are simultaneously conscious of their thought, re?exivity is potentially involved in all human acts of cognition and in all conceptualizations.