infonet-economy

Researchers in Germany have nowadays access to confidential micro data compiled from official statistics in a way that could not have been dreamt of just a few years ago. This paper describes the new institutions that grant data access – most importantly the research data centers located inside the data producing agencies – and how to access the micro data, and presents information...

Low frequency “off-line” repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the course of several minutes has attained considerable attention as a research tool in cognitive neuroscience due to its ability to induce functional disruptions of brain areas. This disruptive rTMS effect is highly valuable for revealing a causal relationship between brain and behavior. However, its...

Understanding the link between neurobiology and cognition requires that neuroscience moves beyond mere structure-function correlations. An explicit systems perspective is needed in which putative mechanisms of how brain function is
constrained by brain structure are mathematically formalized and made accessible for experimental investigation. Such a systems approach critically...

Witnessing the distress of others can result both in empathy and personal distress. Perspective-taking has been assigned a major role in the elicitation and modulation of these vicarious responses. However, little is known about how perspective-taking affects the psychophysiological correlates of empathy vs. personal distress. We recorded facial electromyographic and...

Preference reversals occur when different (but formally equivalent) elicitation methodsnreveal conflicting preferences over two alternatives. This paper shows that when people have fuzzy preferences i.e. when they choose in a probabilistic manner, their observed decisions can generate systematic preference reversals. A simple model of probabilistic choice and valuation can account...

The paper re-examines Sweden’s price level targeting during the 1930s which is regarded as a precursor of today’s inflation targeting. According to conventional wisdom the Riksbank was the first central bank to adopt price level targeting as the guideline for its activities, although in practice giving priority to exchange rate stabilisation over price level stabilisation. On the...

Die internationale Verflechtung der Finanzmärkte hat stark zugenommen. Viele kritisieren, dies habe die gegenwärtige Kreditkrise verschärft, wenn nicht gar ausgelöst, und fordern schärfere Regulierungen. Der Autor wendet sich gegen diese Kritik. Die Verteilung von Kreditrisiken über die Welt hinweg bringe Wohlfahrtsgewinne. Zudem würden globalisierte Finanzmärkte mithelfen, die...

Wegen der Finanzkrise fordert die Schweizer
Bankenaufsicht EBK, dass UBS und
Credit Suisse ihre Eigenmittel massiv aufstocken,
damit die beiden Banken zukünftig über ein dickeres Risikopolster verfügen. Über Sinn und Unsinn einer
Leverage Ratio ist eine intensive Diskussion entbrannt. Der abtretende Universitätsprofessor Rudolf Volkart befürwortet
eine...

To enable a better understanding of corrupt activities, I develop the paper around fundamental dimensions: Firstly, corruption is exerted by the supply side, this means I analyze the regulation effects on providers of corruption activities. Second, I enrich existing compliance concepts with the integrity approach and point out the effects on individual behavior.