infonet-economy

In Europa spitzt sich die Schulden- und Bankenkrise zu. Gleichzeitig ist das mit viel Aufwand verbesserte Schweizer Insolvenzrecht für Banken noch längst nicht krisentauglich. Die Gefahr einer erneuten staatlichen Rettung – einer Rettung von Banken auf Kosten der Steuerzahler – ist keineswegs gebannt.

This paper is concerned with the analysis of zero-inflated count data when time of exposure varies. It proposes a new zero-inflated count data model that is based on two homogeneous Poisson processes and accounts for exposure time in a theory consistent way. The new model is used in an application to the effect of insurance generosity on the number of absent days.

Facial emotions express our internal states and are fundamental in social interactions. Here we explore whether the repetition of unattended facial emotions builds up a predictive representation of frequently encountered emotions in the visual system. Participants (n = 24) were presented peripherally with facial stimuli expressing emotions while they performed a visual detection task...

A two-country model is developed in this paper to examine the implications of fiscal competition in public education expenditure under international mobility of high-skilled labor. The authors allow for educational choice, asymmetry of countries with respect to total factor productivity, and tax base effects of migration in source and host country. As the latter may give rise to...

This paper introduces endogenous and directed technical change in a growth model with environmental constraints. The final good is produced from "dirty" and "clean" inputs. We show that: (i) when inputs are sufficiently substitutable, sustainable growth can be achieved with temporary taxes/subsidies that redirect innovation toward clean inputs; (ii) optimal policy...

Monetary rewards are uniquely human. Because money is easy to quantify and present visually, it is the reward of choice for most fMRI studies, even though it cannot be handed over to participants inside the scanner. A typical fMRI study requires hundreds of trials and thus small amounts of monetary rewards per trial (e.g. 5p) if all trials are to be treated equally. However, small...