The economic situation in Belarus - Decline becomes obvious (Fourteenth report by DIW Berlin, IfW Kiel and IWH Halle)
Forschungsreihe,
No. 3,
1999
Abstract
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The economic situation in Russia (Ninth report by DIW Berlin, IfW Kiel and IWH Halle)
Forschungsreihe,
No. 10,
1996
Abstract
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The economic situation in Russia – Crisis reveals economic policy mistakes (Thirteenth report by DIW Berlin, IfW Kiel and IWH Halle)
Forschungsreihe,
No. 10,
1998
Abstract
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The economic situation in Belarus – Special road is turning into a road of suffering (Fifteenth report by DIW Berlin, IfW Kiel and IWH Halle)
Forschungsreihe,
No. 8,
1999
Abstract
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The economic situation in Belarus (Twelfth report by DIW Berlin, IfW Kiel and IWH Halle)
Forschungsreihe,
No. 3,
1998
Abstract
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Initial Evidence from a New Database on Capital Market Restrictions
Makram El-Shagi
Panoeconomicus,
No. 3,
2012
Abstract
One of the key obstacles to the empirical analysis of capital controls has been the unavailability of a detailed set of indicators for controls that cover a broad set of countries over a range of years. In this paper, we propose a new set of indicators derived from the Annual Reports on Exchange Arrangements and Export Restrictions. Contrary to most earlier attempts to construct control indicators from this source, our set of indices allows one to analyze the control intensity separately for inflow, outflow and repatriation controls. An additional set of indicators features information on the institutional design of controls. At first glance, the data show that the financial crisis caused a surge in capital market restrictions, most notably concerning the derivatives market. This reflex, which is not justified by the scarce empirical evidence on the success of controls, shows the importance of having a valid measure to allow an econometrically sound policy evaluation in this field. The data are available from the author upon request.
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Equity Home Bias and Corporate Disclosure
Stefan Eichler
Journal of International Money and Finance,
No. 5,
2012
Abstract
I show that more comprehensive corporate disclosure reduces investors’ uncertainty about domestic companies’ payoffs at no cost, thereby decreasing investors’ equity home bias toward a country. Since investors should base their investment decisions on valid and easily interpretable company information only, more comprehensive disclosure will reduce the home bias only if domestic securities law is sufficiently stratified and domestic companies use international accounting standards. Using panel data for 38 countries from 2003 to 2008 I find that more comprehensive disclosure reduces investors’ home bias, though significantly only for countries that sufficiently enforce their securities law and implement international accounting standards.
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Macroeconomic Imbalances as Indicators for Debt Crises in Europe
Tobias Knedlik, Gregor von Schweinitz
Journal of Common Market Studies,
No. 5,
2012
Abstract
European authorities and scholars published proposals on which indicators of macroeconomic imbalances might be used to uncover risks for the sustainability of public debt in the European Union. We test the ability of four proposed sets of indicators to send early-warnings of debt crises using a signals approach for the study of indicators and the construction of composite indicators. We find that a broad composite indicator has the highest predictive power. This fact still holds true if equal weights are used for the construction of the composite indicator in order to reflect the uncertainty about the origin of future crises.
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Greater Efficiency through More Competition in the Health Care Sector?
Ingmar Kumpmann
WSI-Mitteilungen,
No. 4,
2012
Abstract
In gesundheitspolitischen Debatten wird vielfach mehr Wettbewerb zwischen Krankenversicherungen als Mittel zur Steigerung der Effizienz des Gesundheitswesens empfohlen. In diesem Beitrag werden die Folgen eines idealtypischen Wettbewerbs zwischen Krankenversicherungen für Kosten und Qualität der medizinischen Versorgung diskutiert. Es wird argumentiert, dass die Kosten im Wettbewerb keineswegs sinken, sondern steigen, weil konkurrierende Kostenträger die starke Position der Leistungserbringer am Markt schlechter ausgleichen können als der Staat oder ein Versicherungskartell. Der Wettbewerb kann ferner dazu führen, dass sich der Markt segmentiert: einerseits in Versicherungen, die bei niedrigen Beiträgen nur Zugang zu unbeliebten Ärzten bieten, und andererseits Versicherungen, die gegen höhere Beiträge die freie Arztwahl garantieren. Die mit stärkerem Versicherungswettbewerb verbundene Einschränkung der freien Arztwahl beeinträchtigt den Ärztewettbewerb um Patienten.
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Does Central Bank Staff Beat Private Forecasters?
Makram El-Shagi, Sebastian Giesen, A. Jung
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 5,
2012
Abstract
In the tradition of Romer and Romer (2000), this paper compares staff forecasts of the Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB) for inflation and output with corresponding private forecasts. Standard tests show that the Fed and less so the ECB have a considerable information advantage about inflation and output. Using novel tests for conditional predictive ability and forecast stability for the US, we identify the driving forces of the narrowing of the information advantage of Greenbook forecasts coinciding with the Great Moderation.
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