1. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-035 // 2024

    Do Politicians Affect Firm Outcomes? Evidence from Connections to the German Federal Parliament

    We study how connections to German federal parliamentarians affect firm dynamics by constructing a novel dataset to measure connections between politicians and the universe of firms. To identify the causal…

  2. ZEW-Finanzmarktreport // 2024

    Juni 2024

    • Lagebewertung und Konjunkturerwartungen stagnieren
    • Eurozone: Lagebewertung bleibt trotz Zinssenkung pessimistisch
    • USA: Sinkende Inflationsrate verstärkt Erwartung baldiger Zinssenkung
    • China: Erwartungen und…
  3. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-036 // 2024

    Framing Effects in Consumer Expectations Surveys

    In a randomized experiment embedded in a survey, I test the effects of variations in question wording and format on consumer response behavior and the corresponding inflation expectations. To this end, survey…

  4. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-034 // 2024

    Enhancing Objectivity and Decision Relevance: A Better Framework for Evaluating Cohesion Policies

    By international comparison as well as compared to other EU policies, the EU‘s Cohesion Policy (CP) evaluation system is far developed and institutionalized. This paper analyses the remaining gaps and…

  5. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-031 // 2024

    Cluster Policy, Innovation, and Firm Productivity. An Econometric Assessment of the Flemish Spearhead Cluster Program

    The Flemish government launched its Spearhead Cluster (SHC) policy in 2017. The aim is to boost strategic sectors by setting up cluster initiatives which coordinate collaborative R&D initiatives. In this paper,…

  6. ZEW Annual Report // 2024

    2023

    The Middle East conflict, two years of war in Ukraine, four years of stagnation – the increasingly uncertain situation took its toll on the economy and society in 2023. At the same time, Germany and Europe are…

  7. M&A Report // 2024

    May 2024

    • ZEW M&A Index Remains Low in Early 2024
    • Mergers and Acquisitions in Climate Solutions Manufacturing
    • Cross-Border M&A Activities with Russia Continue despite Ukraine War
    • Why Do Companies Engage in M&A?
  8. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-033 // 2024

    Consumer Search and Firm Strategy With Multi-Attribute Products

    I analyze a model of directed search in which a consumer inspects a finite number of products sharing attributes with each others. The consumer discovers her valuation for the attributes of the inspected…

  9. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-032 // 2024

    Search on a Grid: Directed Consumer Search With Correlated Products

    The consumer search literature mostly considers independently distributed products. In contrast, I study a model of directed search with infinitely many products whose valuations are correlated through shared…

  10. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-030 // 2024

    Political Consequences of (Consumer) Debt Relief

    Many governments operate consumer debt relief programs, often timed to match the election cycle, but their political effects are not well understood. We ask if debt relief can influence elections in democracies.…

  11. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 24-029 // 2024

    Staggered Contracts and Unemployment During Recessions

    This paper studies the impact of downward wage rigidity on wage and employment dynamics after the outbreak of major recessions in Spain. Downward wage rigidity stems from collective agreements, which set…