@misc{BergerSalottiSarda, author = {Berger, Wolfram and Salotti, Simone and Sard{\`a}, Jordi}, title = {Do fiscal decentralization and income inequality affect the size of the shadow economy? A panel data analysis for OECD countries}, series = {Applied Economics Letters}, volume = {25}, journal = {Applied Economics Letters}, number = {8}, issn = {1466-4291}, doi = {10.1080/13504851.2017.1346356}, pages = {571 -- 575}, abstract = {In this article, we study fiscal decentralization and inequality as driving forces of the shadow economy in advanced economies. Our empirical analysis suggests that a reduction in income inequality will contain the shadow economy, whereas expenditure and tax decentralization do not significantly impact it. As decentralization is generally believed to increase government efficiency, this result is indicative of already highly efficient public administrations. Our results further indicate that redistributive policies positively affect the size of the shadow economy, whereas the tax burden does not have any discernible effect on the shadow economy in our sample.}, language = {en} } @misc{BergerNagase, author = {Berger, Wolfram and Nagase, Yoko}, title = {Waste management regulation: policy solutions and policy shortcomings}, series = {Scottish Journal of Political Economy}, volume = {65}, journal = {Scottish Journal of Political Economy}, number = {3}, issn = {1467-9485}, doi = {10.1111/sjpe.12137}, pages = {205 -- 223}, abstract = {A model of packaging waste management is presented to explore the policy options available to governments to implement waste regulation in light of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Our model endogenizes the packaging design as an additional determinant for the overall amount of waste jointly with consumers' sorting effort and producers output decisions. The model shows that the policies that yield the first-best allocation may not find public support. Furthermore, if the set of available policy instruments is limited, production and consumption of the good is likely to settle on a sub-optimal level even though the optimal allocation may be achievable. Finally, the model demonstrates that a landfill tax may actually increase landfill waste in the presence of tradable credits for recycling activities. The results shed light on some shortcomings of existing regulatory schemes such as the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations of the UK.}, language = {en} } @misc{BergerNagase, author = {Berger, Wolfram and Nagase, Yoko}, title = {Banking union in Europe: How much centralisation is needed?}, series = {Bulletin of Economic Research}, volume = {70}, journal = {Bulletin of Economic Research}, number = {1}, issn = {1467-8586}, doi = {10.1111/boer.12126}, pages = {E67}, abstract = {We examine the efficiency of banking regulation in a federation with two tiers of government and highly integrated banking systems. We assume that policy makers have incomplete information about banks' true health, and banking sector turmoil can generate cross-border spill-over effects. We show that, in such an environment, the decentralisation of policy responsibilities for the regulation of banks can achieve the first-best allocation and ensure financial stability. While national governments design banking regulations, the federal policy maker authorises inter-regional income redistribution payments throughout the federation. Our results suggest that strengthening national responsibilities in banking regulation and supervision in the course of the further development of the European banking union may be advisable.}, language = {en} } @misc{BergerKreutzer, author = {Berger, Wolfram and Kreutzer, Fabian}, title = {The labour market effects of offshoring of small and medium-sized firms: micro-level evidence for Germany}, series = {Applied Economics}, volume = {50}, journal = {Applied Economics}, number = {32}, issn = {0003-6846}, doi = {10.1080/00036846.2017.1420900}, pages = {3416 -- 3431}, abstract = {Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the economic powerhouse of many OECD countries (perhaps most prominently so in Germany). Yet, the labour market dynamics caused by the internationalization of their production activities are largely unexplored. We use surveybased micro-level data for Germany to explore the employment effects of offshoring of SMEs, relying on propensity score matching and difference-in-difference analysis. We find evidence for a downsizing effect in the immediate aftermath of offshoring whereas, initially, job creation is not spurred. In the medium run, we find evidence for a slowing down of employment dynamics of offshoring firms (that tend to belong to the better performing SMEs in Germany) relative to nonoffshoring firms. Even though our results do not point to a net employment loss in the medium run, our evidence suggests that offshoring may lead to less jobs being created. This conclusion cannot be confirmed for large companies.}, language = {en} } @techreport{BergerSchnellenbachTitzeetal., author = {Berger, Wolfram and Schnellenbach, Jan and Titze, Mirko and Lange, Hans-R{\"u}diger}, title = {Empirische Analyse und Konzepterarbeitung eines Entrepreneurship-Indikators Lausitz. Gutachten im Auftrag der Innovationsregion Lausitz GmbH}, address = {Cottbus}, pages = {76}, language = {de} }