TY - RPRT A1 - Jäger, Philipp T1 - Cautionary tale or model for Europe? How member states should react to Germany’s new electricity subsidy N2 - The EU’s updated state-aid rules now permit direct industrial electricity subsidies (IESs), allowing Germany to introduce its planned ‘Industriestrompreis’. This policy brief presents new data on subsidies for industry in major EU member states, showing that the competitiveness threat of the planned German IES is limited. As industrial policy tools, however, IESs are argued to be blunt and fiscally expensive, compared to narrower instruments targeted either at decarbonisation, EU resilience or economic objectives. Other member states should hence refrain from simply copying the German IES. Ultimately, national subsidies like an IES can only help industry if swift and substantial progress is made towards a more durable policy framework characterised by a strong EU dimension. Y1 - 2025 UR - https://www.delorscentre.eu/en/publications/detail/publication/cautionary-tale-or-model-for-eu ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Tordoir, Sander A1 - Redeker, Nils A1 - Guttenberg, Lucas T1 - How buy-European rules can help save Europe’s car industry N2 - Europe’s car industry faces a perfect storm. Chinese car exports are surging, European producers are being squeezed out of global markets, US tariffs are rising, and domestic demand remains 20% below pre-pandemic levels. Instead of sliding into a costly muddle of regulatory rollbacks, bailouts, and fragmented national subsidies, the EU should harness its single market - 450 million consumers and a vast corporate sector - to drive demand for Europe-made vehicles. That means co-ordinating consumer subsidies with a buy-European clause, applying it to both private and corporate fleets, and using it as a platform for reciprocal EV-subsidy agreements with trusted trade partners. A window for action is open: Germany, France, Italy, and Spain all need to renew their EV-support schemes in the coming months. Together, they represent 70% of EU car registrations—and could launch broader European coordination. Y1 - 2025 UR - https://www.delorscentre.eu/en/publications/detail/publication/how-buy-european-rules-can-help-save-europes-car-industry PB - Bertelsmann Stiftung CY - Gütersloh ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Kersting, Felix T1 - Bismarck's Welfare State and the Socialists T2 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers N2 - This paper examines the political consequences of introducing the welfare state targeted at blue-collar workers in 19th-century Germany. I conceptualize Bismarck’s reform as an accommodation strategy to combat the socialist party as an emerging challenger party. The result of a difference-in-differences design shows that the socialist party benefited in elections due to the reform. The mechanism analysis points to the socialists’ issue ownership by adopting a stronger reformist stance. The results are not driven by other political and economic channels related to the reform. T3 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers - 81 Y1 - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-59892 UR - https://berlinschoolofeconomics.de/insights/discussion-papers U6 - https://doi.org/10.48462/opus4-5989 ET - No. 81 ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Geyer, Johannes A1 - Haan, Peter A1 - Teschner, Mia T1 - The Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions on Long-Term Care: Evidence on Prices T2 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers N2 - The price of institutional long-term care is a key determinant of the demand for both formal and informal long-term care. In this paper, we examine how the regional unemployment rate as a proxy for macroeconomic conditions influences these prices. Our analysis draws on administrative data that provide detailed information on all nursing homes and ambulatory care services, as well as all recipients of long-term care benefits in Germany. For identification, we exploit variation in macroeconomic conditions - measured by district-level unemployment rates over time - using a panel data approach with facility and time fixed effects. Our empirical findings indicate that higher unemployment rates lead to increased prices for permanent long-term care, including accommodation and meal costs in nursing homes. We provide evidence for the mechanisms underlying these price effects. While we find no significant impact of macroeconomic conditions on employment, working hours, or quality of care in nursing homes, our results suggest that higher unemployment rates raise nursing home prices through changes in the composition of patients. Specifically, economic downturns trigger a shift from recipients with lower levels of impairment to those requiring more labor-intensive care. Additionally, we observe a substitution effect, whereby low-impairment patients increasingly opt for ambulatory and informal home care instead of institutional care. T3 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers - 80 Y1 - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-59887 UR - https://berlinschoolofeconomics.de/insights/discussion-papers U6 - https://doi.org/10.48462/opus4-5988 ET - No. 80 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Minetto, Francesca T1 - Does the EU ever import its policies? The overlooked role of international institutions JF - Journal of European Public Policy N2 - Prevailing narratives commonly depict the EU as a key actor shaping international norms and a net exporter of policies. However, we know little about how the involvement of the EU in the international arena affects its own policy development. Does the EU ever import policies from international institutions? This study examines the prevalence of policy import within the EU's legal framework, scrutinising the conditions and mechanisms that can facilitate such imports. I analyse the contributory role of compliance with international norms, the existence of successful models, the expectation of competence expansion, and crises in shaping the likelihood of policy import. I test this on a novel dataset comprising 1,194 legislative files introduced post-Lisbon in the European Union between 2008 and 2022. The key descriptive finding is that more than 20 per cent of the legislative files in this period incorporate models and policies from international institutions. This paper systematically analyses the relevance of international commitments across diverse policy areas in EU policy-making, offering valuable insights into this under-explored dimension. It illustrates that international models and commitments have tangible ramifications on EU legislative decision-making, leading to policy change and innovation. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2025.2570885 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. SP - 1 EP - 35 PB - Informa UK Limited ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gars, Jared A1 - Prada, Laura A1 - Tripodi, Egon A1 - Borda, Santiago T1 - Personalized reminders: Evidence from a field experiment with voluntary retirement savings in Colombia JF - Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance N2 - A large share of the global workforce lacks access to employer-sponsored retirement plans. In Colombia, where labor informality is high, the government introduced the Beneficios Económicos Periódicos (BEPS) program to promote voluntary retirement savings. However, many enrollees fail to contribute regularly. We conduct a randomized controlled trial with 2819 BEPS users, assigning them to different planning and monthly reminder treatments, where reminders are tailored in their timing. We find that personalized reminders significantly increase both the frequency and amount of savings, with individuals who recognize their forgetfulness more likely to demand reminders. Our findings highlight the role of reminders tailored to individuals’ preferred timing in sustaining engagement in voluntary savings programs. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2025.101112 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. VL - 48 PB - Elsevier BV ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Baranowska, Grażyna A1 - Hadjigeorgiou, Nasia T1 - Living up to obligations through the International Red Cross? A critique of states’ attempts to shift obligations when addressing missing persons JF - Leiden Journal of International Law N2 - The article identifies and explains a phenomenon whereby states attempt to shift their responsibility in relation to missing persons and their families to the International Red Cross. This has dual effect: firstly, it leads to rightlessness of the missing and their families, and secondly, it diminishes the obligations of the states, which are the duty bearers. The attempted shift does not, however, lead to the International Red Cross becoming a duty bearer, despite undertaking crucial actions in the analyzed area. Two case studies, relating to two distinct types of missing persons, are used to illustrate the phenomenon: persons who disappeared during the conflict in Cyprus between 1963 and 1974, and migrants going missing in the Mediterranean. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156525100496 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. SP - 1 EP - 23 PB - Cambridge University Press (CUP) ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Koranyi, Kinga T1 - The limits of EU rule of law financial sanctions: how economic and political costs shaped Hungary’s selective compliance strategy JF - Journal of European Public Policy N2 - The European Union’s unprecedented financial sanctions against Hungary in 2022-2023, namely the freezing of 22 billion euros in cohesion funds and 5.8 billion euros in Recovery and Resilience Facility funds, had limited effectiveness in achieving rule of law reforms in the country. Through elite interviews with Hungarian officials and experts, the article reveals that Hungary’s partial compliance can be explained by a rational cost–benefit calculation where the political costs of full compliance outweighed the economic gains. The findings are twofold: First, legal complexities allowed Hungary to minimise economic impacts through selective compliance. Ambiguous conditions and inconsistent communication by EU institutions enabled Hungary to exploit procedural uncertainties. Second, the political costs of reforms in areas fundamental to regime maintenance – LGBTQI, academic, and migration policies – were deemed too high, leading Hungary to sacrifice billions in funding to preserve these policies. Similarly, in less publicised areas for regime maintenance, judicial independence and anti-corruption practices, politically sensitive reforms were withheld. This article highlights the overlooked importance of political costs in compliance calculations and suggests that future EU rule of law enforcement must account for both the technical precision of conditions and the domestic political context of required reforms. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2025.2553752 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. SP - 1 EP - 28 PB - Informa UK Limited ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Demir-Gürsel, Esra T1 - The shifting frames of the Council of Europe: from totalitarianism to authoritarianism, from populism to democratic backsliding JF - The International Journal of Human Rights N2 - Over the past two decades, several European states have undergone a notable shift away from liberal democracy and human rights. These trends have disrupted the foundational discourses of the Council of Europe (CoE), which historically has positioned Europe as a bastion of human rights and democracy. Various terms – including illiberalism, populism, authoritarianism, and democratic backsliding – have been used to describe these developments. In the CoE context, ‘populism’ and ‘democratic backsliding’ have become dominant frames for defining internal trends against the image that the CoE constructs for Europe, while ‘totalitarianism’ and ‘authoritarianism’ have been used to frame its past and present external Others. This article examines how these four concepts – totalitarianism, authoritarianism, populism, and democratic backsliding – are deployed within the CoE to analyse their discursive functions across different phases of the CoE’s history. Drawing on frame analysis, it traces how and to which effect these concepts have been mobilised in the CoE context. The article concludes that these concepts are employed less to denote clearly differentiated political forms or categories with distinct political and legal implications; rather, they are used as discursive tools to frame Europe as associated with human rights and democracy, in opposition to its external Others. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2025.2552469 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. SP - 1 EP - 21 PB - Informa UK Limited ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Simstich, Anna T1 - Policy Design Below the Political Radar: When Policy Bureaucracies Mobilize Expertise to Restrict Business Power JF - Governance N2 - Powerful business interests threaten to capture policy design. From a quiet politics perspective, businesses are especially influential in policy design under conditions of low political salience. From a bureaucratic politics perspective, bureaucratic power based on specialist expertise is also strongest in low‐salience contexts and enables them to withstand business influence. Under what conditions does bureaucratic power or business power prevail in policy design under low political salience? This article argues that policy bureaucracies can restrict business power by mobilizing expertise for a different policy design than that advocated by business if they have a strong and competing organizational interest in the policy design. This argument is illustrated in a case study on the design of Extended Producer Responsibility for single‐use plastics in Germany as a deviant case of high business influence under quiet politics. This article contributes to understanding business‐bureaucracy interaction outside business home turf and below the political radar. It enhances quiet politics by introducing the role of bureaucratic responsiveness based on organizational interests and expertise. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.70054 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. VL - 38 IS - 4 PB - Wiley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Turkoglu, Oguzhan T1 - Security concerns, ethnic relations, and attitudes toward refugees: evidence from Turkey JF - Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies N2 - Existing studies examining attitudes toward refugees have generally focused on sociotropic economic, cultural, and humanitarian concerns as the main determinants. This study contributes to the literature by analyzing the effect of transnational ethnic relations and security concerns through a conjoint experiment in Turkey. The results suggest that when there are ethnic tensions in the host country, natives from the majority dominant group have more negative attitudes toward refugees from the minority ethnic group compared to those without any ethnic relations. Security concerns and existing negative intergroup relations are two possible explanations for this effect, and further analysis points to negative intergroup relations as the main mechanism. Additionally, refugees coming from areas controlled by insurgents that have ties to rebels in the host country are less favoured than others. This study contributes to understanding the externalities of refugee inflows on the host countries. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2025.2524030 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. SP - 1 EP - 25 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - van den Brink, Martijn A1 - Dawson, Mark A1 - Zglinski, Jan T1 - Alive and kicking or barely alive? The asymmetry thesis in the twenty-first century EU JF - Journal of European Public Policy N2 - This paper focuses on the legal and institutional assumptions of Fritz Scharpf's famous thesis of an asymmetry between positive and negative integration in the EU. Taking issue with a number of arguments forwarded in the lead piece for this debate section, it questions the relevance of the thesis to the governance of the contemporary EU, objecting to (i) the limited falsifiability of the asymmetry thesis as established by the distinction between structure and agency; (ii) the emphasis of the thesis on the weakening influence of negative integration and (iii) the way in which asymmetry ignores the increasing centrality of positive integration to defining the EU's legal order. As the paper concludes, while the asymmetry thesis pioneered inter-disciplinary exploration of how the EU's legal and political order inter-relates, it needs serious re-thinking in the Europe of the 2020s. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2025.2527330 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Informa UK Limited ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Koch, Elias T1 - Opposition parties seek more conflict with the government when losing electoral support JF - West European Politics N2 - Opposition parties benefit electorally from engaging in conflict with the government. However, it remains unclear whether they adjust their rhetoric towards the executive in response to changes in their public support. This study argues that opposition parties seek more conflict with the government when losing in election polls. It tests the hypothesis using an original dataset comprising all major German parties’ interjections – adversarial interruptions of legislative speech – during debates in the 16 German state parliaments (1998–2019). Based on 664,011 interruptions during 250,555 government speeches, it shows that opposition parties increasingly seek conflict with the government when their polling performance declines. This relationship between opposition parties’ rhetoric and their public approval is particularly strong when they are polling below their previous election results. These findings contribute to our understanding of how public opinion in general, and election polls in particular, affect conflict between opposition and government in representative democracies. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2025.2524944 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - Informa UK Limited ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Đuković, Mirko T1 - New Organs on Command: The Regulatory Prospects of 3D Bioprinting Technology in the European Union JF - Law, Technology and Humans N2 - This article examines the evolving legal landscape of bioprinting in the European Union, focusing on the regulatory challenges posed by the hybrid nature of bioprinted products. These constructs – simultaneously biological and synthetic – defy conventional legal classifications and are conceptualised here as biosthetics. The analysis explores how existing EU regulatory instruments – including the ATMP Regulation, MDR, GDPR and SoHO Regulation – apply to bioprinting technologies across research and development as well as clinical implementation. The article argues that current frameworks, while comprehensive, remain fragmented and insufficiently adaptive to address the ontological and operational complexities of biosthetics entities. Three regulatory scenarios are presented: continued reliance on mode-of-action classification, incremental amendments to existing laws and the development of a novel regulatory model tailored to bioprinting. Ultimately, the article advocates for a paradigm shift towards anticipatory, participatory and ethically grounded governance that can respond to the challenges and promises of biomedical technologies in the biosthetics age. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5204/lthj.3817 VL - 7 IS - 1 SP - 84 EP - 95 PB - Queensland University of Technology ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Palmiotto, Francesca T1 - The AI Act Roller Coaster: The Evolution of Fundamental Rights Protection in the Legislative Process and the Future of the Regulation JF - European Journal of Risk Regulation N2 - This paper traces the legislative process of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) to provide an empirical and critical account of the choices made in its formation. It specifically focuses on the dynamics that led to increasing or lowering fundamental rights protection in the final text and their implications for fundamental rights. Adopting process-tracing methods, the paper sheds light on the institutional differences and agreements behind this landmark legislation. It then analyses the implications of political compromise for fundamental rights protection. The core message it aims to convey is to read the AI Act with its institutional setting and political context in mind. As this paper shows, the different policy aims and mandates of the three EU institutions, compounded by the unprecedented level of redrafting and the short time needed to reach a political agreement, influenced the formulation of the AI Act. Looking forward, the paper points to the role of implementation, enforcement and judicial interpretation in enhancing the protection of fundamental rights in the age of AI. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1017/err.2024.97 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. VL - 16 IS - 2 SP - 770 EP - 793 PB - Cambridge University Press (CUP) ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sus, Monika A1 - Kulesa, Łukasz T1 - Breaking the silence: explaining the dynamics behind Poland’s desire to join NATO nuclear sharing in light of Russian aggression against Ukraine JF - The Nonproliferation Review N2 - Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Polish policy leaders publicly called for their country to be included in NATO’s nuclear-sharing program. This article explores why Warsaw decided to break with its long-standing tradition of not raising the issue because of the controversy that the potential deployment of nuclear weapons in Poland would cause among allies and the risk of increased tensions with Russia. Drawing on John Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Approach, we demonstrate that a simultaneous occurrence of external and internal factors has driven the shift in Poland’s policy. Among the former, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the announcement of deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus have been decisive. As for the internal conditions, a shift in public and elite attitudes toward greater support for Poland joining NATO’s nuclear-sharing program has proven to be crucial. The article also considers the reasons why the United States has remained reluctant to support the Polish proposal, linking the Polish case to the broader debate on NATO’s nuclear-deterrence posture. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/10736700.2024.2432807 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. VL - 30 IS - 4-6 SP - 241 EP - 263 PB - Informa UK Limited ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Frank, Emily A1 - Nivorozhkin, Anton T1 - Legal status and refugees' perceptions of institutional justice: The role of communication quality JF - Public Administration Review N2 - What factors influence refugees' perceptions of justice in bureaucratic institutions? As global migration movements draw increasing attention, migrants' experiences as constituents in destination countries merit further research. Drawing evidence from the 2018 survey of refugees participating in the German Socio‐Economic Panel, this article examines the role of legal status in shaping perceptions of justice at government offices. Our findings highlight a stark contrast: refugees with unstable legal statuses often perceive bureaucratic proceedings as less just compared to those with firmer legal standings. However, refugees' perceptions of a more positive encounter their encounters with street‐level bureaucrats can act as a buffer against the negative effects of legal status on perceptions of justice at government offices. These insights underscore a pressing policy implication: asylum procedures, currently marked by ambiguity and delays, could benefit significantly from enhanced communication quality on the part of street‐level bureaucrats. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13898 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. VL - 85 IS - 4 SP - 1004 EP - 1018 PB - Wiley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sus, Monika T1 - Dare scholars look to the future? Academia and strategic foresight for the European Union's foreign policy JF - European Law Journal N2 - Drawing on examples of foresight projects situated at the interface between academia and foreign policy practice, this article reflects on the role of academics in informing the practice of foreign policy‐making in the EU. The study explores why academics have rarely engaged in foresight over the past two decades and why this has changed in recent years. It argues that this shift is triggered, on the one hand, by the strategic blunders of the last decade and, on the other hand, by the conceptual developments within the disciplines of political science or international relations. After demonstrating the growing trend of scholarly engagement in foresight with a series of illustrative examples, the article discusses the added value and limitations of academic‐generated foresight for EU foreign policy. Taking these into account, the analysis indicates best practice solutions, such as foresight exercises, with the joint involvement of researchers and policymakers. Y1 - 0204 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/eulj.12523 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. VL - 30 IS - 3 SP - 434 EP - 442 PB - Wiley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ramos, Vincent Jerald R. A1 - Daway-Ducanes, Sarah Lynne S. T1 - Nonlinearities in the Intellectual Property-Manufacturing Growth Nexus in the Post-TRIPS Era: Evidence from a Dynamic Panel Analysis JF - Journal of the Knowledge Economy N2 - Discussions around the importance of intellectual property (IP) intensified at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as countries raced to secure IP-protected goods (e.g., vaccines and medical equipment) necessary to respond quickly and adequately to the threat of the virus’ spread. Building on the growing strand of the literature that reexamines IP’s effect on an array of social and economic outcomes, this paper examines the relationship between quantitative (patents and trademarks) and qualitative (IP protection) measures of IP, on the one hand, and manufacturing growth, on the other hand, accounting for the presence of nonlinearities. Using a two-step system generalized method of moments (SGMM) approach on a panel dataset of 81 countries spanning the post-1995 TRIPS Agreement period, our estimates show that these alternative measures of IP have differential and nonlinear effects on manufacturing growth. In particular, patents have a positive significant marginal effect on manufacturing growth past a minimum scale, whereas trademarks do not have a significant effect. In contrast, stronger IPR protection has a positive effect only up to a critical level of IPR protection, implying that “too much” IPR protection can stifle growth-inducing competing innovation. The paper concludes with a brief discussion on the mechanisms through which IP may contribute to manufacturing growth, and on some policies, which may help realize this potential. Broadly, this paper speaks to academic and policy discussions surrounding optimal IP enforcement and the benefits and consequences of IP. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-024-02235-x N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. VL - 16 IS - 2 SP - 10164 EP - 10194 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC ER - TY - THES A1 - Molina, Stefania T1 - The influence of family dynamics on the well-being of adults and children N2 - This cumulative dissertation examines how family dynamics—such as union dissolution, cohabitation, and repartnering—shape the well-being of adults and children in Germany and Colombia. It situates these family changes within broader social transformations across Europe and Latin America, emphasizing how socioeconomic inequality, gender norms, and cultural contexts influence diverse family structures. A distinctive contribution lies in integrating partnership quality and intimate partner violence (IPV) as key dimensions linking family dynamics to individual and child well-being. Drawing on both cross-sectional and longitudinal data, the dissertation presents five empirical analyses. The first study investigates how mothers’ partnership status and experiences of physical IPV during pregnancy are related to infant health in Colombia. Using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), it finds that cohabiting and separated mothers face higher IPV risks, highlighting IPV as a critical determinant of family and child outcomes. The second study examines women’s economic independence and the risk of IPV during separation in Germany, using data from the German Family Panel (pairfam). Results show that employment and higher education reduce IPV risk, while women with minor children remain particularly vulnerable. The third study employs an intersectional approach to analyse divorce and mental health in Germany. Results show that women are more likely than men to receive a mental health diagnosis following divorce, especially at older ages, and that low income increases the likelihood of mental illness for both men and women. The fourth study explores how partnership quality and separation relate to parental mental health, showing that separation can relieve depression for those leaving low-quality partnerships but may exacerbate it for fathers exiting high-quality ones. The fifth study assesses how family structure and parental partnership quality affect children’s socio-emotional well-being, finding that children in stepfamilies report greater difficulties, although higher parental esteem mitigates some negative effects. Together, these findings underscore the complex interplay between family structures, partnership quality, and well-being. The dissertation calls for policies that promote gender equality, prevent IPV, and support families through transitions to enhance both adult and child well-being. T3 - Dissertations submitted to the Hertie School - 09/2025 Y1 - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-59685 U6 - https://doi.org/10.48462/opus4-5968 N1 - Parts of the dissertation have been published: Chapter 2 Molina, S. (2025). Unmarried motherhood and infant health: The role of intimate partner violence in Colombia. Demographic Research, 52, 141–178. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2025.52.6 Chapter 3 Molina, S., Wagner, L., & Kreyenfeld, M. (2025). Women’s economic independence and physical intimate partner violence (IPV) during separation. PLOS ONE, 20(6), e0326529. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0326529 Chapter 4 Molina, S., Alonso-Perez, E., & Kreyenfeld, M. (2025). Divorce and Mental Health: Is Late Divorce Particularly Harmful for Women with Low Earnings? Social Indicators Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-025-03721-8 N1 - Shelf mark: 2025D009; 2025D009+1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Molina, Stefania A1 - Alonso-Perez, Enrique A1 - Kreyenfeld, Michaela T1 - Divorce and Mental Health: Is Late Divorce Particularly Harmful for Women with Low Earnings? JF - Social Indicators Research N2 - This paper examines the relationship between divorce and mental health, with a focus on how this association is stratified by sex, age, and individual income. In particular, we test the hypothesis that divorce at advanced ages (50–59) is particularly harmful for women with insufficient personal earnings. Data is drawn from German register data, which includes marital histories of divorcees and diagnosed health outcomes. The analytical sample includes persons aged 30–59 in 2015 (n = 23,426,639). The outcome is the annual incidence of mental disease diagnosis which is examined from an intersectional approach by drawing on MAIHDA (Multilevel Analysis of Individual Heterogeneity and Discriminatory Accuracy). Our findings indicate that women are at a higher risk of receiving a mental health diagnosis than men. Divorce significantly amplifies this risk. Additionally, low income poses a heightened risk for both women and men, particularly when divorce occurs at advanced ages. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-025-03721-8 N1 - Open Access publication is funded by the Hertie School Library. PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Liu, Shuige A1 - Ziegler, Gabriel T1 - Reasoning about Bounded Reasoning T2 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers N2 - Interactive decision-making relies on strategic reasoning. Two prominent frameworks capture this idea. One follows a structural perspective, exemplified by level-k and Cognitive Hierarchy models, which represent reasoning as an algorithmic process. The other adopts an epistemic perspective, formalizing reasoning through beliefs and higher-order beliefs. We connect these approaches by "Lifting" static complete-information games into incomplete-information settings where payoff types reflect players' levels. Within this unified framework, reasoning is represented through mathematically explicit and transparent belief restrictions. We analyze three instances: downward rationalizability, a robust benchmark concept; and two refinements, L-rationalizability and CH-rationalizability, which provide epistemic foundations---albeit with a nuance---for the classic level-k and Cognitive Hierarchy models, respectively. Our results clarify how reasoning depth relates to behavioral predictions, distinguish cognitive limits from belief restrictions, and connect bounded reasoning to robustness principles from mechanism design. The framework thus offers a transparent and tractable bridge between structural and epistemic approaches to reasoning in games. T3 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers - 79 Y1 - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-59669 UR - https://berlinschoolofeconomics.de/insights/discussion-papers U6 - https://doi.org/10.48462/opus4-5966 ET - No. 79 ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Benndorf, Volker A1 - Kübler, Dorothea A1 - Normann, Hans-Theo T1 - Information Unraveling and Limited Depth of Reasoning T2 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers N2 - Information unraveling is an elegant theoretical argument suggesting that private information is voluntarily and fully revealed in many circumstances. However, the experimental literature has documented many cases of incomplete unraveling and has suggested limited depth of reasoning on the part of senders as a behavioral explanation. To test this explanation, we modify the design of existing unraveling games along two dimensions. In contrast to the baseline setting with simultaneous moves, we introduce a variant where decision-making is essentially sequential. Second, we vary the cost of disclosure, resulting in a 2x2 treatment design. Both sequential decision-making and low disclosure costs are suitable for reducing the demands on subjects' level-k reasoning. The data confirm that sequential decision-making and low disclosure costs lead to more disclosure, and there is virtually full disclosure in the treatment that combines both. A calibrated level-k model makes quantitative predictions, including precise treatment level and player-specific revelation rates, and these predictions organize the data well. The timing of decisions provides further insights into the treatment-specific unraveling process. T3 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers - 78 Y1 - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-59654 UR - https://berlinschoolofeconomics.de/insights/discussion-papers U6 - https://doi.org/10.48462/opus4-5965 ET - No. 78 ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Arlinghaus, Johanna A1 - Konc, Théo A1 - Mattauch, Linus A1 - Sommer, Stephan T1 - The effect of framing on policy support: Experimental evidence from urban transport policies T2 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers N2 - Do citizens support policy instruments because they appreciate their effects or because they are convinced by their objectives? We administered a large-scale representative survey with randomised video treatments to test how different policy frames - time savings, health and environment - affect citizens' attitudes towards urban tolls in two large European metropolitan areas, Berlin-Brandenburg and Paris-Ile de France. Presenting urban tolls as a solution to air pollution increases support by up to 11.4 percentage points, presenting them as a climate change or congestion relief measure increases support by 7.1 and 6.5 percentage points, respectively. We demonstrate via a causal mediation analysis that the observed changes in policy support are mainly framing effects; changes in beliefs about policy effects play a secondary role. Thus, we uncover a new mechanism shaping public opinion on economic policies: the stated objectives of an identical policy design can shape citizens' views in distinct ways. T3 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers - 77 Y1 - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-59648 UR - https://berlinschoolofeconomics.de/insights/discussion-papers U6 - https://doi.org/10.48462/opus4-5964 ET - No. 77 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmauk, Sarah A1 - Nylin, Anna-Karin T1 - Mothers’ earnings trajectories in Sweden and West Germany: the role of separation, socioeconomic position, and the welfare state JF - Genus N2 - By studying mothers’ labour earnings trajectories in Sweden and West Germany, this cross-national study emphasises strengths and weaknesses in both countries’ social policy settings regarding the protection of mothers from the adverse effects of separation. Using extensive register data, our sample consists of women who gave birth between 1992 and 2014. The observation window ranges from one year before the first childbirth until ten years after. Utilising fixed-effects regression models, we estimate whether earnings trajectories differ between mothers who experience separation in the years after childbirth compared to mothers who remain partnered. Results show that separation is negatively linked to the earnings trajectories of first-time mothers in Sweden, whereas it is positively linked in West Germany. In Sweden, although the earnings of separated mothers lag behind those of partnered mothers, both groups can return to their pre-birth earnings levels. In West Germany, however, both partnered and separated mothers’ earnings remain far below pre-birth levels. Our findings further reveal that in both countries, mothers with lower pre-birth earnings positions face the most disadvantaged situations following separation. Based on the findings, we would like to emphasise the importance of social policies that promote female economic autonomy throughout the life course, while avoiding cuts in welfare support that risk undermining mothers’ economic safety net, as these would disproportionately affect single-headed families in lower earnings positions. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-025-00270-3 VL - 81 IS - 1 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Quaritsch, Luise T1 - The EU’s struggle to defend democracy from foreign interference N2 - Foreign interference in EU democracies has intensified in recent years. To counter this, the European Commission has proposed mandatory national transparency registers for third-country lobbying. In the European Parliament, this proposal has sparked political division. As negotiations on the draft legislation progress, concerns about potential negative consequences for civil society organisations have not gone away. In addition, it is unlikely that the new transparency measures would meaningfully address malign foreign interference. Y1 - 2025 UR - https://www.delorscentre.eu/en/publications/detail/publication/the-eus-struggle-to-defend-democracy-from-foreign-interference ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Xu, Alice Lixuan A1 - Sánchez Canales, Jorge A1 - Fusar Bassini, Chiara A1 - Kaack, Lynn H. A1 - Hirth, Lion T1 - Market power abuse in wholesale electricity markets N2 - In wholesale electricity markets, prices fluctuate widely from hour to hour and electricity generators price-hedge their output using longer-term contracts, such as monthly base futures. Consequently, the incentives they face to drive up the power prices by reducing supply has a high hourly specificity, and because of hedging, they regularly also face an incentive to depress prices by inflating supply. In this study, we explain the dynamics between hedging and market power abuse in wholesale electricity markets and use this framework to identify market power abuse in real markets. We estimate the hourly economic incentives to deviate from competitive behavior and examine the empirical association between such incentives and observed generation patterns. Exploiting hourly variation also controls for potential estimation bias that do not correlate with economic incentives at the hourly level, such as unobserved cost factors. Using data of individual generation units in Germany in a six-year period 2019-2024, we find that in hours where it is more profitable to inflate prices, companies indeed tend to withhold capacity. We find that the probability of a generation unit being withheld increases by about 1 % per euro increase in the net profit from withholding one megawatt of capacity. The opposite is also true for hours in which companies benefit financially from lower prices, where we find units being more likely to be pushed into the market by 0.3 % per euro increase in the net profit from capacity push-in. We interpret the result as empirical evidence of systematic market power abuse. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.03808 PB - arXiv ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stoetzer, Lukas F. A1 - Erfort, Cornelius A1 - Rajski, Hannah A1 - Gschwend, Thomas A1 - Munzert, Simon A1 - Koch, Elias T1 - An election forecasting model for subnational elections JF - Electoral Studies N2 - While election forecasts predominantly focus on national contests, many democratic elections take place at the subnational level. Subnational elections pose unique challenges for traditional fundamentals forecasting models due to less available polling data and idiosyncratic subnational politics. In this article, we present and evaluate the performance of Bayesian forecasting models for German state elections from 1990 to 2024. Our forecasts demonstrate high accuracy at lead times of two days, two weeks, and two months, and offer valuable ex-ante predictions for three state elections held in September 2024. These findings underscore the potential for applying election forecasting models effectively to subnational elections. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2025.102939 VL - 95 PB - Elsevier BV ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Oswald, Lisa A1 - Munzert, Simon T1 - Exposure to untrustworthy news media then and now: Declining news media quality over 7 years N2 - In a rapidly evolving digital media landscape, understanding how exposure to untrustworthy news changes over time is essential for evaluating its potential effects on public attitudes and behavior. However, there is limited evidence on how demand for untrustworthy news develops across longer time frames. Linking web data with surveys, we compare exposure to untrustworthy news sources across demographic and political groups and over a 7-year time frame for two samples of German adults (N = 1,212 in 2017 and N = 436 in 2024). Visits to untrustworthy news sources make up less than 1% of media diets and are associated with low satisfaction with democracy and a preference for a far-right party. Propensity score matching reveals stability in untrustworthy news exposure, yet a notable decline in the average quality of news diets over 7 years. These results suggest that while untrustworthy news exposure remains limited and stable, a broader erosion in news quality may pose a growing challenge for informed democratic engagement. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/5ndjx_v1 PB - OSF ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hintz, Marie Josefine A1 - Milojevic-Dupont, Nikola A1 - Creutzig, Felix A1 - Repke, Tim A1 - Kaack, Lynn H. T1 - A systematic map of machine learning for urban climate change mitigation JF - Nature Cities N2 - Many cities are interested in leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) to help urban climate change mitigation (UCCM). Researchers and practitioners, however, are only beginning to understand how ML can contribute to achieving climate targets in cities. Here, we systematically map 2,300 peer-reviewed articles published between 1994 and 2024 that explore the use of ML in UCCM. We find that, despite fast growth in this research area, the use of generative artificial intelligence and large language models remains negligible, which contrasts to their increasing adoption in other urban domains. Among 40 identified application areas, ML research focuses predominantly on high-impact mitigation options denoted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This trend may partly be driven by data availability and commercial interest, which risk perpetuating geographic inequities and diverting efforts toward less impactful mitigation options. We therefore offer recommendations to guide the impactful deployment of ML solutions in UCCM. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00328-5 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ehrhart, Karl-Martin A1 - Eicke, Anselm A1 - Hirth, Lion A1 - Ocker, Fabian A1 - Ott, Marion A1 - Schlecht, Ingmar A1 - Wang, Runxi T1 - Analysis of a capacity-based redispatch mechanism JF - Energy Economics N2 - This paper discusses a capacity-based redispatch mechanism in which awarded market participants are compensated for their availability for redispatch, rather than activation. The rationale is to develop a market design that prevents so-called “inc-dec gaming” when including flexible consumers with a market-based approach. We conduct a game-theoretical analysis of a capacity-based redispatch mechanism. Our analysis reveals that despite its intention, the capacity-based redispatch is prone to undesirable behavior of market participants. The reason is that the availability payment incentivizes participants to change their energy consumption or generation behavior. However, this also applies to undesired participants who increase the redispatch requirement through participation. Under certain assumptions, the additional redispatch potential equals the additional redispatch requirement it creates. Consequently, the mechanism does not resolve network constraints, while causing costs for the compensation payments. Furthermore, we study three alternative implementation options, none of which resolves the underlying problem. It follows from our analysis that a mechanism can only be promising if it is capable to distinguish between the potential participants to exclude the undesired ones. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2025.108751 VL - 149 PB - Elsevier BV ER - TY - THES A1 - Koranyi, Kinga T1 - The Power of the Weak: Strategic Framing and Selective Compliance in Asymmetric Redistributive Negotiations N2 - This dissertation investigates how weaker actors navigate power asymmetries in political negotiations, challenging conventional expectations that material capabilities determine outcomes. Through three interconnected studies examining different contexts of asymmetric bargaining, I demonstrate how seemingly disadvantaged actors employ sophisticated strategies to secure outcomes that defy power-based predictions. The first paper reveals how fiscally weaker Canadian provinces enhanced their bargaining positions in redistribution negotiations through strategic framing, employing communitarian appeals and coercive tactics despite structural disadvantages. The second paper examines Hungary’s selective compliance with unprecedented EU rule of law sanctions, demonstrating how the government conducted sophisticated cost-benefit analyses balancing economic impacts against political costs. The third paper uncovers Hungary’s dual-level communication strategy toward EU sanctions, revealing stark contrasts between public rhetoric and private negotiation approaches. Together, these studies advance a more nuanced understanding of bargaining power that extends beyond material capabilities to encompass strategic dimensions. Weaker actors systematically enhance their positions through strategic framing, which shapes how negotiations are perceived across multiple audiences, and strategic cost calculations, which identify areas for selective engagement to maximize leverage while minimizing disadvantages. The findings reveal how seemingly disadvantaged actors transform structural weaknesses into bargaining advantages through sophisticated negotiation approaches. T3 - Dissertations submitted to the Hertie School - 08/2025 Y1 - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-59514 U6 - https://doi.org/10.48462/opus4-5951 N1 - Parts of the dissertation have been published: Chapter 2 Koranyi, K. (2025). Power of the weak? Framing strategies in fiscal redistribution negotiations. Regional & Federal Studies, 35(4), 511–536. https://doi.org/10.1080/13597566.2023.2295407 Chapter 3 Koranyi, K. (2025). The limits of EU rule of law financial sanctions: How economic and political costs shaped Hungary’s selective compliance strategy. Journal of European Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2025.2553752 N1 - Shelf mark: 2025D008; 2025D008+1 ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Funke, Franziska A1 - Konc, Théo A1 - Mattauch, Linus A1 - Pahle, Michael A1 - Schwarz, Antonia A1 - Sommer, Stephan T1 - Prices vs. Quantities from a Citizen’s Perspective T2 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers N2 - We propose a theory of public appraisal and employ it to explain divergent public opinion on similar economic policy instruments. In a survey-based policy design experiment with 13,665 respondents from seven European countries, we study how policy perceptions and support rates differ across carbon pricing designed as “carbon taxation” and “emissions trading”. While there is considerable cross-country variation in the appraisal of both instruments, the emissions trading design reduces opposition in all countries except Germany. We find that the treatment effects of instrument design on policy perceptions are substantial: carbon taxes are consistently more often perceived as increasing the state budget, harming the economy, and increasing costs of living and production. Using causal mediation analysis, we ascertain that lower opposition to emissions trading is partly due to its perception as less costly. Overall, our results suggest that the public consistently perceives taxes as a “tougher” measure, and that emissions trading appeals more to European constituencies not already supportive of climate policy. T3 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers - 76 Y1 - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-59502 UR - https://berlinschoolofeconomics.de/insights/discussion-papers U6 - https://doi.org/10.48462/opus4-5950 ET - No. 76 ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Nguyen, Thu A1 - Jansen, Jannik T1 - If Europe keeps placating its own far right, how can it possibly stand up to Trump? N2 - European leaders have been pulled to the right on migration, the climate crisis and Israel. Their weakness is undermining the democratic principles on which the EU was built. Y1 - 2025 UR - https://www.delorscentre.eu/en/publications/detail/publication/if-europe-keeps-placating-its-own-far-right-how-can-it-possibly-stand-up-to-trump ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Schmitz, Chris A1 - Bryson, Joanna T1 - A Moral Agency Framework for Legitimate Integration of AI in Bureaucracies N2 - Public-sector bureaucracies seek to reap the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI), but face important concerns about accountability and transparency when using AI systems. In particular, perception or actuality of AI agency might create ethics sinks — constructs that facilitate dissipation of responsibility when AI systems of disputed moral status interface with bureaucratic structures. Here, we reject the notion that ethics sinks are a necessary consequence of introducing AI systems into bureaucracies. Rather, where they appear, they are the product of structural design decisions across both the technology and the institution deploying it. We support this claim via a systematic application of conceptions of moral agency in AI ethics to Weberian bureaucracy. We establish that it is both desirable and feasible to render AI systems as tools for the generation of organizational transparency and legibility, which continue the processes of Weberian rationalization initiated by previous waves of digitalization. We present a three-point Moral Agency Framework for legitimate integration of AI in bureaucratic structures: (a) maintain clear and just human lines of accountability, (b) ensure humans whose work is augmented by AI systems can verify the systems are functioning correctly, and (c) introduce AI only where it doesn’t inhibit the capacity of bureaucracies towards either of their twin aims of legitimacy and stewardship. We suggest that AI introduced within this framework can not only improve efficiency and productivity while avoiding ethics sinks, but also improve the transparency and even the legitimacy of a bureaucracy. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2508.08231 IS - v3 PB - arXiv ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Bryson, Joanna ED - Raue, Benjamin ED - von Ungern-Sternberg, Antje ED - Kumkar, Lea Katharina ED - Rüfner, Thomas T1 - From Definition to Regulation: Is the European Union Getting AI Right? T2 - Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Rights: The AI Act of the European Union and its implications for global technology regulation Y1 - 2025 SN - 9783565013197 U6 - https://doi.org/10.25353/ubtr-dab1-9b5c-1ec6 VL - 4 SP - 11 EP - 34 PB - Verein für Recht und Digitalisierung e.V. Institute for Digital LawTrier (IRDT) CY - Trier ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Veit, Sylvia A1 - Hustedt, Thurid A1 - Bach, Tobias ED - Capano, Giliberto ED - Craft, Jonathan ED - Howlett, Michael T1 - Dynamics Of Change In Internal Policy Advisory Systems: The hybridization of advisory capacities in Germany T2 - The Routledge Handbook Of Policy Advisory Systems Y1 - 2025 UR - https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Handbook-of-Policy-Advisory-Systems/Capano-Craft-Howlett/p/book/9781032737454?srsltid=AfmBOoq8AGN8n5-LE0TwJvZnUE8m3Hp38_wOzU2vc6ld7o8P9bNdgcv5 SN - 978-1-032-73745-4 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003465720 SP - 458 EP - 475 PB - Routledge CY - Abingdon and New York ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Hustedt, Thurid ED - Capano, Giliberto ED - Craft, Jonathan ED - Howlett, Michael T1 - Moving Beyond Westminster: Expansion and Comparison in the Study of National Policy Advisory Systems T2 - The Routledge Handbook Of Policy Advisory Systems Y1 - 2026 UR - https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Handbook-of-Policy-Advisory-Systems/Capano-Craft-Howlett/p/book/9781032737454?srsltid=AfmBOoq8AGN8n5-LE0TwJvZnUE8m3Hp38_wOzU2vc6ld7o8P9bNdgcv5 SN - 9781032737454 SP - 123 EP - 134 PB - Routledge CY - Abingdon and New York ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Arlinghaus, Johanna A1 - Konc, Théo A1 - Mattauch, Linus A1 - Sommer, Stephan T1 - The effect of information framing on policy support: Experimental evidence from urban policies T2 - Jahrestagung des Vereins für Socialpolitik 2024: Upcoming Labor Market Challenges N2 - Does information influence policy support? We administer a large-scale representative survey with randomised video treatments to test how different policy frames affect citizens’ attitudes towards urban tolls in two large European metropolitan areas without tolls, Berlin-Brandenburg and Paris-Ile de France. Providing information on air pollution increases support by up to 11.4%p, information on climate change and time savings increase support by 7.1 and 6.5 %p, respectively. Treatment effects are stronger in the Paris region, where initial support is lower. We also investigate treatment effect heterogeneity across different socioeconomic characteristics as well as by prior beliefs held about the severity of environmental and traffic problems, and we find weak spillovers of our treatment on the support of other policies. Our findings imply that targeted communication of policy co-benefits can increase policy support across different population groups. Y1 - 2024 UR - https://hdl.handle.net/10419/302449 PB - ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics CY - Kiel, Hamburg ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Arlinghaus, Johanna A1 - Konc, Théo A1 - Mattauch, Linus A1 - Sommer, Stephan T1 - The effect of framing on policy support: Experimental evidence from urban transport policies N2 - Do citizens support policy instruments because they appreciate their effects or because they are convinced by their objectives? We administered a large-scale representative survey with randomised video treatments to test how different policy frames – time savings, health and environment – affect citizens’ attitudes towards urban tolls in two large European metropolitan areas, Berlin-Brandenburg and Paris-Ile de France. Presenting urban tolls as a solution to air pollution increases support by up to 11.4%p, presenting them as a climate change or congestion relief measure increases support by 7.1 and 6.5 %p, respectively. A causal mediation analysis demonstrates that the observed changes in policy support are mainly framing effects, changes in beliefs about policy effects play a secondary role. Thus, we exhibit a new effect in public opinion about economic policies: Different specified objectives for the same policy design can affect citizen’s views differently. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5359102 PB - SSRN ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Arlinghaus, Johanna A1 - Koch, Nicolas T1 - The welfare impact of using second-best uniform taxes to address traffic congestion N2 - This paper uses a novel GPS-coded dataset for more than three million car trips in the four largest German cities to measure the efficiency losses from using uniform fuel taxes as a second-best optimal tax to reduce traffic congestion. We estimate the short-run price elasticity of vehicle-kilometres travelled (VKT) across different hours of the day from a panel gravity equation. Identification of the price elasticity relies on comparing VKT changes between granular trip origin and destination pairs within each city. We find that the VKT price elasticity differs strongly across trips taken at different hours of the day, and that this elasticity correlates with contributions to the congestion externality. Using a policy simulation, we show that 52% of the deadweight loss of the congestion externality remains after levying a uniform fuel tax. KW - Congestion, externalities, traffic, optimal taxation Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4523285 PB - SSRN ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Arlinghaus, Johanna A1 - Calder, Jennifer A1 - Danielson, Lisa A1 - Ellis, Jane A1 - Paciorek, Aleksandra A1 - Perry, Edward T1 - Better protecting Mexico’s environment T2 - Getting it Right Strategic Priorities for Mexico N2 - . Y1 - 2018 SN - 9789264292055 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264292062-en SP - 117 EP - 126 PB - OECD Publishing CY - Paris ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Dasenbrock, Erik A1 - Gehrke, Britta T1 - Unemployment Benefits and Interest Rates: The Role of Age T2 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers N2 - This paper studies how unemployment benefits affect aggregate outcomes through general equilibrium effects. First, we document that lower unemployment benefits tend to reduce the real interest rate in a structural vector autoregression with narrative sign restrictions. Young workers experience greater employment gains than older workers. An overlapping generations model with labor market frictions rationalizes these findings. Reduced benefits boost employment among younger working-age populations, raising their incomes and enabling them to reduce borrowing, which in turn lowers real interest rates. This endogenous interest rate response amplifies the expansionary effects of the benefit reduction. The interest rate channel proves quantitatively relevant, suggesting important general equilibrium considerations for unemployment benefit design. T3 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers - 74 Y1 - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-59407 UR - https://berlinschoolofeconomics.de/insights/discussion-papers U6 - https://doi.org/10.48462/opus4-5940 ET - No. 74 ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Harter, Anina T1 - Legislative institutions and distributive politics: Evidence from Germany’s federal budget committee T2 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers N2 - This paper studies how legislative institutions shape distributive policy outcomes. Specifically, I analyze the effect of budget committee membership in the German Bundestag using a novel dataset of 4,629 geocoded federal grants (1999–2023). Employing a within-legislator difference-in-differences design, I estimate that gaining a seat on the budget committee doubles the average per capita grant amount received by a legislator’s electoral district. This committee benefit corresponds to approximately 2.6 million EUR over a typical budget committee career. Distributive benefits are driven by internal committee hierarchy rather than mandate type or affiliation with governing parties. T3 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers - 75 Y1 - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-59426 UR - https://berlinschoolofeconomics.de/insights/discussion-papers U6 - https://doi.org/10.48462/opus4-5942 ET - No. 75 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Edenhofer, Ottmar A1 - Flachsland, Christian T1 - Eckpunkte einer CO2-Preisreform für Deutschland N2 - . Y1 - 2018 UR - https://www.pik-potsdam.de/de/institut/abteilungen/klimaoekonomie-und-politik/mcc-dokumente-archiv/2018_mcc_working_paper_1_co2-preisreform.pdf PB - Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung & Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) gemeinnützige GmbH ET - MCC Working paper 1/2018 ER - TY - EDBOOK A1 - Hassel, Anke ED - Hassel, Anke ED - Schroeder, Wolfgang T1 - Was wird aus der Arbeit? Y1 - 2025 UR - https://www.campus.de/buecher-campus-verlag/wissenschaft/was_wird_aus_der_arbeit-18483.html# SN - 9783593520377 PB - Campus CY - Frankfurt ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Kreyenfeld, Michaela A1 - Beblo, Miriam A1 - Boll, Christina ED - Hassel, Anke ED - Schroeder, Wolfgang T1 - Was bedeutet die Diversität der Familienformen für den Arbeitsmarkt? T2 - Was wird aus der Arbeit? Y1 - 2025 UR - https://www.campus.de/buecher-campus-verlag/wissenschaft/was_wird_aus_der_arbeit-18483.html SN - 9783593520377 SP - 107 EP - 112 PB - Campus CY - Frankfurt ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Karpenstein, Ulrich A1 - Nguyen, Thu A1 - Spieker, Luke Dimitrios T1 - A Matter of Solidarity: A New Approach to Revive Article 7 TEU Against Hungary N2 - Viktor Orbán increasingly undermines the EU’s collective interests. The Hungarian government systematically uses its veto powers to block Ukrainian military aid and accession negotiations and to dilute sanctions against Russia. An Article 7 TEU procedure launched against Hungary based on breaches of the rule of law has proven to be a dead end. Given the existential geopolitical threats the EU is facing, and the urgency with which it needs to support Ukraine, the time is nigh for a new approach. In this joint policy brief, Ulrich Karpenstein, Thu Nguyen, and Luke Dimitrios Spieker argue that rather than focusing on democracy, the rule of law, and human rights, which runs a high risk of being opposed by certain Member States, a new Article 7 TEU procedure should be initiated against Hungary based on a breach of solidarity in the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Y1 - 2025 UR - https://www.delorscentre.eu/en/publications/detail/publication/a-matter-of-solidarity ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Hustedt, Thurid ED - Howlett, Michael ED - Mukherjee, Ishani T1 - Variations of policy advisory systems: taking stock T2 - Handbook of Policy Advice Y1 - 2025 SN - 9781035318070 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035318087 SP - 600 EP - 608 PB - Edward Elgar Publishing Limited CY - Cheltenham, UK & Northampton, USA ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Gars, Jared A1 - Prada, Laura A1 - Tripodi, Egon A1 - Borda, Santiago T1 - Personalized Reminders: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Voluntary Retirement Savings in Colombia T2 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers N2 - A large share of the global workforce lacks access to employer-sponsored retirement plans. In Colombia, where labor informality is high, the government introduced the Beneficios Economicos Periodicos (BEPS) program to promote voluntary retirement savings. However, many enrollees fail to contribute regularly. We conduct a randomized controlled trial with 2,819 BEPS users, assigning them to different planning and monthly reminder treatments, where reminders are tailored in their timing. We find that personalized reminders significantly increase both the frequency and amount of savings, with individuals who recognize their forgetfulness more likely to demand reminders. Our findings highlight the role of reminders tailored to individuals’ preferred timing in sustaining engagement in voluntary savings programs. T3 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers - 73 Y1 - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-59257 UR - https://berlinschoolofeconomics.de/insights/discussion-papers U6 - https://doi.org/10.48462/opus4-5925 ET - No. 73 ER -