Call for research proposals - guidelines and information
by IREF 2 June 2020 0
IREF is a free-market oriented think tank. It promotes ideas, events, and academic research. With regard to research, IREF supports original projects that lead to the production of papers of academic quality of at least 7,000 words. This support is not a prize to published work, nor is it an (...)
New IREF Working Paper: fair income inequality?
by IREF 27 May 2020 0
According to a recent representative survey conducted by Der Spiegel, a majority in Germany does not consider the country’s income distribution to be fair. 47.3 percent of the respondents consider the income distribution to be „definitely not fair“ and for 27.5 percent it is „rather not fair“. (...)
The consequences of the Covid-19 lockdown: what does history teach us?
by Sergio Beraldo 13 May 2020 0
Last February, this website hosted an article titled «The unintended consequences of coronavirus». At the time the article was published, the situation was not at all dramatic in Europe. For example, the official Covid-19 figures in Italy and Germany mentioned very limited number of cases. (...)
(Not) Making Good the COVID-19-Related Damages: A Law and Economics Lesson
by Riccardo de Caria 6 May 2020 0
The damages caused to individuals and businesses by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic are so vast that it will be almost impossible to make an accurate estimate of them. However, if those who contributed to such destruction can be called to account for it, by way of civil liability, the (...)
Venture Capital in Germany: Nothing ventured, nothing gained
by Alexander Fink, Fabian Kurz, Translated by Anna-Maria Kohnke 29 April 2020 0
N26, Celonis and Biontech are the most recent success stories of the German start-up scene. All three enterprises have collected higher sums of venture capital in the past year. As good as this news may be, however, the overall picture of the German venture capital scene is rather problematic. (...)
New working paper: certified corona immunity as a resource
by IREF 15 April 2020 0
In a new IREF Working Paper, David Stadelmann (Bayreuth University and IREF) and his co-authors discuss how the corona epidemic can be made less burdensome. They focus on the role of those who are immune after recovering from the illness and do not pose any health risks to others. The authors (...)
The Riddle of Populism and Ideological Polarization: the Difficulty to Live Without Both
by Luigi Curini 8 April 2020 0
The literature has put forward two main arguments to explain the recent rise of populist parties and their electoral success. On the one hand, commentators have highlighted the rising level of uncertainty about the economy and grievances among the losers in global markets. Resentment, it is (...)
Packaging and the climate change
by Fabian Kurz, Translation by Anna-Maria Kohnke 1 April 2020 0
Online shopping is increasingly popular. According to a survey from 2019, almost 90 percent of 25- to 44-year-olds had ordered something online during the previous three months. Even half of those aged 65 or more confessed they shopped online. However, online shopping is also criticised for (...)
The twentieth anniversary of Euro and its weight as an international currency
by Sergio Beraldo 25 March 2020 0
When they introduced the euro, European governments were expecting that the new currency would rival the dollar on international markets. Twenty years later, the euro is still far behind on that account. A recent paper by Ethan Ilzetzki, Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff (Why is the Euro (...)
New Working Paper: To whom do MPs cater?
by IREF 11 March 2020 0
The recent decision of the German Bundestag against the introduction of an opt out solution for organ donation has surprised many people. After all, the two leading health politicians of the coalition, CDU Health Minister Jens Spahn and SPD Health politician Karl Lauterbach, had publicly (...)