The objective is to show that endogenous discounting models should use a felicity function constrained to a positive domain. A variety of articles use the Mangasarian or Arrow and Kurz condition as a sufficient condition for optimality, which restricts felicity to a negative domain. Since the...

This paper analyzes the effects of weather anomalies on migration in sub-Saharan Africa. We present a theoretical model that demonstrates how weather anomalies induce rural–urban migration that subsequently triggers international migration. We distinguish two transmission channels, an amenity...

We assess the impact of being able to substitute an unlimited but costly energy substitute (like wind, solar) for a non-renewable resource (like oil, coal) in a model of sustainable growth. The prospects for sustainability on the optimal path depend crucially on the costs of this substitute....

In this article we develop a dynamic model where an endogenous evolution of trust impacts a politician's choice for bribe-taking and tax re-distribution. The politician obtains utility from net income that comes from his wage income, tax embezzlements and bribe-taking, and he also has incentives...

We derive a R&D-based growth model where the rate of technological progress depends, inter alia, on the amount of technological opportunity. Incremental innovations provide direct increases to the knowledge stock but they reduce technological opportunity and thus the potential for further...

The European Commission is assessing how it should augment its nuclear disaster insurance. We call for full transparen-cy of insurance costs in the cost-benefit evaluation of the nuclear industry. We consider that nuclear energy becomes uncompetitive once the costs of completely insuring against...

I empirically study the determinants of individuals' green voting behavior. For this I make use of three datasets from Germany, a panel dataset and two cross-sectional datasets. The empirically strongest determinants are the voters' attitude or distance to nuclear sites, the level of schooling...

We study how the Basel III regulations, namely the Capital-to-assets ratio (CAR), the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) and the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR), are likely to impact the banks? profitabilities (i.e. ROA), capital levels and default. We estimate historical series of the new Basel III...

The results in this paper show that a policy maker who ignores regional data and instead relies on aggregated integrated assessment models will strongly underestimate the carbon price and thus the required climate policy. Using a stylized theoretical model we show that, under the mild and...

In this article we extend the recent literature on overlapping generations with a pollution sector by allowing generations to have a certain pollution perception with regards to the stock of pollution. Pollution perception, assumed to be part of the generations' preferences, can be either a...