Aussenwirtschaft; Zeitschrift für internationale Wirtshaftsbeziehungen

Asset Price Bubbles and Monetary Policy: What Can Be Learned From the Swiss Experience?

This short policy paper looks at the implications of asset price bubbles for the Swiss economy over the two last decades, and attempts at inferring policy recommendations. We argue that such bubbles are generally damaging for the overall economy. Further, concentrating our attention on bubbles that are identified, we ask what kind of policy central banks should adopt in two given situations. We argue that in the case of housing price bubbles, emergency measures specifically directed at the ho...

Bilaterale Freihandelsabkommen Im Asiatisch-Pazifischen Raum: Konzeptionelle Schwächen Und Folgen Für Regionale Produktionsnetzwerke

Bilateral free trade agreements are mushrooming all over the world. The current standstill in multilateral trade negotiations will contribute further to this trend. Since dialogue in the Doha-Round came to a halt in July 2006, bilateral agreements have received additional support. In this paper, the author will analyse the utility of bilateral trade agreements and the systemic disadvantages they have for weaker players. Dispute settlement is a major issue. The question here is whether bilater...

Home Market Effects of Foreign Direct Investment: The Case of Germany

This paper provides new evidence on the impact of foreign direct investment on the labour market of home countries. It is based on a new data set on change rates of foreign direct investment and domestic employment of German multinationals. The econometric analysis suggests that public concerns about a massive exodus of jobs to low-wage countries are not well-founded. Instead, parent firm's employment significantly increases with an increase of their FDI. All in all, our results provide stron...

Beyond Biosafety - an Analysis of the Ec-Biotech Panel Report

The Panel report in EC-Biotech, for the time being, puts an end to one of the most complex cases in the history of WTO dispute settlement. The analysis at hand covers the issues relevant beyond the realms of biotechnology, namely the impact of non-WTO rules of public international law on the interpretation of WTO law. the scope of the SPS Agreement, the categories "undue delay" and "insufficient scientific evidence" in connection with precautionary measures, and product-origin as a criterion ...

Estimating Market Power in the Swiss Petrol Retailing Industry - a New Empirical Industrial Organisation Approach

Several competition authorities have accused petrol retailers of engaging in collusive conduct, which results in alleged "excessive" prices as well as simultaneous price setting across filling stations. However, petrol retailers must exert a substantial amount of market power if they are to dampen competition. Therefore, we propose a method within the spirit of the New-Empirical-Industrial-Organisation, which allows estimating market power held by petrol retailers in terms of a conduct parame...

The United States As a Debtor Nation

The United States as a Debtor Nation, by William R Cline, is reviewed.

The Social Construction of Free Trade - the European Union, Nafta, and Mercosur

The Social Construction of Free Trade - The European Union, NAFTA, and Mercosur, by Francesco Duina, is reviewed.