Volkswirtschaftliche Fakultät - Digitale Hochschulschriften der LMU

This dissertation develops a dynamic bidding model for Internet auctions, especially eBay. The model parameters, namely bidders’ valuations and bidding costs, are then structurally estimated using a data set of around 800 eBay auctions for a handheld computer. Identification of the parameters is before formally shown. Next, the basic model is extended by a Bayesian updating mechanism. Using well known results about asymptotic distributions of extreme values, it is shown that bidders can use past observed transaction prices to update their beliefs about the location parameter of the distribution of the highest bid. Panel data estimations finally show that this kind of learning provides an explanation for the observed behavior of bidders at eBay.

This theses deals with the effects of national economic policies in internationally integrated markets. In particular, we look at markets of sovereign debt and intellectual property rights. Further, we provide an explicit analysis of the redistributive and welfare effects of different types of politicians. Finally we study the effects of anticipated competition in models of rent seeking.

This dissertation analyzes the importance of institutions for economic performance. The first two chapters assess the importance of institutions empirically, while the last one provides a dynamic model of institutional change. Chapter 1 analyzes the robustness of institutions in growth regressions by means of the Bayesian Model Averaging methodology to find that institutions and public health are important and robust determimants of economic growth.

Chapter 2 assesses the importance of institutional variables for determining income per capita in OECD countries by means of introducing new instrumental variables.

Given the paramount role of institutions for economic development established in the first two chapters and, more importantly, in prominent recent contributions to the literature, the last chapter tries to answers the

question why countries trying to improve their institutional framework may fail.

The dissertation deals with various aspects of the estimation of equilibrium search models with wage posting. It addresses estimation form incompletely observed data and explores applicability of parametric and nonparametric methods. Furthermore, the dissertation presents the estimation of a Burdett-Mortensen model extended for multiple skills.

Der Forschungsschwerpunkt liegt auf Fragestellungen der Ökonomie der Medienmärkte, betrachtet aus einer industrieökonomischen Perspektive. Das erste Kapitel der Dissertation analysiert die ökonomischen Auswirkungen der Mischfinanzierung öffentlich-rechtlicher Rundfunkanstalten in Europa. Das zweite Kapitel befasst sich mit einer theoretischen Analyse des Umbruchs des Erlösmodells von regionalen Qualitätszeitungen. Im dritten Kapitel wird empirisch der Frage nachgegangen, ob lokale Abonnementzeitungen ihre Marktmacht aus Verbreitungsmonopolen in Lesermärkten auf die verbundenen Werbemärkte übertragen können.