Funding, Competition and the Efficiency of NGOs
The efficiency of foreign aid delivery varies widely across US-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The authors assess the hypothesis that non-charitable expenditures for administration, management and fundraising depend on the intensity of competition among NGOs and on the degree to which they are refinanced by governments. Controlling for NGO heterogeneity as well as major characteristics of recipient countries, they find that fiercer competition is associated with more efficient foreign aid delivery of NGOs. more...
Professor Herbert Giersch Passes Away
The Kiel Institute is mourning the passing of its one-time president Prof. Herbert Giersch, who died at the age of 89 on July 22, 2010. Herbert Giersch was an outstanding German economist who was well-known nationally and internationally. During his term of office as president of the Kiel Institute, from 1969 to 1989, he turned the Kiel Institute into an internationally leading institute in the areas of economic research, policy advising, and education. more...
New Medicines Can Lengthen Working Lives
A new empirical study finds that pharmacological innovations have helped to reduce the number of disease- and injury-related early retirements in Germany in the last two decades, and, as a result, the German social security program has been able to save money. more...
Equal Split in the Informal Market for Group Train Travel
In the central station of Kiel there exists an active informal market for shared ride to Hamburg using the group train ticket (Schleswig-Holstein ticket). We show that the behavior of market participants there is largely influenced by coordination strategies (so called 'focal points'), rather than by pure monetary self-interest. more...
New ifw brief Now Online
The ifw brief provides information about interesting findings of the research conducted at the Institute, about our stance on current economic policy issues, about our current forecasts, and about upcoming events and dates. more...
Germany Can Get Out of the Debt Trap
In order to meet the requirements of the "Debt Brake" clause in the German constitution, €42 billion will currently need to be cut from the German federal budget. The challenges facing the German finance minister are not especially small, but they are also not overwhelmingly large, writes Henning Klodt in his new Kiel Policy Brief. more...
Towards an Explanation of the German "Labor Market Miracle"
A substantial reduction in hours worked due to short-term adjustment mechanisms such as reduction of overtime and reductions of the balance on working time accounts have contributed to the German "Labor Market Miracle". Working time accounts have become a common and important instrument in German companies increasing flexibility in production, particularly in industry. more...
