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The potential role of vocational education and training (VET) for innovation is the subject of a growing number of studies. Quantitative evidence for this relationship, however, remains scarce. Therefore, this paper uses representative German company data to examine the relationship between a firm's initial VET activity and its innovation output. The results based on linear probability models and entropy balancing indicate that the direct link between initial VET and firm-level innovation is more ambiguous than often postulated. For the total population of German companies, a positive correlation with initial VET is only found for incremental product and process innovations. Furthermore, a significant link between initial VET and innovation is only found in the group of microenterprises with less than 10 employees. From this, we conclude that participation in the VET system primarily promotes the innovative capacity of very small training companies through the diffusion of new technologies and knowledge. The paper concludes with implications for policy and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This experimental study examines the influence of herding [following the majority of fellow gamblers or the most successful gambler (guru)], status-quo bias, and the gambler’s fallacy on diversification behavior. We find that neither herding nor status-quo bias contributes significantly to non-optimal portfolio choices. The gambler’s fallacy, however, plays an important role in these decisions. Many subjects appear to find patterns in a history of random events and then use these “patterns” to infer the sequence of future events. The gambler’s fallacy is significantly responsible for the fact that the optimal structure of a portfolio is considered in only 37.7% of all choices made by an investor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Energiewirtschaft is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Umwelt-Wirtschafts Forum is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Growth and Stability Pact restricts member states in their fiscal policy but also causes inflexibility in the pursuit of wide-ranging economic and social reforms. Tradable deficit permits allow more flexibility for individual member states and provide a stick for those who exceed the deficit limit but also a carrot to those who stay below it. But does the trade in deficit permits affect the monetary objectives of the European Central Bank (ECB)? We argue that from a perspective of fiscal theory of the price level, trade in deficit permits can lead to higher inflation depending on the growth rate and the debt/GDP ratio of the member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the limitations of voluntary agreements on environmental policy-making in Germany. Use of interdisciplinary analysis; Cost-effectiveness of voluntary environmental agreements; Assumption on the advantages of voluntary agreements.

Background: The EU chemicals regulation "Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals" (REACH) aims to reduce the usage of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) by firms. Therefore, a consumer right-to-know about SVHCs in articles is intended to create market-based incentives. However, awareness of the right-to-know among EU citizens is low. Moreover, the response window of 45 days afforded to suppliers impedes immediate, informed decisions by consumers. Consequently, despite being in effect for more than 10 years, only few consumer send requests. Civil society actors have developed smartphone applications reducing information search costs, allowing users to send right-to-know requests upon scanning an article's barcode. Answers are stored in a database and made available to the public immediately. This paper assesses to which extent smartphone tools contribute to an increased use of the right-to-know by undertaking a case study of the application "ToxFox" by the German non-profit organisation Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND). Results: An analysis of the data from the BUND database for the period 2016 to 2018 reveals that about 20 thousand users have sent almost 49 thousand requests. This has led to more than 9 thousand database entries, including 189 articles which contain SVHCs above the legal threshold. The data also indicate that receiving information on requested articles encourages further use of the application. Many suppliers accept the application and pro-actively provide information on articles without SVHCs above the threshold. However, most consumers use the application only for a short time, and suppliers are struggling to reply to right-to-know requests. Conclusion: Evaluating the results, the study identifies options to enhance the application's design in terms of user motivation and legal certainty, and to enhance the framework governing "barcode" assignments to articles with a view to better contributing to transparency. As for policy implications, a lack of consumer requests can in part be traced back to design flaws of the right-to-know and a lack of implementation and enforcement of REACH. In addition, suppliers have to increase their supply chain communication efforts to make sure they are in a position to properly answer consumer requests. We recommend several policy options addressing these and additional aspects, thus contributing to the legislative review of Art. 33 REACH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]