https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/19414 2026-04-30T23:09:49Z 2026-04-30T23:09:49Z Berger, Helge Nitsch, Volker Lybek, Tonny https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/19860 2021-08-19T06:02:27Z 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

Central Bank boards around the world Berger, Helge; Nitsch, Volker; Lybek, Tonny This paper analyzes empirically differences in the size of central bank boards (or monetary policy committees) across countries. We discuss the possible determinants of a board’s size. The empirical relevance of these factors is examined using a new dataset that covers the de jure membership size of 84 central bank boards at the end of 2003. We find that larger and more heterogeneous countries, countries with stronger democratic institutions, countries with floating exchange rate regimes, and independent central banks with more staff tend to have larger boards.

2008-01-01T00:00:00Z Nitsch, Volker https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/20063 2021-08-19T06:02:29Z 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

Die another day Nitsch, Volker International trade patterns at the product level are surprisingly dynamic. The majority of trade relationships exist for just a few, often only one to three, years. In this paper, I examine empirically the duration in German import trade at the 8-digit product level from 1995 to 2005\. I find that survival probabilities are affected by exporter characteristics, product type and market structure. Specifically, I show that the duration of exporting a product to Germany is longer for products obtained from countries that are economically large and geographically close to Germany; for products with large trade value and a low elasticity of substitution; and for trade pairs that command a large share of the German import market and are characterized by two-way trade.

2008-01-01T00:00:00Z Eichfelder, Sebastian https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/19895 2021-08-19T06:02:28Z 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

Die Gründung der Bankgesellschaft Berlin Eichfelder, Sebastian The paper is reviewing the foundation of the “Bankgesellschaft Berlin” in 1994 that consisted in a merger of three publicly owned banking institutes in Berlin. The financial crisis of the banking group in 2001 resulted in one of the biggest public scandals in German banking history. The paper is analyzing the case of the “Bankgesellschaft” in relation to possible interdependencies between its foundation and the financial crisis in 2001. In spite of evidence for inefficiencies in the structure of the “Bankgesellschaft” it cannot be stated that the merger in 1994 directly resulted in the financial crisis of the banking group.

2008-01-01T00:00:00Z Berger, Helge Harjes, Thomas https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/19663 2020-01-31T16:26:50Z 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

Does global liquidity matter for monetary policy in the Euro area? Berger, Helge; Harjes, Thomas Global excess liquidity roaming the world’s financial markets (or its sudden absence) is sometimes believed to limit sovereign monetary policy even in large economies such as the euro area. However, there is still discussion about what constitutes global excess liquidity and how exactly it shapes the policy environment. Our approach adjusts liquidity for longerterm interest rate and output effects and focuses on U.S. and Japanese liquidity as relevant proxies for global developments from a euro area perspective. We find that both excess liquidity in Japan and, in particular, the U.S. tend to lead developments in euro area liquidity. U.S. excess liquidity also enters consistently positive as a determinant of euro area inflation and is shown to be Granger-causal for euro area inflation in an out-of-sample forecasting exercise. In part, this result seems to be related to a weakening of the euro area interest rate channel during times of excessive U.S. liquidity. In contrast, the influence of Japanese and euro area excess liquidity on euro area inflation is more limited.

2008-01-01T00:00:00Z