https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/18317 Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:25:08 GMT 2026-04-29T00:25:08Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22056 A Note on Automation, Stagnation, and the Implications of a Robot Tax Gasteiger, Emanuel; Prettner, Klaus We analyze the long-run growth effects of automation in the canonical overlapping generations framework. While automation implies constant returns to capital within this model class (even in the absence of technological progress), we show that it does not have the potential to lead to positive long-growth. The reason is that automation suppresses wages, which are the only source of investment because of the demographic structure of the overlapping generations model. This result stands in sharp contrast to the effects of automation in the representative agent setting, where positive long-run growth is feasible because agents can invest out of their wage income and out of their asset income. We also analyze the effects of a robot tax that has featured prominently in the policy debate on automation and show that it could raise the capital stock and per capita output at the steady state. However, the robot tax cannot induce a takeoff toward positive long-run growth. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22056 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22023 An Integrated Micro Data Base for Tax Analysis in Germany Bach, Stefan; Beznoska, Martin; Steiner, Viktor This paper documents methodology underlying the construction of the integrated data base for our study on “Wer trägt die Steuerlast in Deutschland? - Verteilungswirkungen des deutschen Steuer- und Transfersystems” (Who bears the tax burden in Germany? – Distributional Analyses of the German tax and transfer system). Financial support from the Hans Böckler Stiftung for the project is gratefully acknowledged. The paper greatly benefited from comments by the members of the scientific advisory council of the project. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22023 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22026 Ancestry, Diversity & Finance Dombi, Akos; Grigoriadis, Theocharis In this paper, we analyze the growth effects of historical and biological ancestry, diversity and financial development in transition economies. We show that the common indicators of ethnolinguistic fractionalization, state history and genetic distance yield significant results and to some extent transform the impact of finance on growth in East-Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. Deep ethnolinguistic cleavages produce insignificant results, whereas at intermediate and lower levels of aggregation diversity is likely to significantly improve the effect of finance on growth. Similarly to finer ethnolinguistic cleavages, genetic distance from the United States also favorably increases the relevance of financial development for growth. However, state history as a proxy for long-run ancestral exposure to institutions, political organization and centralization reinforces the negative growth effect of financial development. We argue that financial development is inclined to resolve problems arising from coordination failures and absence of trust in diverse societies by easing liquidity constraints and offering incentives for entrepreneurship to minority groups. In contrast, long state history is likely to generate extractive institutions that facilitate the provision of soft budget constraints. Genetic distance from the United States induces higher reliance on continental rather than Anglo-Saxon financing practices, and therefore increases dependence on banks rather than bonds or equity for external liquidity purposes. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22026 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22067 Biased by Success and Failure Preuss, Malte; Hennecke, Juliane Due to its extraordinary explanatory power for individual behavior, the interest in the concept of locus of control (LOC) has increased substantially within applied economic research. But, even though LOC has been found to affect economic behavior in many ways, the reliability of these findings is at risk as they commonly rely on the assumption that LOC is stable over the life course. While absolute stability has been generally rejected, the extent to which LOC and thus personality changes is, nonetheless, strongly debated. We contribute to this discussion by analyzing the effect of unemployment on LOC. Based on German panel data, we apply a difference-in-difference approach by using an involuntary job loss as trigger for unemployment. Overall, we find a significant shift in stated LOC due to unemployment. Because the effect is observable during unemployment only and not heterogeneous with respect to individual characteristics or unemployment duration, we conclude that only the stated LOC is biased during unemployment but the underlying personality trait itself is not affected. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22067 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z