German Competition

Clustering or competition? The foreign investment behaviour of German banks

The presence of other firms in a foreign market can have a double-edged effect on the profitability of new entrants. Firstly, a larger presence of other firms implies more competition and thus lowers the earnings prospects of new entrants. Secondly, there might be positive spill-over effects between the activities of new and old entrants, which can lead to clustering effects. Such clustering of...

Competition in the German pharmacy market: an empirical analysis

BACKGROUND Pharmaceutical products are an important component of expenditure on public health insurance in the Federal Republic of Germany. For years, German policy makers have regulated public pharmacies in order to limit the increase in costs. One reform has followed another, main objective being to increase competition in the pharmacy market. It is generally assumed that an increase in compe...

Center volume, competition, and outcome in German liver transplant centers

In recent years, a growing body of literature has suggested that patients who undergo surgery at high-volume centers fare better than those treated in low-volume hospitals. In the study by Nijboer et al. (unpublished work) in this month’s Transplant Research issue, liver transplantation outcomes were investigated in relation to center case volume in 24 German transplant centers. High-volume cen...

Competition and trust: Evidence from German car manufacturers

We explore the determinants and effects of trust relationships between upstream suppliers and downstream producers. Using unique survey data on individual supplier-buyer relationships in the German automotive industry, we show, by means of different measures of supplierbuyer trust, that higher levels of trust mitigate relationship-specific underinvestment in a classical hold-up situation. Moreo...

Policy induced innovation networks: The case of the German Leading-Edge Cluster competition