Essays in public economics [Elektronische Ressource] / vorgelegt von Björn Uwe Saß

Essays in Public EconomicsInauguraldissertationzur Erlangung des akademischen Gradeseines Doktors der Wirtschaftswissenschaftender Universit at Mannheimvorgelegt vonBj orn Uwe Sa 30. April 2010Dekan: Prof. Tom Krebs, Ph.D.Referent: Prof. Dr. Eckhard JanebaKorreferentin: Prof. Christina Gathmann, Ph.D.Tag der mundlic hen Prufung: 8. Juni 2010iiAcknowledgmentsFirst and foremost, I wish to thank my advisor Eckhard Janeba for his excellent guid-ance throughout the whole project of writing this thesis and for the encouraging andmotivating feedback he has given me. Even in a sometimes very tight schedule, he hasgiven high priority to stimulating discussions of the content of my research as well as tothe way of presenting it. It is a pleasure having him as advisor and I am grateful for hisdedication to supporting my research and his con dence in me.I also wish to thank Christina Gathmann for her immediate willingness to support thedevelopment process of the last chapter of this thesis. She has encouraged me to doempirical research and has provided me with constructive and inspiring comments.I have enjoyed a lot the cheerful atmosphere at the chair of Public Finance and wouldlike to thank my colleagues for the good time and the numerous constructive comments.In particular, I thank Jennifer Abel-Koch and Gonzague Vannoorenberghe for manyrelaxing and inspiring tea and chocolate breaks and I thank Nicole Borheier.