JOURNAL ARTICLE
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Regulation in Germany
Some Stylized Facts About Its Time Path, Causes, and Consequences
Journal of Contextual Economics – Schmollers Jahrbuch, Vol. 118 (1998), Iss. 2 : pp. 185–220
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Berger, Helge
Abstract
The alleged ever increasing amount of "red tape" is one of the factors held responsible for the decline in German economic performance since the 1970s. However, little is known about the actual development of regulatory activity. The paper sets out to establish stylized facts about the time path of German regulation based on the analysis of labor and capital market policies as well as environmental policy since the early 1950s. It turns out that regulatory activity in Germany increased less steadily than expected and that significant parts of its variation can be attributed to political and to economic variables. The impact of regulation on the economy is analyzed using an endogenous growth setting. There is evidence of a negative growth effect.