Erstgutachter:

I had the opportunity to write my doctoral thesis as a research associate in the public economics department of DIW Berlin and as a graduate student of the DIW Berlin Graduate Center. I am grateful for the inspiring and professional environment at DIW Berlin and for the precious support which made this project possible, given by my supervisor and my colleagues. First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Viktor Steiner, who continuously supported and guided me. He aroused my interest in microeconometrics and encouraged me to write a doctoral thesis, which has been the most important experience in my professional life. I appreciate his exceptional ability to deliberate on empirical phenomena and trace them back to their economic relevance. Moreover, I profited very much from his acquisition of project funding. Two chapters of this dissertation result from collaborative projects. And I want to especially thank my co-authors Viktor Steiner (Chapter two) and Michał Myck (Chapter four). I enjoyed the discussions and the constructive critique. I learned incredibly much from their experience and support. I am grateful to Carsten Schröder for agreeing to supervise my dissertation and for his comprehensive suggestions and recommendations to improve my work. I would also like to thank Peter Haan, the new head of the department of public economics at DIW Berlin. He was always available for discussion of my research and supported the final stage of this dissertation. Furthermore I would like to thank my colleagues at DIW Berlin. A special thank goes to Ron Freier who read an earlier version of this thesis and gave valuable comments, and to Hermann Buslei who was always open for discussions and made a lot of important suggestions. Throughout my work at DIW Berlin I benefited from discussions with m