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Die anhaltenden Probleme bei der Beschaffung von Vorleistungen belasten die deutsche Wirtschaft. Drei Viertel der Unternehmen berichten derzeit von Produktionsausfällen von im Durchschnitt 7%. Erst ab dem zweiten Halbjahr 2022 wird sich die Situation deutlich verbessern. Aber auch im Jahr 2023 rechnet noch knapp die Hälfte der privatwirtschaftlichen Unternehmen mit Ausfällen. Neben den fehlenden Vorleistungen ist vor allem der Fachkräftemangel eine permanente Produktionsbremse. Ongoing problems with the procurement of intermediates are weighing on the German economy. Three-quarters of companies are currently reporting production losses averaging 7%. The situation will not improve significantly until the second half of 2022. But even in 2023, just under half of private-sector companies still expect shortfalls. In addition to the lack of intermediates, the shortage of skilled workers is a permanent brake on production.

Introduction Peptide vaccines offer anti-tumor efficacy with very low toxicity. However, repeat stimulation with an immunogenic peptide leads to activation induced cell death (AICD), decreasing efficacy. We engineered variants of an immunogenic peptide (E39) and tested their ability to induce a robust, sustainable immune response. Methods Multiple variants of E39 were created by exchanging 1 or 2 amino acids. We tested the PBMC proliferation, cytokine production and cytolytic activity induced by each variant peptide. Results Repeated stimulation with E39 likely led to in vitro AICD, while stimulation with E39' led to T-cell proliferation with less evidence of AICD, modest cytokine production and high CTL activity. Conclusions E39' appears to be the optimal variant of E39 for inducing effective long-term immunity.

We present an experiment in which extrinsic information (signals) may generate sunspot equilibria. The underlying coordination game has a unique symmetric non-sunspot equilibrium, which is also risk-dominant. Other equilibria can be ordered according to risk dominance. We compare treatments with different salient, but extrinsic signals. By increasing the precision of private signals, we manipulate the available public information, which allows us to measure the force of extrinsic signals. We also vary the number of signals and combine public and private signals, allowing us to see how subjects aggregate available (and possibly irrelevant) information. Results indicate that sunspot equilibria emerge naturally if there are salient (but extrinsic) public signals. However, salient private signals of high precision may also cause sunspot-driven behavior, even though this is no equilibrium. The higher the precision of signals and the easier they can be aggregated, the more powerful they are in dragging behavior away from the risk-dominant to risk-dominated strategies. Sunspot-driven behavior may lead to welfare losses and exert negative externalities on agents, who do not receive extrinsic signals.

Coastal Highway Route E39 goes all the way from outside Trondheim in the middle of Norway following the west-coast down to Kristiansand. To be totally correct the E39 continues after a ferry from Kristiansand in Norway to Hirtshals in Denmark to the city of Aahlborg in Denmark. The total length of E39 along the coast of Norway is 1100 km. Today you can drive this route in approximately 21 hours, including 7 Ferry crossings. The goal of the project “Coastal highway route E39” (also known as the “Ferry Free E39”) is to make it possible to drive the distance in 13 hours and have fixed links instead of the seven ferries. The seven fjords has a width of 1.6 to 5 km, and depth of 400–1300 m, which means that the fixed links will be bridges longer and deeper than ever before. By using technology from Norwegian off-shore industry, especially the floating concrete oil platforms, we see that it is possible to anchor a floating construction on depths up to 1500 meter below sea level (mbs). We also know that we can have floating constructions; both bridges and submerged floating bridges (tunnels) are possible. Norway already has the longest road tunnel in rock (Laerdal tunnel 24.5 km), the longest subsea tunnel (Bomlafjord 7.8 km, Ryfast 14 km under construction 2014–17, Rogfast 27 km under construction 2016-) and the deepest subsea tunnel (Eiksundtunnelen 7.77 km long, 287 mbs). The public road network in Norway consist of 92,000 km roads, 17,000 bridges in operation and 1100 road tunnels, 35 of which is subsea tunnels. Norway also has 600 harbours and 51 airports (2014). From Norwegian industry, and overseas, we have had suggestions on how to solve the crossings. Three main concepts have been taken a step further; The Floating Bridge, The submerged floating tunnel and The TLP anchoring system (Tension-leg platform). We are now working on developing the concepts, which can be used separately or in combination in the crossings. The technology is now taken to a step where we shortly are able to start tendering (“Competitive dialogue” is the most likely tender). Also in the “Coastal Highway Route E39” we have been looking at Tendering options, Energy production and consumption of the constructions and the overall economy in the project (both normal financial calculations, but also “game changer”-effects of bigger markets). 31 PhD graduates are connected to the project. At the same time the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) have ongoing research projects on materials, extreme weather, environment, energy, traffic safety, ITS and road technology in general. The presentation will focus on the newest developments in the extreme crossings, but also mention ongoing supplementary projects/PhD-studies at the time.

This paper studies the determinants of house prices in eight transition economies of central and eastern Europe (CEE) and 19 OECD countries. The main question addressed is whether the conventional fundamental determinants of house prices, such as GDP per capita, real interest rates, housing credit and demographic factors, have driven observed house prices in CEE. We show that house prices in CEE are determined to a large extent by the underlying conventional fundamentals and some transition-specific factors, in particular institutional development of housing markets and housing finance and quality effects.