Osterloh, St., Heinemann, Fr., (2013), “The political economy of corporate tax harmonization — Why do European politicians (dis)like minimum tax rates?”, European Journal of Political Economy, Volume 29, pp. 18–37. Setting minimum tax rates is a well discussed way of mitigating pressure from tax competition. This paper investigates which motives shape the support for a minimum corporate tax among politicians. We make use of a unique data base: a survey …Read More
Central bank communication on fiscal policy
Allard, J., Catenaro, M., Vidal, J.-P., Wolswijk, G., (2013), “Central bank communication on fiscal policy”, European Journal of Political Economy, Volume 30, pp. 1–14. The issue of central bank communication on fiscal policy has so far received very little attention in the literature. This article aims to shed light on the determinants of central bank communication on fiscal policy by analysing the intensity of central banks’ fiscal communication for five …Read More
The Shadow Economy
Schneider, Fr., Williams, C., (2013), “The Shadow Economy”, The Institute of Economic Affairs. To some people, the shadow economy is a great example of free economic activity at work. It is entirely unregulated except by the participants themselves; no tax is paid on shadow economic activity; and it may be possible to pursue activities in the shadow economy which are prohibited by law unjustly. Indeed, the smugglers of Sussex are …Read More
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Unity in diversity: Protecting the common market with divergent macroprudential policies
Houben, A., Kakes, J., (2013), “Unity in diversity: Protecting the common market with divergent macroprudential policies”, www.voxeu.org , 30 Ιουλίου. Financial cycles have increasingly diverged across members of the Eurozone. National macroprudential tools are thus key to managing financial imbalances and protecting Europe’s economic integration. This column discusses research suggesting that reasonable macroprudential policies by the GIIPS countries in the euro’s first decade would have helped avoid much pain in …Read More
Βιβλιοθήκη » EE » Οικονομία » Άρθρα Γνώμης
European business cycle indicators
European Commission, (2013), “European business cycle indicators”, 2nd Quarter 2013. Apart from useful tools for the assessment of the overall economic picture, the EU-wide harmonised survey programme for the business sector also provides more granular information about the factors underlying managers’ assessment of the business situation. Questions on ‘factors limiting production’ allow to investigate the sources of potential limitations to business activity, e.g. whether they are rooted in the demand …Read More
The Euro Area Lending Survey-2nd Quarter 2013
European Central Bank, (2013), “The Euro Area Lending Survey-2 nd Quarter 2013”, 24 Ιουλίου. The European Central Bank (ECB) is publishing its report on the results of the July 2013 euro area bank lending survey today. The bank lending survey, which is conducted four times a year, usually at the beginning of each quarter, was developed by the Eurosystem in order to enhance the understanding of bank lending behaviour in …Read More
How Many European Recessions?
Frankel, Jeffrey, (2013), “How Many European Recessions?”, www.project-syndicate.org, 17 Ιουλίου. The release of revised GDP data by the United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics in late June seemed like an occasion for cheer, because growth had not quite been negative for two consecutive quarters in the winter of 2011-12, as previously thought. The point, as it was reported, is that a second UK recession following the global financial crisis in …Read More
Βιβλιοθήκη » EE » Οικονομία » Άρθρα Γνώμης
A Copernican turn in Banking Union urgently needed
Mayer, Thomas, (2013), “A Copernican turn in Banking Union urgently needed”, CEPS Policy Briefs, N. 297. Despite broad agreement among central bankers, policy-makers and economists that creation of a ‘Banking Union’ is essential for the survival of the euro, progress in building this union has been painfully slow. This is largely due to the protracted fights over which government will be the payer of last resort when banks fail because …Read More
Inflation persistence in Central and Eastern European countries
Darvas, Zsolt, Varga, Balázs, (2013), “Inflation persistence in Central and Eastern European countries”, Bruegel Working Paper, N. 2013/04. This paper studies inflation persistence with time-varying coefficient autoregressions for twelve central European countries,in comparison with the United States and the euro area. Inflation persistence tends to be higher in times of high inflation. Since the oil price shocks, inflation persistence has declined both in the US and euro-area. In most central …Read More
Report on public finances in EMU
European Commission, (2013), “Report on public finances in EMU”, European Economy, 4/2013, Ιούλιος. The Report presents recent budgetary developments, describes advances in budgetary surveillance and proposes a new indicator of fiscal effort based on a narrative approach. It also shows the developments of health expenditures and the possibility of introducing cost-containing reforms that preserve high quality standards in the provision of health services.