Es gibt öffentliche Investitionsbedarfe in Deutschland, etwa zur Bewältigung des Strukturwandels, im Rahmen der Klimapolitik oder der öffentlichen Infrastruktur. Deren genaue Höhe ist jedoch äußerst unsicher. Einer Erhöhung der Investitionen stehen die ausgelasteten Kapazitäten in der...

Es gibt öffentliche Investitionsbedarfe in Deutschland, etwa zur Bewältigung des Strukturwandels, im Rahmen der Klimapolitik oder der öffentlichen Infrastruktur. Deren genaue Höhe ist jedoch äußerst unsicher. Einer Erhöhung der Investitionen stehen die ausgelasteten Kapazitäten in der...

We analyze the rise and decline of the steel and mining industries in the regions of Saarland, Lorraine und Luxemburg over a long period, from the mid-19th century to 2003. Our main focus in on the period of structural decline in these industries after the second world war. Differences in the...

To make the no-bailout clause credible and enhance the effectiveness of crisis assistance, a consistent institutional and legal framework is needed to ensure that private creditors contribute to crisis resolution. Getting activated as part of ESM crisis assistance, we propose a two-stage...

We investigate the political determinants of risk premiums which sub-national governments in Switzerland have to pay for their sovereign bond emissions. For this purpose we make use of financial market data from 288 tradable cantonal bonds in the period from 1981 to 2007. Our main focus is on...

This paper analyses the importance of fiscal mechanisms for regional risk sharing and redistribution in Switzerland. Switzerland is a particularly interesting setting in this context because it features both a high level of fiscal autonomy for Swiss cantons and explicit fiscal transfers between...

The current European fiscal framework is highly complex. The multitude of fiscal rules and the discretion in their enforcement precludes an effective oversight and weakens the effectiveness of fiscal rules substantially. Against this background, we present a proposal for a careful refocusing of...

While emissions trading schemes are developed by nations to mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions, behavioural studies have shown that the political and public acceptability of these market-based instruments depends on the way the associated revenues are used. One option the general public...

This paper provides evidence that most German states (Laender) have unsustainable public finances by exploiting a newly compiled database covering the years 1950‐2011. Although the Laender are closely intertwined we are the first to apply “second generation” panel techniques that control...

We investigate the political determinants of risk premiums which sub-national governments in Switzerland have to pay for their sovereign bond emissions. For this purpose we analyse financial market data from 288 tradable cantonal bonds in the period from 1981 to 2007. Our main focus is on two...