The concept of equality of opportunity (EOp) goes back to Roemer (1993, 1998) who argues that a society shall guarantee its members equal access to advantage regardless of their circumstances, while holding them responsible for turning that access into actual advantage by the application of...

There is clear evidence that fairness plays a role in redistribution. Individuals want to compensate others for their misfortune, while they allow them to enjoy the fruits of their effort. Such fairness considerations have been introduced in political economy and optimal income tax models with a...

Four years after the launch of Global Europe - the European Union's trade strategy from 2006 - policymakers are now confronted with the first negotiated agreement with one of the rising economic powers in the Far East. The EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (hereafter EUKOR) is the first of Europe's...

This paper takes stock of the proposals by the European Commission and members of the European Parliament to amend the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and how the proposed revisions integrate with the obligations of the European Union in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The European...

We analyze to which extent social inequality aversion differs across nations when control- ling for actual country differences in labor supply responses. Towards this aim, we estimate labor supply elasticities at both extensive and intensive margins for 17 EU countries and the US. Using the same...

This paper examines the role of policy for creating an attractive atmosphere for venture capital investments in online start-ups and entrepreneurship. It is based on in-depth interviews with venture capitalists in the United States.The main takeaway points are: The policy atmosphere is important...

In Reaktion auf die Finanzkrise hat das Eurosystem seine Geldpolitik massiv gelockert. So hat die Europäische Zentralbank (EZB) nicht nur den maßgeblichen Leitzins deutlich gesenkt, sondern auch mit außergewöhnlichen liquiditätspolitischen Maßnahmen den Geschäftsbanken unbegrenzt...

We study fair and efficient tax-benefit schemes based on income and non-income factors under partial control. Partial control means that each factor is a specific mixture of unobserved ability (randomly drawn by nature) and effort (chosen by individuals who differ in tastes). Factors differ in...

Obesity rates in Europe have been growing at an accelerated speed in the past two decades. In the European Union, between 36.9% and 56.7% of all women - and between 51% and 69.3% of all men - are overweight or obese, according to data from 2008-09. Estimates on the growth of obesity suggest that...