This contribution highlights the complex causes of the European debt crisis and discusses available options for a solution. Relevant causes included are debt incentives which are effective permanently, the lacking optimality of the European currency area and deficient institutional debt brakes....

In a constantly changing economic environment, a country's ability to undertake institutional reforms is crucial to maintain economic growth and to promote the welfare of its citizens. A wide range of determinants for institutional reforms have been identified. However, the impact of trust on...

Economists should be interested in understanding the factors behind the fairness assessment of inequality since this codetermines individuals' willingness to cooperate and to exert positive reciprocity as a tax payer and citizen. So far, this topic has been largely neglected in the economic...

There is a growing empirical literature studying whether permanent constraints on fiscal policy, such as fiscal rules, reduce sovereign risk premia. Nevertheless, it remains an open question whether these rules are effective genuinely or just because they mirror fiscal preferences of politicians...