The current fiscal imbalances and fragilities in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries (SEMC) are the result of decades of instability, but have become more visible since 2008, when a combination of adverse economic and political shocks (the global and European financial crises, Arab...

Since May 1, 2004 the European Union's new member states (NMS) have been subject to the same fiscal rules established in the Treaty on the European Union and Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) as the old member states (OMS). The NMS entered the EU running structural fiscal deficits. More than half...

This paper summarizes the results of CASE's research project on 'Strategies for Joining the EMU' and proposes policy recommendations both for new member states (on how to manage their accession to the Eurozone) and for the European Commission, ECB and old member states (on how to manage and...

Fiscal transparency became a topic of lively public and academic debate in the aftermath of the Mexican and Asian financial crises. The concept of fiscal transparency is, however, largely of a qualitative nature and is therefore something of a challenge to measure. This paper proposes an index...

The main message of this contribution is that lean times are here to stay for the old member states. The main reasons are deep seated: Deteriorating demographics continue with ratio of working age population to total population falling. There are thus fewer and fewer producers for every consumer...

The standard Keynesian view of fiscal policy holds that in short-run fiscal adjustments (expansions) reduce (stimulate) aggregate demand and due to sticky wages, prices or other market rigidities, these demand shifts affect the factors of production and output. These conventional predictions...

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the various challenges facing European integration and the EU institutional architecture as result of the global financial crisis. The European integration process is not yet complete, both in terms of its content and geographical coverage. It can be...

This paper focuses on adjustments in fiscal policy in five CEC’s whose accession seems to be politically most feasible, and who have expressed the strongest desire to join the Union. They include: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Slovenia. Fiscal consolidation in these...

On 1st January 1993, the independent Slovak Republic (SR) began to exist. During 1993 a democratic political system was created. It is a parliamentary democracy with a president at its head. The functions of the president were created and instituted, the Constitutional Court and Supreme...

This is the first detailed study of enterprise finances in a country of Central and Eastern Europe during transition. It is based on enterprise data collected monthly by the Polish Central Statistical Office. Its primary purpose is to provide answers to questions about the size of enterprise...