Mit der Entscheidung für ein Konjunkturprogramm möchte die Bundesregierung die gegenwärtige Rezession bekämpfen. Georg Fahrenschon, Bayerischer Staatsminister der Finanzen, hält weitere Schritte zur Stabilisierung der Wirtschaft und zur Beschäftigungssicherung für dringend erforderlich,...

On 1 July 2020, value added tax (VAT) rates were reduced in Germany to fight the economic consequences of the Corona pandemic. The VAT rate reduction is temporary as rates will return to their previous level on 1 January 2021. We study the effects of the temporary VAT rate cut on German...

This paper studies the impact of economic deprivation on radical voting. Using a unique dataset covering different indicators of economic deprivation as well as federal election outcomes at the county-level in Germany for the period from 1998 to 2017, we examine whether economic deprivation...

This paper is the first to provide evidence of efficient taxation of groups with heterogeneous levels of 'tax morale'. We set up an optimal income tax model where high tax morale implies a high subjective cost of evading taxes. The model predicts that 'nice guys finish last': groups with higher...

We analyze different alternatives how a common unemployment insurance system for the euro area (EA) could be designed and assess their effectiveness to act as an insurance device in the presence of asymmetric macroeconomic shocks. Running counterfactual simulations based on micro data for the...

This paper re-examines the link between globalization and income inequality. We use data for 140 countries over the period 1970-2014 and employ an IV approach to deal with the endogeneity of globalization measures. We find that the link between globalization and income inequality differs across...

We examine how trade openness influences income inequality within countries. The sample includes 139 countries over the period 1970-2014. We employ predicted openness as instrument to deal with the endogeneity of trade openness. The effect of trade openness on income inequality differs across...

Die öffentliche Debatte um den Solidaritätszuschlag nimmt gegenwärtig Fahrt auf. Am 9. August legte das Bundesfinanzministerium einen Gesetzesentwurf vor, der die Ergänzungsabgabe für gut 90% der Steuerzahler zurückführt. Dies soll durch die erhebliche Erhöhung der derzeit geltenden...

Verminderte Steuereinnahmen und die defizitäre Lage der öffentlichen Haushalte haben eine Diskussion über Steuererhöhungen ausgelöst. Dass die vorgesehenen Maßnahmen ökonomisch sinnvoll und in der aktuellen Wirtschaftslage angemessen sind, bezweifelt Prof. Dr. Clemens Fuest, Universität...