Pundits around the world have criticized Germany for either trying to reshape Europe in its image or acting in its own self-interest. Germany has been accused of creating a new "empire," of pursuing a new Sonderweg, of "going global alone," of evasiveness, self-imposed isolation, and bullying....

Organisations centring their operations around human resources, in which skills are instrumental to the attainment of organisational goals, should create a climate to incentivise performance: the returns on any training depend on employee performance. To elicit such performance, organisations...

This study contributes to the debate on VC-related policies that aim to support the growth of young high-tech firms in the EU. The study provides a systematic review of the results of 22 firm-level studies that estimate causal effects of VC using counterfactual impact evaluation methods and data...

The recent corporate failures in the US and in Europe have considerably damaged investors’ confidence in the functioning of financial markets and the ability of the regulatory framework to safeguard their interest and prevent fraud. These episodes demonstrate that market failures exist, which...

Shadow banking, as one of the main sources of financial stability concerns, is the subject of much international debate. In broad terms, shadow banking refers to activities related to credit intermediation and liquidity and maturity transformation that take place outside the regulated banking...

This paper analyses the transmission of financial shocks to the macroeconomy. The role of macro-financial linkages is investigated from an empirical perspective for the euro area as a whole, for individual euro area member countries and for other EU and OECD countries. The following key economic...

The extensive public support measures for the financial sector have been key for the management of the current financial crisis. This paper gives a detailed description of the measures taken by central banks and governments and attempts a preliminary assessment of the effectiveness of such...