We analyze different options for the design of a common unemployment insurance system for the euro area (EA). We 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 period...

The German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) submitted an order for referral to the European Court of Justice (CJEU) in 2014, asking it to clarify the compatibility of the "Outright Monetary Transactions" (OMT)-Programme with European Union law. The OMT-Programme prepares...

The 2008-09 crisis has shown that some euro area member countries were unable to sufficiently stabilize their economies which has given rise to a debate about deeper fiscal integration in Europe. In this paper, we analyze the redistributive and stabilizing effects of two scenarios of fiscal...

This paper describes a model to simulate expenditure and indirect taxes in 12 EU countries within the EUROMOD tax-benefit model. The paper outlines the types of indirect taxes in the countries examined. Validation checks are made on the effectiveness of the expenditure models used. The...

This paper aims to analyse the social assistance systems in five South European countries: France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. After reviewing the existing system of social assistance in each country, we apply a consistent methodology in order to estimate its impact on income...

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of the tax and transfer systems in the European Union and the US to act as an automatic stabilizer in the current economic crisis. We find that automatic stabilizers absorb 38 per cent of a proportional income shock in the EU, compared to 32 per cent in the...

The current debt crisis has given rise to a debate about deeper fiscal integration in Europe. The view is widespread that moving towards a 'fiscal union' would have a stabilising effect in the event of macroeconomic shocks. In this paper we study the economic effects of introducing two elements...

Whether observed differences in redistributive policies across countries are the result of differences in social preferences or efficiency constraints is an important question that paves the debate about the optimality of welfare regimes. To shed new light on this question, we estimate labor...

The Corona pandemic exposes the strengths and weaknesses of the European Union (EU) as well as the differences in the resilience of the European economies. This study therefore looks at how the EU and its member states can emerge stronger and more competitive from the crisis. The ideas of the...

Die Corona-Pandemie legt die Stärken und Schwächen der Europäischen Union (EU) bloß und verdeutlicht die Unterschiede in der Leistungs- und Widerstandsfähigkeit der europäischen Volkswirtschaften. Die vorliegende Studie widmet sich daher der Frage, wie die EU gestärkt und mit höherer...