EMU started with eleven member countries as scheduled on January 1, 1999. The paper shows that the primacy of politics over economics in this decision could have serious consequences concerning the stability of EMU in the transition phase. Speculative attacks against currencies which are in...

An important question in the process of European integration concerns the best institutional level for stabilization policies. The theory of fiscal federalism gives criteria for evaluating if fiscal stabilization policies should take place on a centralized or on a decentralized level. This paper...

Deutschland fällt im Standortwettbewerb weiter zurück. Politikblockaden und ein stark eingeschränkter institutioneller Wettbewerb tragen zur schwachen wirtschaftlichen Dynamik bei. Wie stehen die Chancen der Bundesländer, sich im Standortwettbewerb zu behaupten? Wie sollte eine...