In recent weeks, fears of a worldwide economic recession have become widespread because more and more symptoms appear that resemble those at the start of the great depression of 1929. However, wrong conclusions may be drawn from similar symptoms unless basic development trends as well as the...

Two recent proposals for overcoming the euro area crisis make the case for monetary financing of the public sector. Watt proposes that the ECB finances public investment directly, while Pâris and Wyplosz contend that public debt may be effectively restructured by burying parts of it in the...

The cost-benefit-analysis represents for the public sector the same as investment projections mean for private enterprise. This method is still in its experimental stage, but it is becoming more and more sophisticated and is already widely used also by national agencies active in the field of...