Currently fiscal policies in Germany seem to be in a very comfortable position and the German Debt Brake is regarded as an institutional precondition for this success and has been exported to the Euro area in the guise of the Fiscal Compact. In this paper we scrutinize German fiscal policies and...

Both the German federal as well as the general government recorded a surplus for the fourth time in a row in 2017. The fast consolidation after the Great Recession coincided with the transition period for the full introduction of the federal debt brake, which is sometimes interpreted as...

Angesichts zunehmender Ängste vor einer überbordenden Staatsverschuldung und einer daraus resultierenden Belastung der nächsten Generationen scheint die Schweizer Finanzpolitik gegenwärtig glänzend dazustehen. Während überall sonst die Staatsverschuldung im Zuge der globalen Finanz- und...

Fiscal policy in the Euro area is still dominated by austerity measures implemented under the institutional setting of the 'reformed' stability and growth pact, and the even stricter 'fiscal compact'. At the same time, calls for a more expansionary fiscal policy to overcome the economic crisis...

The Euro area is currently going through its worst period of recession and economic stagnation since the Great Depression and World War II. The article tries to give an impression of the extraordinary degree of fiscal austerity and the devastating economic effects it has already had and must be...

Many observers consider the German 'debt brake' beyond criticism. In the current crisis, many European countries have difficulties refinancing their budgets, while the German treasury's funding conditions are most favourable. The 'fiscal compact's' call for the introduction of German-style 'debt...

Die Corona-Krise stellt sich aus makroökonomischer Sicht als tiefe globale Rezession dar. Ein Konjunkturpaket ist erforderlich, um eine schnelle Überwindung des Wirtschaftseinbruchs zu ermöglichen. Aus klimapolitischer Sicht besteht die Gefahr, dass erstens konjunkturelle Maßnahmen bislang...

Vor dem Hintergrund der noch nicht konkret ausformulierten Konsolidierungsstrategie der österreichischen Bundesregierung sowie den ernst zu nehmenden konjunkturpolitischen Bedenken gegen eine forcierte Budgetkonsolidierung stellt sich die Frage, wie eine Erfolg versprechende mittelfristige,...

Budgetary pressures and the debate on increasing inequality caused by the global financial and economic crisis have also revived public and scholarly interest in tax policies. While some international coordination attempts aim at a more effective enforcement of existing tax laws, a number of...