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...

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of social protection systems in Europe and the US to provide (income) insurance against macro level shocks in terms of automatic stabilizers. We find that automatic stabilizers absorb 38% of a proportional income shock and 47% of an idiosyncratic...

The reform of the German corporate income tax aims at attracting investment and jobs to Germany and wants to reduce profit shifting to other countries. At the same time, the tax revenue losses are to be kept as low as possible. This article surveys the most important elements of the reform and...