How do different components of the tax and transfer systems affect disposable income inequality? This paper explores the redistributive effects of different tax benefit instruments in the enlarged EU based on two approaches. Inequality analysis based on the standard approach suggests that...

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 European Commission is currently preparing a proposal for a directive on the introduction of a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB). This paper reviews the current state of the European Commission's preparation of the CCCTB proposal and discusses the implications for efficiency and...

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...

A mechanism to restructure the debt of an insolvent euro country is a missing element in the emerging institutional architecture of the euro area. The introduction of an insolvency proce-dure for sovereigns faces a dilemma: In the foreseeable future, its introduction would risk pushing Europe...

This contribution develops a blueprint for a European fiscal union. The proposal addresses the shortcomings of most other reform designs which do not offer a solution for insolvent or non-cooperative euro countries. We suggest a design which combines fiscal insurance with an orderly procedure to...

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...

Cover -- Contents -- Series Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Contributors -- I Introduction -- 1 Arguments for and against Policies to Promote National Champions -- II Analyses in Dynamic Settings -- 2 Some Thoughts on Industrial Policy and Growth -- 3 National Champions and Economic Growth -- 4...

We analyze different alternatives how a common unemployment insurance system for the euro area (EA) could be designed and 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...