The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that the European regional development funds do not allow simultaneous achievement of goals of efficiency and equity when they are dedicated to financing transportation infrastructures. The paper first gives some insights on the origin of regional...

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that the European regional development funds do not allow simultaneous achievement of goals of efficiency and equity when they are dedicated to financing transportation infrastructures. The paper first gives some insights on the history and the...

Ever since its establishment in 1999, the European Central Bank worked on maintaining relative price stability mainly through inflation targeting. The ECB aims at a target inflation rate below but close to 2%. However, the diversity among the member states in the European Union and the Eurozone...

Purpose – This article seeks to examine the strategic options open to transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe in the face of intense competition in two highly sensitive economic sectors within the EU. Design/methodology/approach – This exploratory paper makes use of cross-country...

It has been nearly 2 years since the UK government reformed the system of local business rates to introduce a uniform business rate (UBR), but the debate continues over the merits of the new system. The change across regions in the revenues raised by the uniform system of business rates...

Over the past few decades, many countries have experienced a marked decline in the volatility of output. However, there is still a significant difference between developed and developing countries in the level of output volatility. A proposed explanation for this phenomenon is the impact of...

This paper argues that when EU member states joined EMU, this resulted in domestic institutional changes in the areas of fiscal policy-making and wage-setting. The paper argues that these changes were triggered by two facts: (i) in EMU, the monetary policy can no longer be used as an instrument...

This paper argues that when EU member states joined EMU, this resulted in domestic institutional changes in the areas of fiscal policy-making and wage-setting. The paper argues that these changes were triggered by two facts: (i) in EMU, the monetary policy can no longer be used as an instrument...

This paper uses a structural vector-autoregression approach to discuss the cyclicality of fiscal and monetary policy in South Africa since 1994. There is substantial South African literature on this topic, but much disagreement remains. Though not undisputed, there is growing consensus that...

This paper presents a critique of the traditional textbook representation of fiscal policy, and highlights the misleading policy implications perpetuated by this analysis. In particular, the conclusion that fiscal deficits are likely to be associated with higher interest rates is disputed, as is...