Mit der Neuwahl des Europäischen Parlaments (EP) nach der bislang größten Erweiterung der Europäischen Union (EU) steht das Verfahren, wie diese nun 732 Mitglieder umfassende Versammlung gewählt wird, erneut zur Debatte. Denn nach wie vor ist das Wahlrecht zum EP im Wesentlichen national...

En este artículo se explota el marco institucional de las elecciones municipales españolas, en las que se utilizan distintos sistemas electorales dependiendo del número de habitantes del municipio, según lo establecido por la Ley. Mediante una regresión discontinua, se compara la...

We consider misconceptions about the functioning of the economy as one possible explanation for the emergence of crises in democracies. Furthermore, we study a political process which may lead to successful reform. First of all, we show that voters can make inefficient decisions concerning...

Despite the federal structure of its constitution, no empirical study of fiscal illusion at the level of state expenditure has yet been undertaken in Australia. This paper seeks to go at least some way towards remedying the omission by subjecting the revenue-complexity, revenue-elasticity and...

Los Angeles has had the worst traffic for the longest time out of any American city with many of its residents commuting for over an hour to and from work. The solution to this problem has existed for over 50 years but political forces have stopped its implementation. With the funding problems...

The application of rational choice to non-market decision making has revolutionizedcomparative economics. A fruitful methodological symmetry now prevails in theanalysis of economic systems, emphasizing how their underlying institutions affectindividual incentives. Most importantly, comparative...

Rumänien ist seit 2007 Mitglied der Europäischen Union. 2004 hat die EU-Kommission die rumänische Volkswirtschaft als funktionierende Marktwirtschaft eingestuft. Trotzdem existieren hohe wirtschaftliche Unterschiede zwischen Rumänien und den restlichen EU-Staaten. Das Land ist relativ groß...

"The common-property literature has often focused on the question of efficiency. Here we consider distributional issues instead. How should the benefits of the commons (say, a fishery) be distributed? We approach the question from the viewpoint of ownership rather than income redistribution. "A...