There is an intensive dispute in political economics about the impact of institutions on income redistribution. While the main focus is on comparison between different forms of representative democracy, the influence of direct democracy on redistribution has attracted much less attention. In...

Steuerehrlichkeit ist ein Thema, das jeden Bürger direkt betrifft. Daher hat die aktuelle Steuerhinterziehungsaffäre um Stiftungen in Liechtenstein besonders großes öffentliches Interesse gefunden. Warum werden Steuern hinterzogen? Hängt die Steuermoral von einer als gerecht empfundenen...

Vor zwei Jahren traten die Verfassungsänderungen der ersten Stufe der Föderalismusreform in Kraft. Kurz darauf wurde die Föderalismuskommission II eingesetzt. Im Oktober 2008 werden die Ergebnisse ihrer Arbeit erwartet. Wie lautete der ursprüngliche Auftrag der Kommission? Welche Themen...

Aktuell ist eine Einschätzung der zukünftigen Wirtschaftslage dringend nötig. Gleichzeitig ist es aber ausgesprochen schwierig, verlässliche Vorhersagen zu machen. Zudem ist zu befürchten, dass die Prognosen selbst Reaktionen bei den Wirtschaftsbürgern auslösen.Was wird von Prognosen...

Paternalism is an attempt to influence individuals’ decisions for their own benefit, even if there are no third parties involved. This seems to contradict normative individualism, which provides the general orientation to our modern democracies. Soft or libertarian paternalism accepts the...

First the assumption of self-interest as applied in Economics is presented. Here we also discuss areas in which (many) people behave less self- but more other-regarding than traditional economic models assume. Then, greedy behaviour is considered as existing in the political and economic world'....

We first show three major disagreements among today's leading economists: the minimum wage, the effects of large government debt and the politics of the European Central Bank. Using a prominent and highly relevant example, the possible deterrent effect of death penalty, we demonstrate how...

We examine whether Swiss federal fiscal policy was sustainable over the period from 1900 to 2002. We perform unit root and cointegration tests for federal revenues and expenditures, taking into account a structural shift in the budgetary process related to World War II. We find sustainability...

There is an intensive dispute in political economics about the impact of institutions on income redistribution. While the main focus is on comparison between different forms of representative democracy, the influence of direct democracy on redistribution has attracted much less attention....

How a sustainable fiscal policy can be performed in a federal system is not only a Swiss problem but is also discussed in other federal countries like Germany and Austria, and in the European Union. Contrary to most other countries, the Swiss fiscal system is characterised by an extensive fiscal...