This paper sets out a comprehensive framework to identify regional business cycles within Spain and analyses their stylised features and the degree of synchronisation both within them and between them and the Spanish economy. We show that the regional cycles are quite heterogeneous although they...

This paper offers a specific analysis of speculation bubbles in the economic history of the world, and then tries to identify the causes and effects of the speculation bubble on the real estate market in the USA, which was the main cause of the subprime crisis. The first part of the paper aims...

This paper tries to briefly analyze the characteristics of fiscal policy in the context of the actual crisis. We start from the ongoing discussion regarding the role of fiscal policy during the economic and financial crisis. We then focus on the case of CEE countries and on Romanian economy and...

Die Industrie in Deutschland hat bis zum dritten Quartal das Produktionsniveau des Vorjahres knapp halten können. Sie stand einer im Jahresverlauf stark rückläufigen Nachfrage aus dem Inland und dem Euroraum und einer leicht steigenden Nachfrage aus dem Nicht-Euroraum gegenüber. Für das...

Während manche Länder in der Europäischen Währungsunion aufgrund von Schulden- und Strukturkrisen tief in der Rezession stecken, steht die deutsche Wirtschaft derzeit glänzend da. Die Arbeitslosigkeit ist auf den niedrigsten Stand seit der Wiedervereinigung gefallen, die Wirtschaftsleistung...

The western pension systems and especially the Spanish one will noticeably be a®ected by an aging of the population that is currently underway. This work proposes a pension model for Spain which would mean deep structural reforms that would guarantee meeting the objectives established by a...

This article is the first one to use individual data to analyze the demand for AFP in Chile. This study implements panel data techniques which allow us to estimate the switch probability of an AFP customer. Results confirm the fundamental role of sales agents, which was already suggested by...

This study estimates the hypothetical level of contributions collected and pensions paid in the future by the social security budget in five of the most influential countries in the world today. Historical data from 1980 to 2009 declared by each state's monitoring organization have been analyzed...

We analyze expectations of the Dutch population ages 25 and older concerning future generosity of state and occupational pensions, the main pillars of the Dutch pension system. We use rotating panel data with monthly observations from 2006 until 2012 on individuals’ subjective expectations...

The paper argues that a comprehensive activation strategy is called for – in both unemployment and disability insurance – to minimize the conflict between income insurance and work incentives and to prevent the economic crisis from causing a long-lasting decline in labor force participation....