Several decades ago, leaders of six European countries with an inclusive vision of Europe and strong courage started a construction without precedent, the European Union. The remarkable construction evolved not only concerning the number of the Member States, but also in terms of institutional...

Cohesion policy micro-efficiency is determined by institutional or absorption capacity of recipient regions and Member States which, in turn, co-determines the policy's macro-economic impact. The analysis shows that cohesion policy is not perceived as an quot;EU receipts maximising...

The paper shows that delivery mechanisms have significant impact on the effectiveness of cohesion policy whatever its structure. In the assessment of the present delivery mechanisms the conclusion is made that there are strong arguments for reform, which however would make sense even if one...

China’s regions have been experiencing impressive growth over the past decades, but their potentials could be better exploited by creating a single product and labour market. Local protectionism increases transaction costs and hinders competition, thereby taking a toll on productivity....

The paper starts with a description of major reforms of EU policy in the network industries. Based on the normative economics of regulation, it then points out generic information and transaction cost problems of regulatory policy making. An appropriate allocation of regulatory competencies may...

Consolidation or fragmentation for financial regulators? This debate has gained importance since the 2007-2009 financial crisis. The financial services sector has changed considerably over the last 25 years. Financial institutions have evolved from domestic firms engaged in distinct insurance,...

This paper analyses when EU intervention is needed to achieve this internal market for electronic communications. It sets legal and economic criteria to determine the appropriate scope of the EU intervention. It applies these criteria to several case studies and concludes that sometimes the EU...

Despite the positive effect electricity grids separated from generation and supply by ownership are expected to have on the level of competition in the non-network activities, several EU member states still adhere to a solely legally unbundled transmission grid. This choice might be induced by...

Most competition authorities in the world (in Europe, in particular) impose a suboptimal level of fines. In this paper two attempting explanations are proposed, based on accountability strategies and career concerns of governing bodies of these agencies. In order to compensate the distortion in...

Since airlines were deregulated, shareholders, management and workers, already well organized, have suffered severe, sometimes catastrophic losses, while the benefits have been spread among unorganized consumers and the investors and managers of new entrant airlines, which themselves have had a...