In some ways, a 2012 symposium on “Dilemmas of State Debt” may seem a bit behind the news curve. At the end of 2010, municipal bond markets were in a deep funk. Analysts predicted that countless municipalities and perhaps one or more of the United States might default on their debt...

The research project WWWforEurope undertakes to lie the theoretical and empirical foundations for the embarkment on a new socio-ecological growth path in Europe. The new path underlines the need to guarantee Welfare as a broad universal principle for its population, assuring economic and social...

The concept of the "quality of public finances" (QPF) covers many qualitative and structural issues of fiscal policy. This chapter traces the origins of the concept of QPF to the Lisbon Strategy and the subsequent EPC Working Group on "Quality of Public Finances" (2004‐2007). At its core, the...

This document presents a detailed analysis of the structure of general government spending in Spain and its recent evolution in comparison to the rest of the European countries. The weight of Spanish public spending is similar to that of neighbouring countries, although below the average for a...

This paper addresses issues related to higher education in selected EU Member States and its contribution to the creation of wealth. Special emphasis was placed on the shape of education policy in selected countries through an analysis of the main indicators characterizing the same. The paper...

The mobility of labor reduces national incentives to invest in internationally applicable education. The European Union could overcome this by allowing member states to institute graduate taxes or income-contingent loans, collected also from migrants. This paper presents calculations on how a...

This paper looks at the relationship between higher education ministers and the performance of the sector that they govern. Using an original panel dataset with the characteristics of European higher education ministers, we find that having a past experience in the sector leads to a higher level...

Needs and opportunities in the Romanian higher education system described towards the end of Part II of the study, through the implementation of the Bologna Process, find their practical application through statistical analysis of their perception in this last part, which contains the...

The need to balance austerity with growth policies has put government efficiency high on the economic policy agenda in Europe. Administrative reforms which boost the efficiency of the administration can alleviate the trade-off between consolidation and public service provision. Against such...

Die Digitalisierung der Verwaltung kommt in Deutschland nicht voran; im europäischen Vergleich befindet sich das Land im E-Government weiter im unteren Mittelfeld. Im Umsetzungsstand für digitale öffentliche Dienste der EU kam Deutschland 2022 nur auf Rang 18 der 27 Mitgliedsländer. Das...