Middle class incomes in the EU are highest in Luxembourg, Denmark, Finland, Austria, and Sweden, and lowest in Eastern European countries. The middle class in Bulgaria and Romania are at the bottom of EU nominal incomes, but their living costs are just half of the EU average. When accounting for...

Fiscal rules are a frequent policy measure to restrict deficit-taking among incumbent politicians. In times of increased and sustained investment needs to mitigate the consequences of climate change, and to promote the digital and structural transformation, fiscal rules have become subject to...

The EU faces the challenge to combine large and sustained investments to promote the transition towards a green, digital, and competitive Europe while maintaining fiscal sustainability. Based on a comprehensive literature review on the effects of fiscal rules and investment clauses on public...

Recent events and rising geopolitical tensions have raised concerns about the external dependence and vulnerability of Europe’s economy. Decision-makers need to rethink the playing field of geoeconomics and should be prepared for different trade policy scenarios that may arise from new...

The Lisbon strategy of the year 2000 failed: the share of R&D spending in Europe remains below the 3 percent of GDP target, far behind that of the US and China. EU companies spend much less on R&D than their US peers and concentrate their innovation activities on midtech instead high-tech...

In many European countries established leftwing and rightwing parties have been threatened by policy convergence and, in turn, new populist parties that offer more polarized platforms. I investigate whether government ideology influences dragnet-controls - controls of persons conducted by the...

Am 3. November 2020 entscheidet sich, ob Donald Trump ein zweites Mal zum US-Präsidenten gewählt wird. Er hat seinen Wahlkampfslogan »Make America Great Again« rigoros verfolgt. Im Zuge dessen wurden diplomatische Konventionen gebrochen und jahrzehntealte internationale Verträge für...

Im gegenwärtigen Europawahlkampf vertritt Jean-Claude Juncker die Ansicht, dass europäische Staaten mit konservativen Regierungen bessere wirtschaftliche Daten vorweisen können als Staaten mit sozialistischen Regierungen. Ob Regierungen unterschiedlicher parteipolitischer Zusammensetzung auch...

Volkswirt*innen an deutschen Universitäten erwarten vom neuen US-Präsidenten Joe Biden positive Wirkungen auf die Wirtschaft in Deutschland und der EU. Im aktuellen Ökonomenpanel gaben 71% der Teilnehmenden an, sie hielten Bidens Präsidentschaft für „eher positiv“, 5% sogar für „sehr...