This work provides empirical evidence for a sizeable, statistically significant negative impact of the quality of fiscal institutions on public spending volatility for a panel of 23 EU countries over the 1980–2007 period. The dependent variable is the volatility of discretionary fiscal policy,...

This paper examines Wagner hypothesis of the growth of public expenditure alongside the growth of economic activity for a panel of 28 European economies during the 1995-2018 period. The hypothesis is verified using Pesaran (2007) panel unit root and Westerlund (2007) cointegration tests that...

Does fiscal consolidation lead to social unrest? Using cross-country evidence for the period 1919 to 2008, we examine the extent to which societies become unstable after budget cuts. We find a positive correlation between fiscal retrenchment and instability. Expenditure cuts are particularly...

Following the Great Recession, many European countries implemented fiscal consolidation policies aimed at reducing government debt. Using three independent data sources and three different empirical approaches, we document a strong positive relationship between higher income inequality and...

We compare the determinants of individual giving between two countries, Spain and the US, which differ in their redistribution policies and their beliefs over the causes of poverty. By varying the information about the determinants of income, we find that, although overall giving is similar in...

The newest, quadripartite typology of Western European welfare states needs some modifications nowadays. The Nordic and the Southern model have remained intact but the Continental and the Anglo-Saxon types have significantly converged (regardless of the economic crisis) that can be explained...

European authorities introduced stringent lockdown measures in early 2020 to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. As the first wave of infection curves flattened and the outbreak appeared controlled, most countries started to reopen their economies albeit using diverse strategies. This paper...

In our increasingly globalized economy, global competitiveness of countries and means to measure it gain increasing significance. One of the ways to measure it is by comparing an extent of economic freedom that countries have, which as surveys show can also largely explain differences in living...

A considerable number of studies have examined the relationship between corporate governance (CG) structures and corporate performance (e.g., Yermack, 1996; Gompers et al., 2003; Beiner et al., 2006; Renders et al., 2010; Ntim et al., 2012; Kumar & Zattoni 2013; Griffin, et al., 2014). In contrast, despite its...