The Greek bail-out was highly controversial. An oft-heard assessment is that i) the bail-out was a mistake, ii) the political haggling over it was irrational and iii) the bail-out will create a moral hazard problem. Contrary to this view, our analysis suggests that, given EMU's present...

The aim of this study is to investigate the extent to which the dispersion of real GDP growth rates has changed over the past few years and whether the synchronisation of business cycles has increased among the euro area countries. The study is divided into two main parts. The f irst focuses on...

This study presents some stylised facts on wage growth differentials across the euro area countries in the years before and in the first eight years after the introduction of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999. The study shows that wage growth dispersion, i.e. the degree of difference in...

As the operator of a systemically important payment system (SIPS), the Eurosystem has the responsibility of regularly assessing the resilience of the Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer System (TARGET2) to various types of risks, as set out in the Principles for...

Die Politik in Deutschland setzt u. a. auf Zuwanderung von Hochqualifizierten aus Drittstaaten zur Schließung von Fachkräftelücken. Das Ziel der Studie ist es, geeignete Instrumente für eine derartige selektive Steuerung der Zuwanderung zu identifizieren. Die Studie untersucht die...

In the present study we investigate the relationship between foreign ownership and innovation activities using the firm-level data of the third Community Innovation Survey (CIS) covering 12 European countries. Probit estimates based on 28,000 firms observations show that foreign owned firms are...

This study uses panel data describing about 6,500 employees in a large international company to study the incentive effects of performance related pay. The company uses two performance related remuneration mechanisms. One is an individual ''surprise'' bonus payment. The other is a more...

Applying data from 13 waves of the Swiss Labor Force Survey (1991-2003) I assess costs and benefits of fixed-term contracts. First, I analyze the existence of a contract related wage gap and the effort response of temporary employees in terms of unpaid overtime hours. Second, I investigate...

Aufgrund von stetig anwachsenden Ausgaben und Schulden des öffentlichen Sektors, sowie gleichzeitig einer Verschlechterung der allgemeinen Wirtschaftslage, wurde in den OECD-Ländern seit den 70er und 80er Jahren des 20. Jahrhunderts zunehmend ein effizienter(er) Staat gefordert. In der Folge...

This paper provides an illustration of the changing tolerance for inequality in a context of radical political and economic transformation and rapid economic growth. We focus on the Polish transition experience, and explore individuals' self-reported attitudes. Using unusually long and frequent...