The notion that US stock prices follow a pattern that is synchronized with presidential elections has been discussed among financial investors for a long time. Academic work exists that supports this idea, quantifies the pattern and has demonstrated its robustness over several decades and across...

This paper looks at whether public attitudes towards a single European currency held in the European Union member states reflect a rational evaluation of the involved benefits and costs. It finds that they do: the looser monetary and fiscal policy was in the past, and the more time a country...

Die Debatte über Offshore-Leaks und die sehr geringen Steuerzahlungen großer multinationaler Konzerne haben das öffentliche Interesse auf das Problem 'Steueroasen' gelenkt. Wenn Konzerne Steuersatzunterschiede zwischen verschiedenen Ländern ausnutzen, kann Steuergestaltung durchaus legal...

This article narrates Ireland's recent odyssey from the pride and envy of Europe to kneeling supplicant through the eyes of an econometric model of the government bond market. The exercise suggests that, in essence, two developments triggered and propelled Ireland's drift towards sovereign...

Competence behind sovereign ratings is crucial, given that the government bond market may be vulnerable to multiple equilibria and self-fulfilling prophecies. With this in mind, this paper reviews and scrutinises official Standard & Poor's publications that address key issues surrounding the...