The theory of optimal currency areas states that a currency union may succeed if the participating countries have complementary industry structures. If this is not the case a currency union does not, inevitably, have to fail because market forces will induce adjustments of the industry...

This paper provides a simple model to explain effect of political alignment between different tiers of government on policy choices and election outcomes. We derive precise predictions that, as long as voters attribute most of the credit for providing public goods to the local government: (i)...

We use a panel of European countries to investigate whether or not governments interact with their neighbors when they decide their fiscal policy; we consider both taxes and expenditures, at aggregate and at separate aspects of policy. We analyse possible different competitive behaviours and...

This study evaluates the economic effects of corporate tax coordination in the enlarged European Union using a computable general equilibrium model and a comprehensive set of scenarios for both a common corporate EU tax base and for full harmonisation of tax bases and tax rates. Our main...

Policy towards asylum seekers has been a controversial topic for more than a decade. Rising numbers of asylum applications have been met with ever-tougher policies to deter them. Following a period of policy harmonisation, the EU has reached a crucial stage in the development of a new Common...

This paper estimates Nash-type fiscal reaction functions for European governments competing for revenue from diesel excises. It appears that European governments strategically set their excise levels by responding to their neighbors' tax rates. This provides evidence for the presence of tax...

Although decision processes at the EU level are highly complex and often require unanimity, explicit side payments among member states are unknown. However, logrolling and redistributive policies are substitutes. This paper considers the EU regional policy as a substitute for explicit side...

The paper derives a normative model for partial fiscal equalisation based on a number of axioms and allows for the existence of a specific fiscal need in the jurisdictions. The theoretical model is then empirically tested for the case of the European Union using data from 1986-97. It is found...

A major problem in all European Union (EU) budgetary negotiations is the approach of Member States in net return terms (the fair-return approach). EU members compare their contributions to the EU budget with transfers that they receive from the budget. Net payers tend to reduce the size of the...

Um mehr unabhängige Forschung zum Einnahmesystem der Europäischen Union anzustoßen und um die gegenwärtige politische Debatte über mögliche Reformen zu bereichern, hat das Bundesministerium der Finanzen ein Forschungsprojekt zur Zukunft der Finanzen der Europäischen Union angestoßen und...