This paper examines the economic implications of ageing populations. Simulations with the QUEST II model, which take explicit account of the labour force and public finance implications of ageing, suggest per capita living standards in the EU, US and Japan are likely to fall significantly over...

It is largely recognised that fiscal policy will have larger responsibilities for cyclical stabilisation in EMU given the loss of the monetary instrument. At the same time, the EMU's budgetary framework emphasises the need to rely on automatic fiscal stabilisers, rather than active policies in...

This paper investigates different methodologies for computing effective corporate tax rates. All methodologies present strengths and shortcomings, as well as different rankings of countries. One reason lies in the fact that different methodologies measure different things. This paper also...

EUCARS has been designed to analyse the cost-effectiveness of various transport policy measures to reach air quality objectives. A general description and a thorough technical presentation of this partial equilibrium model of passenger transport are given. Some simulation results are then...

When fuel prices increased in 2000, there were concerns about the impact on the transport sector. Therefore, it was considered worthwhile to simulate the effects of a significant and durable change in oil prices on transport cost, transport demand, and transport externalities. Using TREMOVE, the...

This paper on European Union (EU) pension reform provides an overview of the debate and, on the basis of a series of model simulations, makes an empirical assessment of the main pension policy reform options at the EU, not the Member State, level. It estimates what it would take to bring the...

This study examines the financial structures and the performances of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as opposed to large enterprises (LEs) on the basis of the BACH database, which is the most advanced publicly available database for comparisons in this field. It covers the period...

The structural nature of the EU's productivity downturn is confirmed by the analysis in this paper, with the bulk of the deterioration emanating from an outdated and inflexible industrial structure which has been slow to adapt to the intensifying pressures of globalisation and rapid...

This paper describes the methodology for calculating potential growth and output gaps using a production function approach. On the basis of the Commission services Spring 2002 economic forecasts, the approach is illustrated by providing estimates for the EU's Member States, the Euro Zone and...

This report examines the process of economic and financial integration in East Asia in the light of Europe's experience. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of East Asian monetary and financial integration process (including a deep analysis of East Asia's response to the 1997-98...