The study assesses the institutional performances of the European Parliament during the period between the coming into force of the Maastricht treaty and summer 1998. On the basis of the statistical and quantitative approach, it proves the time-effectiveness of Parliament's legislative work...

Everyone believes that they know what an interest rate is. This study, however, examines some of the theoretical and practical complexities: the differences between interest, rent and profit; between nominal and real rates; between long and short rates; and how these interact. It looks, in...

Once the euro is a reality, participating Member States will be unable to alter exchange and interest rates. Nor will there be a large federal budget and significant labour mobility, as in the US. How will they then cope with 'asymmetric shocks' ? This study examines these questions in the light...

In 1992 Nobel Prize-winning economist James Tobin suggested a tax on currency operations 'to throw some sand in the wheels of speculation'. Interest in the proposal has now been re-kindled as governments search for 'a new international financial architecture'. A Tobin Tax would penalise...

This study was drawn up on the initiative of Mr Joaquim Miranda, Chairman of the Committee on Development and Cooperation, in view of the ongoing importance of the debt burden for so many developing countries. The present document examines both the present situation of those countries with a...

The context for this study is the Bristol Accord that was agreed at the European Ministerial Informal meeting in Bristol, United Kingdom, on 6th-7th December 2005. The report reviews progress across Europe, identifies a selection of case studies and suggests further work is required to elaborate...

The context for this study is the Bristol Accord that was agreed at the European Ministerial Informal meeting in Bristol, United Kingdom, on 6th-7th December 2005. The report reviews progress across Europe, identifies a selection of case studies and suggests further work is required to elaborate...