We study the driving forces of the so-called "German labor market miracle" the trend-shift and steady decline of German unemployment over the last two decades that persisted beyond the Great Recession. Our structural VAR approach encompasses various factors within a single comprehensive...

This study provides empirical evidence that the costs of austerity crucially depend on the level of private indebtedness. In particular, fiscal consolidations lead to severe contractions when implemented in high private debt states. Contrary, fiscal consolidations have no significant effect on...

Recent studies have proposed several factors that determine how fiscal consolidations affect the economy. This Roundup focuses on several of these determinants. Namely, it discusses how the composition of the consolidation measure, the state of the business cycle, the level of private...

Massive Konsolidierungen der öffentlichen Haushalte sowie die Umsetzung von Strukturreformen sollten den südeuropäischen Ländern aus der Krise helfen. Doch neuesten Untersuchungen zufolge könnte die auferlegte strikte Austeritätspolitik im Zusammenspiel mit den niedrigen Zinsen im Euroraum...