There is a huge body of literature in the social sciences that deals with the privatization of public enterprises in developed OECD countries after World War II. In the first part of this article, we present and critically examine empirical findings of comparative inquiries on the factors...

Elected representatives in many countries are legally allowed to carry out (un)paid jobs in addition to their political mandate, often referred to as "moonlighting". Despite the important selection and incentive effects such outside positions might engender, academic studies evaluating the...

Abstract In 2009, a new “debt brake” has been introduced into the German constitution. According to this fiscal rule, the federal government has to limit its annual net borrowing from the year 2016 on to a maximum of 0.35 percent of GDP; the German Laender must not take out new loans from...