We draw on a recent survey of European companies to differentiate between alternative modes of international outsourcing as possible determinants of market, cost and knowledge-related aspects of the competitiveness of firms. We find that internalized modes are often superior to outside options,...

After the removal of intra-Community borders, the traditional VAT system of the EC which was based on the Destination principle and fiscal border controls had to be reformed. The ECOFIN-Council decided to preserve the Destination principle for a transition period from January 1, 1993 to December...

From a pure welfare economic viewpoint, there is no contradiction between a deepening and a widening of the EU. However, the analysis in this paper shows that the factual degree of deepening efforts within the EU by far exceeds the economically optimal one. Above all, the tendency of the...

The paper presents labor productivities in the member countries of Euroland. The result is that there is quite a divergence in labor productivities (per head) in the European Monetary Union. The Netherlands and Italy reach 85 percent of the West German level, Spain 62 and Portugal 35. This...

Since the 1980s, the European Community has become an engine for liberalization and re-regulation in the network industries of the transport, energy and telecommunications industries. This paper describes major lines of reform in European infrastructure and regulation policy. Both, changes in...

Recent evidence suggests that regional economic integration provides an important stimulus not only to trade, but also to FDI. In contrast, the available theory on FDI does not yet provide empirically testable propositions on the effects of concurrent trade and investment liberalisation....