Suchergebnisse

This study empirically investigates the short- to medium-term effects of fiscal policy on output and other macroeconomic variables in European Union countries between 1995 and 2012, with particular reference to transition countries. It applies Panel Vector Auto Regression with recursive identification of government spending shocks as the most appropriate method for the aim of the study and the sample used. The main results indicate that expansionary spending shocks have a positive, but a relatively low effect on output, with the fiscal multiplier around one in the year of the shock and the following year, and lower thereinafter. There are indications that this result is driven by the recent crisis, as multipliers are considerably lower in the pre-crisis period. Effects of fiscal policy are strongly dependent on country structural characteristics. Fiscal multipliers are higher in new European Union member states, in countries with low public debt and low trade openness. Further, spending shocks are followed by rising debt levels in old member states, which could be related well to the recent European debt crisis. Finally, the analysis of the transmission mechanism of fiscal policy yields results that are consistent with both extended Real Business Cycle models and extended New Keynesian models.

The United States in recent years has been abandoning its historical role as a leader in environmental regulation. At the same time, the European Union, spurred by political integration, has enacted many new environmental laws and assumed a leadership role in promoting global environmental sustainability. Green Giants?, one of the most detailed comparisons of the environmental policies of America and Europe yet undertaken, looks at current policy trends in the United States and the European Union--the two largest economic actors in the world--and the implications they have for future transatlantic and global cooperation. The contributors--leading European and American scholars and practitioners--examine similarities and differences in specific policy areas in order to assess whether United States and European Union policies are diverging, pursuing similar goals and methods, or undergoing a'hybridization'through joint learning and exchanges. They find that although European and American policies may parallel each other somewhat in domestic regulation, they are clearly diverging in the'third generation'of environmental concerns, which include such global problems as climate change, international trade, and sustainable development. In the final chapter the editors conclude that transatlantic dialogue and cooperation at the highest level are necessary if these two economic and political giants are to lead the international community toward a stable and secure ecological future.

Defence date: 13 January 2006 ; Examining Board: Prof. Bruno De Witte, Doktorvater, Europäisches Hochschulinstitut Florenz ; Prof. Dr. Stefan Griller, Wirtschaftuniversität Wien ; Prof. Dr. Joseph Marko, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Graz ; Prof. Jacques Ziller, Europäisches Hochschulinstitut Florenz ; First made available online on 19 December 2018

In this paper, the issue of income convergence in the EU-15 is addressed. Our data set consists of annual log real GDP per capita for the four Cohesion countries and cover the period 1950-2007. The empirical part of the paper applies complementary the Bernard and Durlauf (1995) and Nahar and Inder (2002) methodology. Applying the former, we failed to accept the hypothesis of stochastic convergence of real per capita GDP of the four Cohesion countries towards the EU-15 average. In contrast, the Nahar and Inder test provides strong evidence of convergence for Spain, Portugal and Greece. ; peer-reviewed

Introduction -- An overview of human rights protection with the EU -- The key points of criticism -- The question of competences: the ECJ and the national courts -- The ECJ and the UN regime -- The relationship of the ECJ to the ECtHR -- A model for human rights protection in the European Union

This book gathers a selection of peer-reviewed chapters reflecting on the Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement (AEUFTA). Since 18 June 2018, ten rounds of negotiations for a AEUFTA have been held in a constructive atmosphere, showing a shared commitment to move forward with this ambitious and comprehensive agreement. After a lengthy and arduous process interrupted by the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union (EU), the United States' hesitations regarding the EU's global strategy and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the negotiations between Australia and the European Union finally appear to be nearing completion. In challenging times, both parties share a commitment to a positive trade agenda, and to the idea that good trade agreements benefit both sides by boosting jobs, growth and investment. This book explores the challenges, achievements and missed opportunities in the AEUFTA negotiation process, and examines current legal and political relations between the EU, its Member States and Australia. Furthermore, it examines in detail a wide and diverse range of negotiated areas, including digital trade, services, intellectual property rules, trade remedies and investment screening, as well as dispute settlement mechanisms. Lastly, it sheds light on the likely nature of future commercial relations between Australia and the EU. Written by a team of respected authors from leading institutions in both Australia and Europe, the book provides a valuable, interdisciplinary analysis of the AEUFTA.

The paper studies the fiscal policies implemented in the European Union
countries since the beginning of the current crisis. With this aim in mind we
have analyzed separately the expansionary fiscal policies implemented at the
first stage of the crisis and the fiscal consolidation policies that became
widespread at the beginning of the current decade. Studying the content of
the national fiscal policies (discretionary measures versus built-in
stabilizers, revenue-based versus expenditure-based fiscal policies, the
relationship existing between the size of the fiscal impulses-adjustments and
the composition of these measures) shows the significant differences between
the fiscal policies implemented in the European Union countries.

Defence date: 20 October 2017 ; Examining Board: Prof. François Foret, Université Libre Bruxelles; Prof. Jan-Werner Mueller, Princeton University; Prof. Olivier Roy, European University Institute (supervisor); Prof. Joseph Weiler, European University Institute/New York University ; The objective of this dissertation is to shed further light on the nature of European integration by examining the relationship between religion and politics throughout the whole process. The thesis aims at answering the following research question: which forms of secularism have underpinned the process of European integration. Secularism is understood in the thesis as a public settlement between politics and religion (i.e. we can speak of secularism, if religious and political sphere are conceptually distinct). A historical perspective allows the author to identify and examine the following junctures with respect to the relationship between religion and politics in the process: the Christian-democratic foundation of European Communities, the question of Turkish accession, the search for the "Soul of Europe" during Jacques Delors' presidency at the European Commission, the debate on the Treaty establishing Constitution for Europe, and last but not least: the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty with its art. 17 obliging European institutions to maintain dialogue with religious organisations. Dissertation's findings indicate that three forms of secularism, rooted in the European intellectual and political history, might be identified in the discourse and practice of European integration: 1) Christian-democratic secularism – Christianity transformed by personalist thought is regarded as a cultural and symbolic basis of European integration; 2) Laicist secularism - religion seen as a challenge to the democratic political order; 3) Agnostic secularism – understood as an attempt to depoliticize religion, to delegate it to other bodies, e.g. Member States or international organizations. The author argues that the last concept, liberal in its nature, has been most successful throughout the whole process.