Suchergebnisse

I build a quantitative two-country DSGE model of the European Union (EU) and investigate whether there are welfare gains from fiscal policy cooperation between the new EU members and the euro area (EMU). Fiscal cooperation is defined in terms of joint maximization of the weighted average of households' welfare. I find that fiscal policy cooperation is welfare-reducing for both groups of countries. This result depends on a realistic assumption about the presence of foreign ownership of firms in the new EU countries. When there is no foreign ownership in the new EU countries, the euro area is indifferent between cooperating and not cooperating, but the new EU members still prefer not to cooperate with EMU in terms of fiscal policy.

"Luxembourg and the European Union" published on by Oxford University Press.

"Written by experts in the field, this volume offers an in-depth and forward-looking legal, economic, and political science analysis of the rationale, main features, as well as the shortcomings of European economic, monetary, and financial integration. It is primarily intended for an academic audience and policymakers"--

The main objective of this paper is to assess the efficiency of the European Union's public sector from a quality of governance approach, employing a two-step methodology. In the first stage, EU states' efficiency scores are determined using Data Envelopment Analysis. Once quantifying public efficiency, the second step of the methodology examines the determinants of efficiency using a quantile regression estimation technique, with an emphasis on demographic features, corruption, economic freedom, and governmental digitalization. The novelty is provided by the assessment of the public sector's efficiency and efficacy from a broader approach in order to determine the efficiency scores of European Union countries, as well as the key factors that may impact the public sector's performance. The main findings, namely that governance quality can be considered an important resource in analysing public performance and that human resources, freedom, democracy, corruption, and digitalization have an impact on efficiency, are important considerations not only for policymakers but also for society, researchers, and the academic community. Reform measures should strive to improve both the technical and democratic components of public institutions in order to more effectively and transparently allocate public resources, while taking into consideration local and national peculiarities.

This article examines what explains the relative attractiveness of West European countries as a destination for asylum seekers. Individuals coming to Western Europe in order to lodge an asylum application are modelled as utility maximizers who choose the destination country that offers the highest net benefit. This benefit is seen as a function of economic attractiveness, generosity of welfare provisions, deterrent policy measures, hostility towards foreigners and asylum seekers, existing asylum communities, colonial and language links as well as geographical proximity. Results from a large dyadic panel over the time period from 1982 to 1999 demonstrate the impact that these fundamental determinants have on asylum destination choice. The implications of the results for the ongoing debates over fair burden-sharing are complex because they provide arguments for two conflicting interpretations of burden-sharing as either financial side payments or the physical reallocation of asylum seekers.

'Die jüngsten Entwicklungen auf der internationalen Ebene haben das akademische Interesse an der 'Gemeinsamen Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik' (GASP) der Europäischen Union verstärkt, insbesondere im Hinblick auf die Politik der EU gegenüber der arabischen Welt. In diesem Zusammenhang wird häufig auf die Rolle der EU als normativer Akteur hingewiesen und ihre Bedeutung bei der Verbreitung von Demokratie und Menschenrechten betont. Die Politik der EU gegenüber bestimmten Regionen wird also vor dem Hintergrund des Liberalen Idealismus betrachtet. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt diese Sichtweise in Frage. Er argumentiert stattdessen, dass eine am strukturellen Realismus orientierte Interpretation der GASP einen wichtigen Beitrag zum besseren Verständnis der EU-Außenbeziehung leisten kann. Anhand der Euro-Mediterranen Partnerschaft, und insbesondere am Beispiel der EU-Politik gegenüber Marokko, zeigen die Autoren, dass die EU - entgegen den liberal-idealistischen Werten der GASP - autoritäre Regime in den Partnerländern unterstützt und fördert, um auf diese Weise den Mittelmeerraum zu sichern.' (Autorenreferat)

Separata de: Repertorio Aranzadi del Tribunal Constitucional, n. 8 (septiembre 2003), pp. 2481-2498.