Suchergebnisse

The domestic and international transmission mechanism of fiscal policy shocks are analysed in the United States and in Germany. Using a Bayesian VAR approach, we find that in both of these countries a fiscal expansion is associated with increases in output as well as in private consumption and investment. The terms of trade, which affect the international transmission of fiscal policy shocks, depreciate in response to a fiscal expansion, thus transferring some of the increased domestic purchasing power abroad. A US government spending shock is expansionary for all non-US G7 members. A German government spending shock is expansionary for most, but not all European economies, both within and outside the euro area. The dynamics of the BVAR can be rationalised using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model where heterogeneous households and firms face borrowing constraints.

What factors might explain the cross-country variations in COVID-19 public performances and what lessons can be drawn to be better-prepared for future pandemics? This study focuses on the effects of policy stringency on COVID-19 public health outcomes to gain insights into national-level state responses to COVID-19 and the conditions for their effectiveness. Using data from 136 countries comprising 91.4% of the global population, we find that more stringent policies lead to lower infection and death rates. More importantly, the negative effects of restrictive policies on infection and death rates are moderated by political trust and democracy levels, possibly through the mechanism of popular compliance with government policies. Under conditions of higher political trust and lower democracy levels, the policy effects on infection and death rates are greater. However, while the results suggest the importance of policy stringency and political trust, we should not draw the conclusion that authoritarian political systems are more conducive to policy effectiveness. When comparing the moderating effects of political trust and democracy, political trust is more important as a facilitating factor. Therefore, in addition to making scientifically-supported policies, fostering political trust should be an important goal for governments to be better prepared for future pandemics.

This paper aims to investigate the concept, context and socio-economic consequences of fiscal competition in the integrated economic space of EMU in completion, to pinpoint the positive and negative factors at work via a case study of the Benelux countries – both founder members of the EU and pioneers of EMU – and to examine the impact on European and international regulations in the field. In particular, it will endeavour to provide a comprehensive interpretation of fiscal policy in the Benelux countries via a comparative approach and from a historical perspective. It will look at the development of respective domestic fiscal policies, driven by national interests and by membership of a Community that is subject to requirements in terms of harmonisation and taxation, but also by constant contact (and frequent clashes) with the multilateral international environment.

The idea of hegemony, in its Gramscian sense, contributed to the renewal of several fields of social sciences in the 1970s and 1980s. This idea circulates between different geocultural spaces and different times. The approach adopted in this article starts from the contexts in which this idea is mobilized, in order to show to which theoretical and practical stakes it answers. Focusing on four authors (Antonio Gramsci, Ernesto Laclau, Chantal Mouffe and Pablo Iglesias) and on the transfers from one author to another, the aim is to highlight the social conditions conducive to the deployment of this idea and to identify the (dis)continuities that punctuate its history. Throughout the socio-historical course marked out by the written productions of these four authors, one constant appears: the vitality of the concept of hegemony seems linked to periods of crisis - theoretical and / or strategic - of the left. ; Peer reviewed

L'idée d'hégémonie, dans son acception gramscienne, a contribué au renouvellement de plusieurs pans des sciences sociales au cours des années 1970-1980. Cette idée circule entre différents champs, différents espaces géoculturels et différentes époques. La démarche adoptée dans cet article part des contextes dans lequel cette idée est mobilisée, afin de montrer à quels enjeux théoriques et pratiques elle répond. En se focalisant sur quatre auteurs (Antonio Gramsci, Ernesto Laclau, Chantal Mouffe et Pablo Iglesias) et sur les transferts d'un auteur à l'autre, il s'agit de mettre en exergue les conditions sociales propices au déploiement de cette idée et d'identifier les (dis)continuités qui jalonnent son histoire. A travers le parcours socio-historique jalonné par les productions écrites de ces quatre auteurs, une constante apparaît : la vitalité de l'idée d'hégémonie semble liée à des périodes de crise – théorique et/ou stratégique – de la gauche. ; Peer reviewed

Citizenship has come under increasing strain in the face of globalization. Our world gets ever smaller while it sometimes seems our borders are becoming ever more closed. What is citizenship and how can be it ethical? Should citizens owe each other special duties denied to non-citizens? How might theories about citizenship impact on our practices? Ethical Citizenship rediscovers a significant and distinctive contribution to how we might understand citizenship today in the first full length examination of this topic. Ethical citizenship is a communitarian relationship between members of a community based around a shared conception of the common good first defended by British Idealists. This book explores its historical roots, contemporary relevance and application to international politics in an engaging work by leading international scholars bringing together theory and practice.

The philosophical and political advantages tied to a break with Marxist thinking have been notable. With such a break with Marxism, economic and scientific determinism have been discounted – and it is in this sort of determinism that a classic critique of Marxism finds a reason for discrediting the Marxist-Leninist project. However, it seems the cost of totally abandoning Marxist thinking has not been sufficiently examined. This article seeks to remedy this with a comparative study of two philosophers' conceptions of conflict: Mouffe's perspective will be examined and compared to Castoriadis' view of radical democracy and its treatment of conflict. The paper seeks to show that a full break with Karl Marx weakens political radicalism. In other words, by opting for a perspective on conflict which fully renounces the Marxist view, Mouffe is doing away with both the idea of direct democracy and/or that of a revolutionary project. Her approach differs from that of Castoriadis who seeks, in some sense, to remain faithful to the emancipatory aspects of Marxian thought. ; Peer reviewed

Chantal Mouffe's is presented as one of the leading theoreticians of the radical left, as a disciple of Carl Schmitt and as a resolute opponent of the liberal tradition. However, according to the her own admission, Chantal Mouffe is more in the "social democratic" camp than in the "radical left" camp, she marks a fundamental difference with regard to Carl Schmitt and she claims her attachment to the liberal ideal. Starting from these discrepancies, this article defends the idea that Chantal Mouffe's thought is perceived as more radical than it really is. Chantal Mouffe intends to reform the liberal tradition rather than denying it. ; Peer reviewed

The Meuse is an international river that has been used by man for centuries and it is still the main source of drinking water for large cities in Belgium and the Netherlands. In fact, water quantity and quality have been a major issue between the various riparian countries and political regions. Many kinds of data have been generated in the past decades on various aspects of the river: (a) hydrology for the need of predicting and controlling floods; (b) water chemistry in the context of water pollution assessment and control; and (c) biology and ecology for water quality assessment and studies on aquatic biodiversity community dynamics and ecosystem function. ; Peer reviewed