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By issuing tax-exempt bonds, the government can incur debt and never pay back any principal or interest, even if the economy without public debt evolves on a dynamically efficient growth path. The welfare effects of such a Ponzi type borrowing scheme are mixed. The current young will unambiguously benefit.Depending on preferences and the aggregate technology, also a finite number of subsequent generations may benefit. The welfare of all generations thereafter, however, will be lower than in the economy without public debt

This book studies the normative and positive ramifications of public pension policies in a growing economy. It analyzes the impact of an unfunded public pension scheme on aggregate productivity growth and efficiency, it considers the political forces behind public pension legislation, and it develops and discusses elements of public pension design and reform. The book emphasizes the endogenous growth paradigm for an understanding of the dynamic impact of intergenerational transfers inherent in an unfunded public pension scheme. It uncovers an allocative role of intergenerational transfers which is exclusively linked to the possibility of endogenously evolving economic growth. The endogenous growth approach also allows to identify unfunded public pensions as a source of a conflict between current and future generations. This conflict shapes private old-age security considerations as well as the process of public pension legislation

In the presence of endogenous growth intergenerational transfer from the young to the old reduce per capita income growth and harm future generations. On the other hand, competitive equilibria are inefficient if externalities sustain long-run growth. This paper shows that if individuals retire in the last period of their life, the inefficiency of the market economy can be removed by an investment subsidy without making the current or future generations worse off only if coupled with intergenerational transfers from the young to the old.

Abstract
The German Parliament has decided to gradually abolish tax relief for diesel in agriculture. Given the asymmetrical importance of agriculture for the economy and climate, this step was long overdue. Regulatory and distributional policy arguments also speak against maintaining the tax relief.

Abstract
An Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) is a program in the EU that allows participating member states to subsidise the research and innovation of private companies. This paper addresses the question to what extent does IPCEI contribute to a better innovation climate. The paper argues that Germany does not need IPCEI. More than direct subsidies, an innovation-friendly climate in Germany necessitates appropriate tax and capital market conditions, robust research universities, reasonable data accessibility and less technology skepticism.

Berthold U. Wigger, KIT, nimmt Stellung zum Gesetzentwurf der Bundesregierung über die Feststellung eines Zweiten Nachtrags zum Bundeshaushaltsplan für das Haushaltsjahr 2021. Die geplante Zuweisung von 60 Mrd. Euro aus dem Kernhaushalt des Bundes an das Sondervermögen "Energie- und Klimafonds" erscheine sachgemäß, um zugleich den wirtschaftlichen Folgen der Coronakrise und den Herausforderungen des Klimaschutzes zu begegnen. Alternative Modelle würden die wirtschaftliche Erholung erschweren oder bergen die Gefahr einer fortdauernden Aushebelung der Schuldenbremse.

Im Dezember 2010 hat der Bundestag eine schrittweise Anhebung der Tabaksteuer beschlossen. Das Ziel dieser Maßnahme ist eine Erhöhung des Steueraufkommens. Lenkungswirkungen sind eher nicht zu erwarten und wohl auch nicht beabsichtigt. Ob die externen Kosten des Rauchens durch die zusätzlichen Einnahmen besser gedeckt werden können, bleibt fraglich. Sicher sind die regressiven Verteilungseffekte dieser Steuererhöhung.