This paper contributes to the debate on the design of a centralised fiscal tool absorbing country-specific negative shocks in the euro area. Based on theoretical insights, it identifies the broad characteristics that a shock absorber based on unemployment should have in order to be...

This report takes stock of the changes made to the European Security and Defence Policy since the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. The report also examines what impact such changes have on Denmark, and specifically whether the Danish opt-out from EU defence cooperation will have increased...

This paper analyses the importance of the ICT sector, and in particular the Software sector, for the European economy. It does so by looking into the question of how value-added is created through the lens of improved productivityand competitiveness using ICT in various European economies. In...

Following the European Commission's guidelines, WIFO has undertaken a monitoring of the implementation of the Austrian National Reform Programme within the framework of the European 2020 growth strategy. The main components are the development of normative target corridors to assess progress in...

The momentum for structural reforms is waning in the euro area at a time when even faster progress is needed to boost productivity and growth, achieve real economic convergence, and improve the resilience of the monetary union. What can the European Union (EU) institutions do to bridge this...

The European Union has prioritised the pursuit of innovation-based growth and targeting of resources to promote research and development, but performance on innovation remains weak. With the lack of results comes fatigue, waning interest and mounting criticism about policy. Should the EU abandon...

This paper investigates how the intergovernmental reform process of European economic governance affected national parliaments' oversight of that policy area. Which parliaments became disempowered and which managed to secure their formal powers – and why? The dependent variable of the study is...

This paper contributes to the debate on the design of a centralised fiscal tool absorbing country-specific negative shocks in the euro area. Based on theoretical insights, it identifies the broad characteristics that a shock absorber based on unemployment should have in order to be...