<i> Gli effetti dell'Unione Europea sulla specializzazione e la competitività regionale </i> (di Vittorio Ferrero e Santino Piazza) - ABSTRACT: Il lavoro analizza l’effetto della progressiva integrazione economico-monetaria a livello europeo sul commercio estero delle regioni italiane. L’analisi...

Given the enlargement of the European Union, the fall-back in productivity growth and the lack of success in implementing further structural reforms, this special issue highlights the political economy in the European Union and discusses the role of the Maastricht Treaty as an impediment or a...

Struggles over what a region receives, or should receive, from the budget of the central government are common to many countries. Discussions often focus on the measures of ‘net fiscal flows’ or ‘fiscal balances’ provided by the government or other actors. This unique...

<Para ID="Par1">Government competition is often invoked as one of the main advantage of decentralization. But competition across governments can take two forms, through tax competition (exit) or yardstick competition (voice). We show these two forms may affect political equilibria in opposite directions. Tax...</para>

We compare single round vs runoff elections under plurality rule, allowing for partly endogenous party formation. Under runoff elections, the number of political candidates is larger, but the influence of extremist voters on equilibrium policy and hence policy volatility is smaller, because the...

This major Handbook addresses fiscal relations between different levels of government under the general rubric of ‘fiscal federalism’, providing a review of the latest literature as well as an invaluable guide for practitioners and policy makers seeking informed policy options. The...