The current budgetary problems of some EU member states have intensified the debate on Europe’s fiscal policy framework. It is not enough to change the interpretation of the Stability and Growth Pact. More fundamental revisions of the EU Treaty are needed in order to strike a reasonable...

We build a two-sector dynamic general equilibrium model with one-sided substitutability between fossil carbon and biocarbon. One shock only, the discovery of the technology to use fossil fuels, leads to a transition from an inital pre-industrial phase to three following phases: a pure fossil...

Am 19. Dezember stellte das ifo Institut im Rahmen seines vorweihnachtlichen Pressegesprächs seine Prognose für das Jahr 2003 vor. Die Expansion der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Produktion dürfte im ersten Quartal 2003 nahezu zum Stillstand kommen. Erst im weiteren Jahresverlauf ist nach und nach...

Starting from the theoretical argument underlying the “hump shape” hypothesis, the paper investigates the various dimensions of centralisation in the wage formation process. The diversity of effects discussed in the paper makes it harder to arrive at unambiguous policy conclusions. Careful...

We study a class of two-sector growth models with sector-specific externalities, in which one sector produces consumption and the other sector produces investment. The novelty is that investment allocated to the consumption sector is an imperfect substitute for investment allocated to the...