Energy transitions are high on political agendas. From a practical viewpoint, community approaches are deemed essential in order to transition from a predominantly centralized energy supply to a decentralized one, and to exploit the potential of renewable energies. In this paper, I discuss how...

Following difficult negotiations, the European institutions eventually, in May 2006, arrived at a consensus on a new Financial Framework for the European Union's budget over the years 2007 to 2013. In an additional declaration, the European Commission was invited to undertake a full review...

As of the beginning of the year 2008, a reformed system of federal fiscal relations will start in Austria with a planned duration of six years. The new system is essentially a continuation of the previous system. However, the agreements also include the establishment of a commission of experts...

Legislative bargaining theory suggests that fiscal transfers among member states of a federation are determined to a substantial degree by political representation effects. Malapportionment of the states'population in the legislature is claimed to lead to disproportional benefits of...

We address empirically trust as a determinant of support for government intervention. The central notion provided in the present paper is that the influence of generalized social trust on intervention attitudes is conditional on the perceived reliability, honesty, and incorruptibility of state...