This paper aims at analyzing the astonishingly mild response of the German labor market to the severe demand shock that occurred in the aftermath of the financial crisis. It stresses the role of institutions such as working-time accounts which create a large scope for a buffering capacity within...

Russland treffen die Auswirkungen der internationalen Finanzkrise und fallender Energiepreise zu einem ungünstigen Zeitpunkt: In den kommenden zwei Jahren muss Russland internationale Kredite in erheblicher Höhe bedienen. Aktuell zeigt sich eine deutliche Abnahme der Währungsreserven sowie...

Die globale Finanzkrise und der damit verbundene dramatische Einbruch der privaten Kapitalflüsse hat die Volkswirtschaften der baltischen Länder in besonderem Maße getroffen. Das reale Bruttoinlandsprodukt ist im ersten Halbjahr 2009 in Lettland um 18,8 Prozent, in Estland um 15,7 Prozent und...

In this paper we assess to what extent in the existence of a financial crisis, government spending can contribute to mitigate economic downturns in the short run and whether such impact differs in crisis and non crisis times. We use panel analysis for a set of OECD and non-OECD countries for the...

We explore the determinants of state fragility in sub-Saharan Africa. Controlling for a wide range of economic, demographic, geographic and istitutional regressors, we find that institutions, and in particular the civil liberties index and the number of revolutions, are the main determinants of...

Latin America has been strongly affected by the international crisis and recession since late 2008. In comparison to historical experience, how has Latin America coped with the global crisis, which has been the role of different transmission mechanisms, and how have the region's structural and...

The recent decline in gross domestic product (GDP) growth in India raised a debate about whether it is a trend or a business cycle slowdown. We observe a cyclical downturn post-global financial crisis due to external and domestic conditions. With global recovery strengthening and appropriate...

Ideologues are quick to explain the current financial meltdown: it's the markets, stupid. Economists agree but add: it's politics too, stupid. Ideologues agree but counter: first and foremost it's capitalism, stupid. Economists agree but reply: §$%&?!, stupid. This is where this short paper...

We raise fundamental questions about macroeconomics relevant to escaping the financial and economic crisis and shifting to a sustainable economy. First, the feasibility of decoupling environmental pressure from aggregate income is considered. Decoupling as a single environmental strategy is...