In many federations, fiscal equalization schemes soften fiscal imbalances across the member states. Such schemes usually imply that the member states internalize only a small fraction of the additional tax revenue from an expansion of the state-specific tax bases, while the remainder of the...

In many federations, fiscal equalization schemes soften fiscal imbalances across the member states. Such schemes usually imply that a member state internalizes only a small fraction of the additional tax revenue from an expansion of the state-specific tax base, while the remainder of the...

Will die Politik evidenzbasierte Entscheidungen über die Steuerung gesamtgesellschaftlicher Wohlfahrt und Lebensqualität treffen, so bedarf sie statistisch abgesicherter Informationen über die vergangene, aktuelle und auch künftige Entwicklung relevanter Phänomene. Vor dem Diktum einer...

The role and influence of the finance minister within the cabinet are discussed with increasing prominence in the theoretical literature on the political economy of budget deficits. It is generally assumed that the spending ministers can enhance their reputation purely with new or more extensive...

We analyze the deficits of the German Länder for the period from 1960 to 2005 and test a number of hypotheses derived from the literature on the political economy of public deficits. Estimating a dynamic panel data model, we find evidence for political opportunism in the spirit of Rogoff and...

Parkinson's Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion and that the number of administrators in an office is bound to increase over time. A unique laboratory to test Parkinson's ideas are vehicle registration offices in Germany. Using their data we found empirical...

Parkinsons law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion and that the number of administrators in an office is bound to increase over time. An unique laboratory to test Parkinsons ideas are vehicle registration offices in Germany. Using their data we found empirical...

We analyze the deficits of the German Länder for the period from 1960 to 2000 and test a number of hypotheses derived from the literature on the political economy of public expenditures and public deficits. Estimating a dynamic panel data model, we find evidence for political opportunism of the...

Germany’s public budgets are in distress. For several years, the “golden rule” has been broken and the deficit criterion of Maastricht has not been met. As German states have hardly any tax setting autonomy and as their revenue is mainly determined by a fiscal equalisation system, the...