EU Member countries have shown different degrees of ambition to reach a budget position of "close to balance or in surplus". Differences in ambition can only partly be explained by the relative size of cyclical safety margins or differences in the number of votes in the ECOFIN Council. It is...

The current debt crisis has given rise to a debate about deeper fiscal integration in Europe. The view is widespread that moving towards a 'fiscal union' would have a stabilising effect in the event of macroeconomic shocks. In this paper we study the economic effects of introducing two elements...

Die gegenwärtige Ruhe in der Eurozone trügt. Der Euro steht weiter auf der Kippe. Das Machtwort von Mario Draghi hat nichts gelöst. Die Dreifach-Krise – Banken-, Staatsschulden- und Wettbewerbskrise – schwelt weiter. Das Grundübel der Währungsunion ist multiples „moral hazard“....

The current debt crisis has given rise to a debate about deeper fiscal integration in Europe. The view is widespread that moving towards a 'fiscal union' would have a stabilising effect in the event of macroeconomic shocks. In this paper we study the economic effects of introducing two elements...

The current debt crisis has given rise to a debate about deeper fiscal integration in Europe. The view is widespread that moving towards a 'fiscal union' would have a stabilising effect in the event of macroeconomic shocks. In this paper we study the economic effects of introducing two elements...