Mit dem Königsteiner Schlüssel werden Ausgaben und Aufgaben zwischen den Ländern in Deutschland verteilt. Zur Berechnung des Schlüssels wird der Bevölkerungsanteil zu einem Drittel und die Wirtschaftskraft der Länder zu zwei Dritteln angesetzt. Als Wirtschaftskraft werden die...

Die Geburtsstunde des Königsteiner Schlüssels war das Königsteiner Staatsabkommen von 1949, in dem die Länder die Aufteilung der Kosten bei der Finanzierung überregionaler Forschungseinrichtungen geregelt haben. Bis heute wird der Schlüssel, den die Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz (GWK)...

In this paper, we set out to examine an efficient fiscal-policy framework for a monetary union. We illustrate that fiscal policy’s bias toward budget deficit only temporarily ceased at the end of the 20th century as European countries endeavored to qualify for euro-zone membership, which...

This paper surveys some recent literature on fiscal policy and comparative politics. Economic policy is viewed as the outcome of a game with multiple-principals and multiple-agents. Opportunistic politicians bargain over policy. Rational voters hold them accountable through retrospective voting....

We present a theoretical model of a parliamentary democracy, where party structures, government coalitions and fiscal policies are endogenously determined. The model predicts that, relative to proportional elections, majoritarian elections reduce government spending because they reduce party...

Ever since its inception EMU has been subject to controversy. The fiscal policy rules embedded in the Treaty on European Union, and clarified in the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), are probably the most contentious. The SGP is being accused of being too rigid and of forcing pro-cyclicality in...

This paper characterises rules-based fiscal policy setting. Basically, we translate a standard monetary policy rule into a simple fiscal policy rule. We then infer on fiscal policymakers' reaction coefficients by testing the rule with GMM. Interaction is also tested directly by the inclusion of...

This paper explores the factors behind the time path of real spending and revenue in the West German states from 1975 to 2004. The empirical approach stresses robustness and takes into account a large set of economic and political variables. Our results suggest that common economic factors and,...