This report analyses the main developments in housing finance in the euro area in the decade, covering the period from 1999 to 2007. It looks at mortgage indebtedness, various characteristics of loans for house purchase, the funding of such loans and the spreads between the interest rates on...

Elderly people could markedly increase they standard of living by releasing their housing equity. Purchase of a single-payment life annuity would increase the benefits of this release. The tax treatment of these annuities is, however, very strict in Finland, because both yield and capital are...

The paper attempts to explain how tax rates, the extent of corruption and various institutional aspects of the labour market influence the relative size of different segments (unemployment, employment, self-employment and activity in the hidden economy) of the labour market as well as the tax...