When comparing tax benefit systems across Europe, Germany is usually regarded as a country with a high level of taxes and contributions which is often seen as a main challenge for the economic performance of the welfare state. In this paper, we analyse the progressivity and redistribution...

In recent policy discussions, a need is expressed for more substantive control over terms in consumer contracts. This paper comments on one example of this expressed need, namely the suggestion to extend the scope of the fairness test to cover price and main subject matter and the discipline of...

We study lessons from the experience of Finland in meeting the challenges of joining the euro area at its outset and its subsequent economic success. Traditional optimum currency area theory is too limited a framework for judging the experience in qualifying and membership.Five main factors have...

Integration processes in Europe as well as globalization trends create new possibilities for enterprises. The accession of ten new Member States in 2004 and additional two in 2007 create new possibilities for enterprises, especially as far as foreign trade in concerned. The paper elaborates on...

This paper presents the main findings of the author's study of statistics as well as European surveys on working conditions. Such solutions enabled to compare the data and make the results more reliable. The collected data concerns all Member States of the Euro-pean Union, where it was...

After a half century of multilateral bargaining to reduce trade barriers, agriculture stands out for the degree of protection and government support that it still enjoys in most rich countries. This makes agricultural protection a natural focus of the current Doha Round of trade negotiations: in...

The welfare of the poor turns in large measure not only on technocratic development quot;policiesquot;, but the effective delivery of key public services, core elements of which require thousands of face-to-face discretionary transactions (quot;practicesquot;) by service providers. The...