{"title":"The German Commission on Improving the Information Infrastructure Between Science and Statistics (KVI) and their Realization Since 2001","authors":"Gabriele Rolf","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.1639956","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.1639956","url":null,"abstract":"In 1999 the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) appointed a commission to examine the informational infrastructure in Germany and to make proposals for its improvement. The central objective was to improve the cooperation between the scientific community and official statistical agencies. The “Commission to Improve the Informational Infrastructure between the Scientific Community and Official Statistics” (KVI) presented its final report in 2001 (KVI 2001).","PeriodicalId":103361,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Other European Economics: Political Economy & Public Economics (Topic)","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126161502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pablo Burriel, Francisco de Castro, Daniel Garrote, Esther Gordo Mora, Joan Paredes, Javier J. Pérez
{"title":"Fiscal Policy Shocks in the Euro Area and the US: An Empirical Assessment","authors":"Pablo Burriel, Francisco de Castro, Daniel Garrote, Esther Gordo Mora, Joan Paredes, Javier J. Pérez","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1529277","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1529277","url":null,"abstract":"We analyse the impact of fiscal policy shocks in the euro area as a whole, using a newly available quarterly dataset of fiscal variables for the period 1981-2007. To allow for comparability with previous results on euro area countries and the US, we use a standard structural VAR framework, and study the impact of aggregated and disaggregated government spending and net taxes shocks. In addition, to frame euro area results, we apply the same methodology for the same sample period to US data. We also explore the sensitivity of the provided results to the inclusion of variables aiming at measuring \"financial stress\" (increases in risk) and \"fiscal stress\" (sustainability concerns). Analysing US and euro area data with a common methodology provides some interesting insights on the interpretation of fiscal policy shocks.","PeriodicalId":103361,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Other European Economics: Political Economy & Public Economics (Topic)","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121243171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"England’s Regional Venture Capital Funds: A Review of Programme Outcomes and Stakeholder Perspectives","authors":"D. Webster","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.1754482","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.1754482","url":null,"abstract":"The existence of the equity gap is an obstacle to the success of small and medium sized enterprises. The UK government has established multiple investment schemes to address the issue. Independent and unbiased analysis of these initiatives is absent from the existing knowledge base. This paper investigates the outcomes of the Regional Venture Capital Fund Programme. It centres on four main questions: 1. Were expectations met and objectives achieved? 2. How were the funds actually allocated? 3. What were the programme’s shortcomings? 4. What are the implications for future government policy design? Stakeholder opinions are collected which provide unique individual perspectives on the equity gap and relevant UK public policy. The research reveals that the programme’s primary objectives were only partially achieved. The equity gap remains an issue for growing companies in the United Kingdom.","PeriodicalId":103361,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Other European Economics: Political Economy & Public Economics (Topic)","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127685046","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"European Community Protectionism and the Effects on Developing Countries","authors":"Abiola Abike Inniss Ph.D.","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1491632","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1491632","url":null,"abstract":"The African, Caribbean and Pacific Groups have been signatories to agreements for the sale of goods, in particular sugar, which would have seen economic stability and growth over a long term. In keeping with its own protectionist scheme the European Union in1996 introduced a revised scheme which cut the price of sugar from developing countries. This essay takes a look at how the EU protectionism scheme works","PeriodicalId":103361,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Other European Economics: Political Economy & Public Economics (Topic)","volume":"63 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116641672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Public/Private Mix in Pensions in Europe: The Role of State, Market and Social Partners in Supplementary Pensions","authors":"D. Natali","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2264152","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2264152","url":null,"abstract":"This Working Paper sheds light on the multi-dimensional and changing interplay between state, market institutions and social partners in relation to supplementary pension schemes, the importance of which is growing across Europe. The paper offers a lucid analysis of the responsibility shared among these three sets of actors to protect against the risk of old age by developing the provision of privately managed fully-funded schemes.","PeriodicalId":103361,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Other European Economics: Political Economy & Public Economics (Topic)","volume":"143 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134536206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pension Buyouts: What Can We Learn from the UK Experience?","authors":"Ashby H. B. Monk","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1494436","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1494436","url":null,"abstract":"This paper analyses the UK market for Defined Benefit (DB) pension buyouts and considers its implications for the USA. A DB pension fund buyout refers to a transaction in which a pension plan sponsor pays another company a fee to take over the assets and liabilities of the pension plan. Using various qualitative methodologies, this paper traces the evolution of the buyout from a transaction for insolvent plan sponsors to a transaction for solvent plan sponsors with funded pensions. While certain types of solvent buyouts have fallen out of favour, such as non-insured buyouts, this paper concludes that buyouts of the insured variety have a bright future. The increasingly burdensome nature of the DB pension plan will sustain this market over the long term. As such, this paper contributes to our understanding of the future prospects for employer-sponsored DB pensions, and how they will contribute to retirement income over time.","PeriodicalId":103361,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Other European Economics: Political Economy & Public Economics (Topic)","volume":"181 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123409874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Putting Race and Gender Together: A New Approach to Intersectionality","authors":"I. Solanke","doi":"10.1111/j.1468-2230.2009.00765.x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.2009.00765.x","url":null,"abstract":"European anti-discrimination legislation explicitly calls for member states to consider a legal response to multiple discrimination, either additive (arising from many grounds) or intersectional (a result of an interaction of grounds). In traditional Anglo-American anti-discrimination frameworks the structure of separate statutes forces complainants to choose one ground or another. In Britain, cases such as Nwoke v Government Legal Service indicate a judicial willingness to recognise additive discrimination, while cases such as Bahl highlight the difficulties of dealing with intersectionality. This article suggests that to overcome current difficulties with intersectional discrimination, first the qualitative difference of intersectional claims must be clarified; secondly, the logic of immutability underlying grounds must be replaced by one which accommodates intersectionality; and thirdly, a method is required which enables courts systematically to incorporate social context into judicial decision-making. With these three changes, the qualitative difference of intersectionality can be both understood and activated in the courts.","PeriodicalId":103361,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Other European Economics: Political Economy & Public Economics (Topic)","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133601490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Political Economy of Intergenerational Risk Sharing","authors":"D. Hollanders","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1692727","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1692727","url":null,"abstract":"This paper analyses the political constraints of intergenerational risk sharing. The rst result is that the political process generally does not lead to ex ante optimal insurance. The second result is that in a second best political setting PAYG still contributes to intergenerational risk sharing. The third result is that aging in- creases the discrepancy between rst-best and second-best transfers. The source of the ine¢ ciency is that politicians redistribute to larger and easier swayed cohorts. Ex post redistribution to lower incomes still leads to an outcome that from an ex ante point of view is preferable to a situation without intergenerational transfers.","PeriodicalId":103361,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Other European Economics: Political Economy & Public Economics (Topic)","volume":"70 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127211090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Winds of Change and Policies: The Inequality-Employment Trade-Off in the OECD","authors":"Giuseppe Mastromatteo, S. Destefanis","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1556433","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1556433","url":null,"abstract":"Using a data-set of OECD countries from 1980 to 2004, we assess the cross-country evidence on the trade-off between wage inequality and employment performance by relying on Data Envelopment Analysis, a nonparametric technique usually employed in the analysis of productive efficiency. DEA allows for the simultaneous determination of inequality and employment and treats the potential trade-off between inequality and employment in a very flexible way. We attribute the variations in the rates of unemployment and non-employment to two components: the changes due to a variation in wage inequality along the inequality-employment trade-off and the changes in efficiency which simultaneously affect inequality and employment). We find that changes in efficiency are a fairly important component of total changes.","PeriodicalId":103361,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Other European Economics: Political Economy & Public Economics (Topic)","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129101020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Making Management Auditable: The Implementation of Best Value in Local Government","authors":"M. Arnaboldi, I. Lapsley","doi":"10.1111/j.1467-6281.2007.00247.x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6281.2007.00247.x","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the implementation of Best Value—an audit tool of the U.K. government's modernization policy—in local government, specifically in Scotland. This is a study of the impact of this key concept, primarily on the management of these public services. The aim of Best Value Audit is to enhance transparency and accountability of management actions in local government. The article draws on Power's (1997) Audit Society thesis to inform this research. The Best Value approach has been heavily influenced by audit processes and oversight bodies both in its design and implementation. This article supports the Power thesis of the Audit Society: It reveals the manner in which audit practices are deployed by agencies of central government with the intent to shape the management of local government.","PeriodicalId":103361,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Other European Economics: Political Economy & Public Economics (Topic)","volume":"287 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132118614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}