Nicht bloß Staatsschulden gelten als grundsätzlich kontraproduktiv, erhebliche Angst besteht auch vor einer Überschuldung
der Unternehmen. Dabei wird übersehen, dass die Schulden gesamtwirtschaftlich stets so hoch sein müssen wie die Ersparnisse;
solange die Ersparnisse steigen – und das ist bei steigendem Wohlstand zu erwarten –, müssen auch die Schulden steigen. Bei
dem etwa 2-prozentigen Wachstum, das auch für die Zukunft zu erwarten ist, reicht der investitionsbedingte Verschuldungsbedarf
der Wirtschaft nicht aus, um die gesamten Ersparnisse aufzunehmen. Der daraus resultierende Nachfragemangel dämpft das Wachstum
und kann Rezessionen auslösen. Um das zu vermeiden, muss der Staat die überschüssigen Ersparnisse aufnehmen. Das ist unproblematisch,
wenn die Verschuldung für wohlstandssteigernde Investitionen verwendet wird; darunter sind nicht bloß Investitionen in die
materielle Infrastruktur, sondern auch in die immaterielle – Bildung, Gesundheit usw. – zu verstehen. An die Stelle der Schuldenregel
sollte eine Investitionsregel treten.
This paper contributes to debates about the appropriate characterisation of heterogeneous investment types and to what extent
different investment motives affect the responsiveness to corporate taxation. In particular, we employ and refine a methodology
to better evaluate the tax elasticity of investment types. Using a combination of both firm‐specific and sector‐specific information
from input-output tables, we discuss how to classify investment as non‐related, horizontal, vertical and complex types. First,
we point out to what extent the resulting classification depends on assumptions made by the researcher. Second, we employ
an ample set of classifications and find that non‐related investment reacts stronger to corporate taxation, whereas horizontal
investment is less responsive, though, significant negative tax semi‐elasticities turn out for the subset of manufacturing
industries. To address inherent characteristics of vertical and complex investment, we extend the methodology and find that,
by and large, stronger business motives reduce the tax responsiveness of investment to a larger extent. Given the current
debates about substantial corporate tax reforms, it is all the more important to recognise that corporate tax effects can
vary fundamentally between countries, driven by country‐specific differences in their composition of industries and investment
types.
This paper applies a DYNK (Dynamic New Keynesian) model to compare the traditional environmental tax reform for greenhouse
gas emissions with a taxation scheme that taxes greenhouse gas emissions embodied in consumption within the framework of a
unilateral policy of the EU 27. The embodied emissions of different commodities are taxed independently of their origin. The
greenhouse gas tax rates applied are identical and new revenues are in both cases recycled via lower social security contributions
of employers. The article shows the macroeconomic results, driven by the different impact of the taxation schemes on price
competitiveness of EU 27 firms. These differences drive the leakage and show negative leakage in the case of taxing embodied
greenhouse gas emissions. Both taxation schemes are also regressive for household incomes emphasising the importance of the
choice of revenue recycling. In terms of emission reduction, we find the taxation of emissions embodied in consumption less
effective.
The existing EU system of own resources financing EU expenditures does not make any positive contribution to the various EU
strategies and policies implemented to cope with the manifold long-term challenges confronting the EU. It is against this
background that the European Commission as well as the High Level Group on Own Resources, but also the European Parliament
have (repeatedly) called for the introduction of tax-based own resources to partially substitute national contributions to
the EU budget. Our specific contribution to this debate consists in the exploration of sustainability-oriented options for
tax-based own resources which are able to support sustainable growth and development in the EU. Based on a concept of sustainability-oriented
taxation in the context of own resources for the EU, we develop sustainability-oriented evaluation criteria to assess the
suitability of specific candidates for tax-based own resources. We then present various options for tax-based own resources
and estimations of their revenue potential. Moreover, a summary evaluation of these options based on our evaluation criteria
is undertaken. Finally, we address implementation aspects. In particular, we briefly present and discuss potential models
to implement tax-based own resources in the EU within the existing legal framework.
We apply the tradable-nontradable framework to evaluate the lack of convergence in labour productivity among EU Member States.
Our results show that increases in overall productivity are primarily due to the tradable and not the nontradable sectors
of production. The low productivity growth in peripheral EU countries before the crisis was accompanied by a sharp increase
in the production of nontradables (i.e., nontradable goods and services) relative to other EU countries. We identify differences
in the legal systems and the quality of public institutions, among others, as factors relevant for explaining the observed
productivity growth differentials. Our findings have implications for the European Commission's macroeconomic imbalance procedures
since the tradable-nontradable approach allows identifying patterns of real divergence on a disaggregated level.
Christine Benesch, Simon Loretz, David Stadelmann, Tobias Thomas
This paper empirically explores the link between mass media coverage of migration and immigration worries. Using detailed
data on media coverage in Germany, we show that the amount of media reports regarding migration issues is positively associated
with concerns about immigration among the German population. This association is strongest when immigrants are the protagonists
of media reports. The established relationship is robust to the inclusion of time-variant individual control variables and
individual fixed effects. We address endogeneity concerns by employing media spillovers from the neighboring country of Switzerland,
which occur due to referendum decisions on immigration, as an instrumental variable. The IV estimates suggest that media coverage
has a causal impact on immigration worries. The effect of media coverage persists even when worries concerning unemployment,
crime or the level of xenophobia are accounted for. Exploring subgroups of respondents reveals that the link between coverage
and immigration worries is particularly relevant for women and respondents who are not active in the workforce.
Die lockere Geldpolitik der EZB wird von vielen dafür kritisiert, dass sie den Sparern schade. Die Evidenz spricht aber dafür,
dass die EZB-Politik zwar die Tendenz zu niedrigen Zinsätzen verstärkt haben mag. Grundsätzlich sind die niedrigen Zinssätze
aber durch den weltweiten Kapitalüberschuss verursacht. Dieser wiederum ist entstanden, weil Realinvestitionen in der EU im
Vergleich zum Kapitalangebot zu niedrig sind und verunsichernde weltwirtschaftliche Verwerfungen zu niedrigeren Wachstumsraten
führen, weil Staatsdefizite abgebaut werden und weil eine zunehmend ungleiche Einkommens- und Vermögensverteilung zu höheren
Ersparnissen führt.
