Document Actions
Publications
of the Economic Policy Center
2012
- Bertram, C., N. Heitmann, D. Narita und M. Schwedeler (2012).
How will Germany’s CCS Policy Affect the Development of a European CO2 Transport Infrastructure?
Kiel Policy Brief No 43.
►Wide adoption of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) in Europe would require a carbon dioxide (CO2) transport infrastructure. A possible German ban on onshore storage of CO2 could unnecessarily increase the size and costs of such a transport infrastructure. - Boss, A.
Finanzen der Sozialversicherung: Günstige Perspektiven – Was ist zu tun?
Kiel Policy Brief No 47.
►The financial situation of the social security system in Germany has improved due to the strong upswing and the increase of the rate of contributions in the beginning of 2011. In 2012 and 2013, the situation will be so favourable that the rate of contributions to social security can and should be reduced significantly. The overall reduction of the rates should be 1 percentage point. - Boysen-Hogrefe J. and K.-J. Gern.
The Italian Debt problem: causes and consequences.
Kiel Policy Brief No 45.
►Italian public debt has gained a lot of attention in recent years. We show that the causes of the high debt level are mainly rooted in the economic policies between the 60s and 80s. Fiscal policy after the introduction of the euro plays a minor role. The struggle for credibility that the Italian monetary policy fought in the 80s and 90s contributed to the debt dynamics by implementing high real interest rates. The Italian example shows that inflation may not an easy way out since a loss in credibility of the central bank can affect negatively public finance in the long run. - Finger K. and S. Reitz (2012).
Effectiveness of Central Bank Intervention on the Foreign Exchange Market.
Kiel Policy Brief No 46.
►In contrast to academic recommendations monetary authorities all over the world intervene on the foreign exchange market to actively manage the exchange rate. Particularly in the aftermath of the global financial crisis the exchange rate is abused by some countries in a “currency war” to artificially improve the own competitiveness and thereby harming trading partners. Aside from these heavily debated activities a number of open economies try to shield their currency from irrational exuberance of international investors and use interventions to maintain exchange rates around their fundamental levels. This study shows theoretically and empirically how intervention operations can be effective in the latter sense. - Klodt, H. (2012).
Opel: Opfer der Globalisierung?
Wirtschaftsdienst 92 (3): 144. - Langhammer, R.J. (2012).
The Importance of Investment Income and Transfers in the Current Account:
A New Look on Imbalances.
Kiel Policy Brief No 48.
►Imbalances in the current account and their changes over time are usually portrayed by imbalances in the trade balance. For a long time, this was adequate given that the two other components of the current account, net income from investment abroad and transfers were unimportant relative to trade of goods and services. However, this has changed in the course of increasing internationalization of production and the rising importance of remittances following rising flows of migrants. Both components have become more important. Rolf J. Langhammer shows in his Kiel Policy Brief 48 how much the three components of the current account vary over countries. It can be expected that ageing economies like Japan will become increasingly dependent on investment inflows to balance a deteriorating trade account and that economies with a high supply of migrants like India will balance trade deficits basically by inflows of remittances from their guest workers abroad. He also shows that concerns about the sustainability of current account deficits of countries like Spain and Italy are well-based, because these countries do not only suffer from trade balance deterioration but also from rising outflows of investment income. - Langhammer, R.J., (2012).
Japanese Trade Deficit: Still no Prophecy.
Wirtschaftsdienst 2012 (2). - Schrader, K., und C.-F. Laaser (2012).
Will Portugal Turn into a Second Greece?
Kiel Policy Brief No 42.
►Portugal’s deep economic crisis gives rise to the expectation that the country will turn into a second Greece. The Kiel economists Klaus Schrader and Claus-Friedrich Laaser analyze, whether this expectation is well founded or not. Their analysis of the crisis in Portugal shows that Portugal has a better chance of avoiding economic collapse than Greece. It is up to the Portuguese government to improve economic conditions by far-reaching structural reforms. Schrader, K., and C.-F. Laaser (2012).
The Crisis in Southern Europe and Fears of a Domino Effect: Subjecting Greece, Portugal and Spain to a Crisis Test.
Kiel Discussion Paper 500/501.
►Many think that a Greek bankruptcy could have a domino effect on other Southern European countries such as Portugal and Spain. The Kiel Institute economists Klaus Schrader und Claus-Friedrich Laaser examine the economic causes of the crises in Greece, Portugal, and Spain in their Kiel Discussion Paper. They compare economic developments in these three countries and find that there is little reason, from a real economic perspective, to expect that there will be a domino effect. more...- Schmidt, U. and K. Lima De Miranda (2012).
Regulierung des Glücksspiels in Deutschland: Das Glücksspielgesetz Schleswig-Holsteins und der Glücksspieländerungsstaatsvertrag aus ökonomischer Perspektive.
Kiel Policy Brief No 44.
►The increasing black market motivated the discussion of a new regulation of the gambling market in Germany. Schleswig-Holstein and the other federal state developed to different concepts which will be compared in the present paper from an economic perspective. Important criteria for this comparison are tax revenues and protection of pathological gamblers. We conclude that the concept of Schleswig-Holstein has clear advantages since it will lead to a higher share of the regulated market.