Philipp Mohl

Has political communication during the crisis impacted sovereign bond spreads in the euro area

Using thousands of news agencies reports from May 2010 to June 2011, we find that statements about restructuring, bailout and the involvement of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) have impacted bond spreads of countries in the periphery vis-à-vis Germany. Our findings also indicate that the more different euro area governments issued statements at the same time, the more bond spreads have increased. Finally, statements from politicians from AAA-rated countries seemed to have a particularly strong impact on spreads.

Econometric evaluation of EU Cohesion Policy : a survey

More than one third of the European Unions total budget is spent on socalled Cohesion Policy via the structural funds. Its main purpose is to promote the development of the EU and to support convergence between the levels of development of the various European regions. Investigating the impact of European Cohesion Policy on economic growth and convergence is a wide research topic in applied econometric research. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence has provided mixed, if not contradictory, results. Against this background, the aim of this chapter is to provide a fundamental review on this topic. Taking fundamental methodological issues into account, we review the existing econometric evaluation studies, draw several conclusions and provide some remarks for future research.

Reforming the EU Budget: Reconciling Needs with Political‐Economic Constraints

Abstract Dissatisfaction with the current EU budget has inspired the ongoing general review of the Unions budgetary system. In this context our aim is threefold. First, we demonstrate that the application of normative yardsticks to the budget reveals severe shortcomings of the status quo. Secondly, we identify the political‐economic obstacles to budgetary reform. Thirdly, we review the reform literature and identify ‘incentive channelling reforms’ as the most promising type. This type of reform option takes account of the incentives which so far cause reform resistance and tries to reconcile them with a more efficient budgetary outcome.

Reform Options for the EU Own Resources System

Criteria for a Fair and Efficient Own Resources System.- Assessing the Status Quo.- Background Analyses.- Reform Approaches.- A Reform Proposal.- Final Remarks.

How does EU cohesion policy work? : evaluating its effects on fiscal outcome variables

The impact of EU Cohesion Policy has mainly been evaluated with regard to its growth effects. We extend the perspective by investigating the impact of EU Cohesion Policy on public investments and budget deficits in order to learn more about the channels through which this policy field works. Using a dataset of 27 EU countries for the time period 1982-2006, we find that EU Cohesion Policy payments do not cause public investments to increase significantly, which points to a crowding out of national investment. Moreover, the hypothesis that EU Cohesion Policy is used for the consolidation of public budgets cannot be completely rejected.

Machtindexanalyse und Europäische Zentralbank

Der Beitritt von zehn neuen Mitgliedern zur Europaischen Union (EU) im Mai 2004 hat in der akademischen Diskussion viel Aufmerksamkeit auf sich gezogen. Dies gilt auch fur die moglichen Folgen der Erweiterung der Europaischen Wirtschafts- und Wahrungsunion (EWU) (z.B. Bacaria et al. 2002; Berger 2002; De Grauwe 2002; Gros et al. 2002; Hefeker 2002; Hendrikx/Maier 2002). Es wird vermutet, dass die Einfuhrung des Euro in den neuen Mitgliedslandern-insbesondere in den mittel- und osteuropaischen Landern - zu einem inflationaren Schub der Gemeinschaftswahrung fuhren wird. In diesem Zusammenhang sind auch die Veranderungen der Entscheidungsprozesse innerhalb der Europaischen Zentralbank (EZB) von Bedeutung. Die Akteure innerhalb der EZB, deren Abstimmungsverhalten sowie die entsprechenden Abstimmungsregeln in Verbindung mit den geltenden Transparenzregeln, beeinflussen die Inflationserwartungen des Privatsektors.