EUROPEAN FISCAL RULES AS A LIABILITY IN THE TRANSATLANTIC TRADE CONFLICT: LESSONS FROM NiGEM SIMULATIONS

2020 ◽  
Vol 254 ◽  
pp. R54-R66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Dullien ◽  
Sabine Stephan ◽  
Thomas Theobald

Under the Trump administration, a transatlantic trade conflict has been escalating step by step. First, it was about tariffs on steel and aluminium, then about retaliation for the French digital tax, which is suspended until the end of the year. Most recently, the US administration threatened the European Union with tariffs on cars and car parts because of Canadian seafood being subject to lower import duties. As simulations with NiGEM show, a further escalation of the transatlantic trade conflict has the potential to slow down economic growth significantly in the countries involved. This is a considerable risk given the fact that the countries have to cope with the enormous negative effects of the pandemic shock. Furthermore, the damage caused by the trade conflict depends on the extent to which the affected countries use fiscal policy to stabilise their economies.

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (02) ◽  
pp. 279-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
RIFAT A. ATUN ◽  
IAN HARVEY ◽  
JOFF WILD

Empirical evidence demonstrates the value of intellectual property (IP) in creating economic growth, enhancing productivity and profitability, and increasing enterprise value. Research and Development (R&D) intensive industries, such as the life sciences, where patents are critical to competition, need an enabling environment to institutionalise innovation and IP generation and reward investments in IP. The US has approached IP strategically and created an IP infrastructure. Japan aims to develop into an "IP nation". China has an increasingly well-developed IP system. In contrast, the European Union (EU), which aims to become the world's leading knowledge-based economy, has a fragmented and expensive system of national patents. It lacks an environment which values investment in IP generation and management. Until recently, the EU enjoyed global competitive advantage in the life sciences, but this advantage has been lost. To regain this competitive advantage the EU must invest substantially in R&D, IP generation and commercialisation of these outputs.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Alexis Acevedo ◽  
Maria Lorca-Susino

Purpose This paper provides a general review of the current energy dependency of the European Union (EU) and the possible threat that it poses to economic growth and diplomatic freedom. Design/methodology/approach Systematic literature review with a narrative approach to analyze historical data, statistics and energy policies and determine if the EU oil dependency represents a threat to economic growth and diplomatic freedom. In addition, a review of the US policy “America first” is also included to analyze its impact on the EU. Findings The energy dependency rate of the EU increased 12 percentage points from 1990 to 2018. Russia has become the largest oil supplier for the EU tripling Norway, the largest supplier in the 1990s. The oil dependency of the EU on Russia is a difficult situation where guaranteed energy supply and diplomatic freedom becomes a national political controversy. Even though the USA is currently a top world exporter of oil, the EU does not rely on the USA. The findings suggest that the EU needs to secure a reliable energy supplier to guarantee economic growth, reduce energy scarcity and enhance diplomatic freedom. Originality/value This paper provides a historical examination of the EU oil dependency considering its impact on economic growth and diplomatic freedom.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-232
Author(s):  
Martin Gorčák ◽  
Stanislav Šaroch

Abstract This paper examines the impact of budgetary institutions on public finances in the European Union on the basis of a critical survey of the relevant theoretical and empirical literature. In general, the authors find that fiscal institutions (namely fiscal rules) have successfully contributed to greater fiscal sustainability, reduced procyclicality of fiscal policies within the EU, and increased national ownership of fiscal rules by strengthening national fiscal frameworks. A fiscal reaction function was one of the widely used methods to determine the principal variables affecting fiscal outcomes. Some authors used cyclically-adjusted fiscal outcomes as the dependent variable representing the discretionary fiscal policy-making whereas others put emphasis on other fiscal outcomes. The samples of countries covered mostly the EU Member States, representing rather homogenous samples in the context of common EU fiscal framework. Institutional aspects used as independent variables differed significantly among authors and some could be added for future research. Based on the literature survey, several recommendations were made for fiscal policy-making.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils D Steiner

Why has the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partisanship met with strong public resistance among some Europeans and in some European Union member states, but not in others? This article argues that one important perspective to explain the pattern of support for TTIP is the role of heuristic opinion formation and issue attention. Analysing multiple waves of Eurobarometer data, I find that views of the two treaty partners, the US and the European Union, shape attitudes towards TTIP and that the largely post-materialist concerns over TTIP resonated specifically in those European countries whose citizens’ attention was less focused on economic issues. In showing how opinions towards concrete real-world trade policy proposals are shaped by the political context, these findings complement previous research on citizens’ general stances towards trade.


2020 ◽  
pp. 5-29
Author(s):  
Evsey T. Gurvich ◽  
Natalia A. Krasnopeeva

We study the tax-spend nexus for Russian regional budgets. Causal relationship running from taxing to spending is found, thus supporting the concept “tax and spend” suggested by M. Friedman. Next, elasticity of expenditure by revenue is estimated for a panel of 80 regional budgets basing on data for 2000—2017. Estimates are in the range of 0.72 to 0.78 (depending on the econometric technique), which exceeds elasticity for the federal budget more than twice. This evidences that fiscal policy at the sub-federal (as distinct from the federal) level has clear pro-cyclical nature. Besides, the largest sensitivity of expenditure to revenue shocks is found for the item “national economy”, implying marked adverse implications for economic growth. We suggest to mitigate this effect by modifying fiscal rules for sub-federal budgets. They are currently aimed primarily at enhancing fiscal discipline, with less emphasis on countercyclical policy, insulating economy from fiscal shocks.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-84
Author(s):  
Sanford U. Mba

Recently, the Nigerian Senate passed the Bankruptcy and Insolvency (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill. This is no doubt a welcome development following the continued demand by insolvency practitioners, academics and other stakeholders for such legislation. The call has not only been for the enactment of just about any legislation, but (consistent with the economic challenges faced by businesses in the country), one that is favourably disposed to the successful restructuring of financially distressed businesses, allowing them to weather the storm of (impending) insolvency, emerge from it and continue to operate within the economy. This article seeks to situate this draft legislative instrument within the present wave of preventive restructuring ably espoused in the European Union Recommendation on New Approaches to Business Rescue and to Give Entrepreneurs a Second Chance (2014), which itself draws largely from Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The article draws a parallel between the economic crisis that gave rise to the preventive restructuring approach of the Recommendation and the present economic situation in Nigeria; it then examines the chances of such restructuring under the Nigerian draft bankruptcy and insolvency legislation. It argues in the final analysis that the draft legislation does not provide for a prophylactic recourse regime for financially distressed businesses. Consequently, a case is made for such an approach.


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