Sollten Zentralbanken unabhängig sein? Ergänzungen zu Stefan Schäfer

This article extends the inspection of Central Bank Independence (CBI) with respect to inflation performance to an examination of the relationship between CBI and economic welfare in general. The common view of monetary neutrality, i.e. a “free lunch” of CBI with respect to economic growth and employment, is contested on the basis of neo- and post-Keynesian theories of policy interactions and market constellations. Nevertheless, the fact has to be taken seriously that there is a broad discussion under way about the merits of CBI. The defenders of CBI must be on the lookout against a broad political and scientific offensive against the cornerstones of “German stability culture”.     

Prävention und Management von Staatsinsolvenzen in der Europäischen Währungsunion

Der Umgang mit den Schuldenkrisen in einigen Eurol?ndern steht derzeit ganz oben auf der Tagesordnung der EWU-Gremien. Der Rettungsschirm zur aktuellen Krisenbew?ltigung ist allerdings bis 2013 befristet. Danach sollte ein dauerhafter Krisenpr?ventions- und Krisenmanagementmechanismus eingesetzt werden. Wie ein solcher Mechanismus zu gestalten ist, erl?utern die Autoren in diesem Beitrag.     

Der Europäische Stabilitätsmechanismus ist eine Hydra

After the German Federal Constitutional Court had given its consent to the ratification of the ESM Treaty in an interim proceeding with judgment dated 12 September 2012, subject to several precautionary provisions, the court audience of the main action took place on the 11–12 June 2013. Apart from the acts approving the ESM and the fiscal treaty as well as the regulation (EU) 1176/2011, the German Constitutional Court dealt intensely with the announcement of the ECB Council dated 6 September 2012 to buy bond issues to an unlimited extent from ESM/EFSF-programme states (the so-called OMT programme). The author is the attorney in the procedure 2 BvR 1824/12 of Professor von Stein and others. The article reproduces the essential points of his opening and closing pleadings.     

Tarifeinheit versus Tarifpluralität: Konfliktintensität von Verhandlungen

In some industries, wage negotiations are conducted not only by labour unions covering the whole sector but also by craft unions representing single occupations. A comprehensive evaluation of wage disputes in Germany shows that craft unions are especially confrontational. Particular problems arise if several conflict-prone unions representing employees of the same company enter into competition with each other. The cumulative effects of such a situation can undermine the legal ban on industrial action while a collective wage agreement is in force. This damage could be limited by legislation regulating competition among trade unions and restoring exclusivity for wage agreements at the plant level (one company = one agreement).     

Flexible Geschäftsmodelle in der Telekommunikation und die Netzneutralitätsdebatte

The net neutrality debate concerns the differential treatment of data on the Internet and the pricing models used by enduser internet service providers (IPSs). In particular, end-user ISPs may want to prioritize certain services and charge on the sender or the receiver side for this activity. In the policy debate it is asked whether regulatory intervention is warranted to restrict such behavior. The introduction of new end-user tariffs for fixed-line Internet access by Deutsche Telekom has heated up the debate in Germany. At the national level, the German Ministry of Economics and Technology has prepared a draft regulation on net neutrality, which aims at limiting the differential treatment of data transmission on the internet including the access networks and, thus, to protect the “Open Internet”. The European Commission has prepared an alternative draft regulation for a single European market in telecommunications, which contains provisions for an “Open Internet”. In this article, the authors investigate the extent to which the new tariff structure by Deutsche Telekom relates to the net neutrality debate. They also provide a first critical analysis of the proposals by the German Ministry of Economics and Technology and the European Commission.     

Anlageverhalten auf Finanzmärkten

Despite a global homogenisation of financial markets, some characteristic national structures of private investors’ behaviour have been preserved. The underlying persistence of observable differences is due to the embeddedness of these markets in historical, institutional and cultural frameworks. Thus, the perception of financial risk is a function of culturally inherited social norms and conventions attached to different financial risk-taking domains. Private investors’ behaviour is guided by heterogeneous versions of rationality, thus explaining why households in bank-based systems like Germany provide banks with “patient capital” even at the price of lower return expectations.     

Investitionsschutzabkommen: mehr Rechtssicherheit oder verzicht auf Souveränität?

Bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS) have become highly controversial. The authors review the evidence and discuss the pros and cons of BITs and other investment agreements. Many observers are concerned that Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) regulations on investment protection could be abused by international corporations to obtain unjustifi ed compensation from EU member states. These concerns are to some extent legitimate and should be considered more seriously in the EU negotiation strategy. International investment agreements (IIA) are necessary when host countries of FDI do not have reliable and independent judicial systems. To avoid abuse and to account for the increasing role of global production chains, agreements require more precise defi nitions, and ISDS needs to be more transparent and independent. With the EU developing its own new approach independently (and differently) from the one taken in the past by its member states, the current negotiations of “mega-regionals”, as well as the fi rst standalone EU IIA with China, offer the unique possibility to answer current critique around international investment law. Is there, in the current documents, an IIA2.0 that strengthens the right to regulate and holds up high protection standards for investors? The exclusion of ISDS from TTIP negotiations risks missing a unique chance to improve the current less than perfect international investment regime.     

Regionale Konvergenz: Der ländliche Raum schlägt sich gut

Since 2000, there has been a convergence between urban and rural regions in Germany measured by GDP per capita. This is somewhat surprising, as the fate of “left behind” areas and an ostensibly widening gap between rich and poor regions are dominating the public discourse. But contrary to public perception, the continuing migration of the German population into urban regions is not accompanied by a similar clustering of economic activities. Instead, rural regions hold their ground in terms of their share of total value added in Germany. As a result, GDP per capita is rising faster in rural regions, driving convergence. But this positive development doesn’t apply to all rural regions – and the negative demographics in comparison to urban areas will become a growing burden.     

Unerwünschte Veränderungen der realen Finanzkraftreihenfolge im Länderfinanzausgleich

Given that the current fiscal equalisation scheme needs to be changed by 2019, this paper looks at reform proposals for the fiscal transfer system in Germany to take account of differences in regional purchasing power across states, i.e. differences in the costs of providing public goods and services. Two different reform proposals for a modified transfer system are examined. The first one extends the current fiscal transfer system by additionally allowing for disparities in regional purchasing power across states; the second one links fiscal transfer payments entirely to disparities in regional purchasing power across states. The results show that a transfer system that explicitly accounts for differences in regional purchasing power across states would noticeably reduce the actual volume of redistribution.