The Economic Case for Monetary Union in the European Union

Differential requirements for seigniorage provide a weak case for retaining monetary independence. As regards adjustment to asymmetric shocks, nominal exchange rate flexibility is at best a limited blessing and at worst a limited curse. Absence of significant fiscal redistribution mechanisms among EU members is not an obstacle to monetary union. Neither is limited international labour mobility. Convergence of real economic performance is irrelevant for monetary union. A common currency is the logical implication of unrestricted capital mobility. The Maastricht criteria need not hinder monetary union provided the political will exists to adopt a flexible interpretation of the fiscal criteria.     

State Formation and Territoriality in the European Union

This article analyses the process of the expansion and integration of the EU from the perspective of a transformation to a competitive state formation. The recent construction of the EU is based on institutional arrangements which aim to combine different politics of scale with a general improvement of economic competitiveness and administrative efficiency. Recent theoretical advancement in state theory are applied in order to emphasise innovative aspects of European integration. After a concise overview about the history of the EU-territoriality and a discussion whether there is a spatial logic observable within the integration process the article outlines a political geography of the EU competition state and respective politics of scale. Finally the question of the future shape of the EU is re-addressed in light of strategic decisions to introduce a defensive or offensive flexibility.     

Continuity and Change in Australian Economic Policy: The Social Welfare Services

Commonwealth social welfare programs can be divided into the social security system, for which the Commonwealth has constitutional responsibility, and programs of grants for services, which depend on Commonwealth exploitation of the Australian fiscal imbalance. Over the past decade federal enthusiasm for services has waxed and waned, resulting in considerable volatility of expenditure. Social security spending, on the other hand, has grown steadily. Until the end of full employment this growth was mainly due to real increases in social security rates and to the easing of entitlement conditions; since that time it has been largely due to demographic factors and to the increase in unemployment and associated increase in takeup rates. Both Liberal and Labor governments have adopted a more constrained attitude to social welfare expenditures since the end of full employment, but even so in most respects the Labor party has remained the more generous of the two.     

Agricultural Biotechnology in the European Union: Alternative Technologies and Economic Outcomes

All seed firms in six EU countries were surveyed in May 1999 to determine how seed development budgets were distributed across three crop development technologies and the effects of the type of technology in use on employment, sales and exports. The results indicate that an evaluation of the economic consequences of an emergent technology such as genetic engineering should both consider the effect of competitive alternative technologies and survey all firms within the sector, rather than focusing on a subset of high technology firms. Only about 10% of the combined 1999 research budget of European seed firms was spent on genetic engineering, although this should increase to about 15% by 2002. Alternative technologies to develop new plant varieties, such as conventional plant breeding and conventional breeding combined with techniques that were developed for genetic engineering, are considerably more important economically. In fact, there is no difference in expected employment and sales per development employee by the type of technology in use, while export rates are highest among firms that combine conventional plant breeding with advanced techniques.     

Agricultural Biotechnology in the European Union: Alternative Technologies and Economic Outcomes

All seed firms in six EU countries were surveyed in May 1999 to determine how seed development budgets were distributed across three crop development technologies and the effects of the type of technology in use on employment, sales and exports. The results indicate that an evaluation of the economic consequences of an emergent technology such as genetic engineering should both consider the effect of competitive alternative technologies and survey all firms within the sector, rather than focusing on a subset of high technology firms. Only about 10% of the combined 1999 research budget of European seed firms was spent on genetic engineering, although this should increase to about 15% by 2002. Alternative technologies to develop new plant varieties, such as conventional plant breeding and conventional breeding combined with techniques that were developed for genetic engineering, are considerably more important economically. In fact, there is no difference in expected employment and sales per development employee by the type of technology in use, while export rates are highest among firms that combine conventional plant breeding with advanced techniques.     

Principles of Policymaking in the European Union: An Economic Perspective

How should tasks be divided between the EU and its member states?And what institutional reforms are needed? This paper arguesthat the single market remains to be better enforced, and thismight require further centralisation of tasks. On the otherhand, EU meddling with redistribution should be scaled back;this would imply reducing EU intervention in agricultural policy,structural funds and the social charter. EU tasks should insteadbe expanded outside the first pillar, namely in foreign anddefence policies, internal security, immigration. The paperends by discussing what institutional reforms are needed toaccompany this allocation of tasks. (JEL F02, F3)     

The Forms and Determinants of Social Exclusion in the European Union: The Case of Luxemburg

The paper investigates the social exclusion process in the European Union (EU), particularly in Luxemburg, addressing both conceptual and empirical issues. It examines aspects such as: the most appropriate definition of social exclusion for the case of Luxemburg, the way economic and social disadvantages cumulate within the social exclusion process, and the main determinants of social exclusion, income poverty and deprivation. To analyze the topics mentioned above, different econometric models have been applied.

Economic Growth and CO2 Emissions in the European Union

This paper examines the relationship between economic growth and CO₂ emissions in the European Union. A panel data analysis for the period 1981 to 1995 is applied in order to estimate the relationship between Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and CO₂ emissions in ten selected European countries. The analysis shows important disparities between the most industrialised countries and the rest. The results do not seem to support a uniform policy to control emissions; they rather indicate that a reduction in emissions should be achieved by taking into account the specific economic situation and the industrial structure of each EU member state.     

欧债危机与资本主义福利国家新变化

欧债危机爆发后,有一种观点认为危机的原因是高福利。通过分析希腊债务危机与本国福利制度的关系,对比南北欧在危机中的不同表现,可以看出高福利制度只是债务危机的直接推手,欧债危机的发生还有其他原因。本文通过对北欧福利国家改革的历史考察以及这次债务危机中各国财政紧缩和福利改革措施的分析,探讨福利国家改革的走向和趋势。     

The State of the Welfare State

Books reviewed in this article:
J.M Wildeboer Schut, J.C Vrooman and P.T de Beer, On Worlds of Welfare: Institutions and their Effects in Eleven Welfare States
Jørgen Goul Andersen and Per H Jensen, Changing Labour Markets, Welfare Policies and Citizenship     

在转变经济发展方式中提升社会福祉

怎样评价中国经济的高速增长,怎样处理好经济增长与社会福祉的关系,切实转变经济发展方式,这是社会各界都日趋关注的问题,也将成为中共十七大的一个重要议题。该文阐述了经济增长与社会福祉的关系,分析了中国经济增长的福祉转化度低的原因和结果,提出调整政府的目标和定位,构建"社会整体福祉最大化"的新型经济发展方式的基本框架。