Die Solidarische Privatversicherung — Ein Vorschlag zur Gesundheitsstrukturreform

Lassen sich risiko?quivalente Pr?mien und Solidarausgleich in der Krankenversicherung miteinander verbinden? Der Beitrag beschreibt einen m?glichen Weg dazu, der die ursprüngliche Idee des Gesundheitsfonds konsequent weiterentwickelt.     

Europa am Scheideweg — ein Vorschlag zur politischen Weiterentwicklung

The European Union is approaching a point where it has to decide between two options: deepening political integration or reducing it. Economists tend to be sceptical. Many would prefer to reduce the scale of integration while returning more competences to member states. The debate, though, lacks a plausible vision for the path forward. Every stable currency union needs some kind of transfer mechanism. Once this notion is accepted, the installation of a “real” European Parliament with the power to raise taxes, particularly on capital income, should be considered.     

Reformoptionen des Länderfinanzausgleichs unter politökonomischer Betrachtung

The German states Bavaria and Hesse have initiated a legal case against the German fiscal equalisation system. The German Federal Constitutional Court has already made rulings concerning this system on three occasions, and thus this new case is not expected to result in major changes. Consequently, states may have to depend on the Bundestag and Bundesrat to implement any changes to the system. Minor reforms would be likely to pass muster with the Court. This is important, as even minor changes can have a significant impact on states’ revenues. This study analyses whether there are policy reform options that could attain majorities in the Bundestag and Bundesrat and estimates the possible effects of the policies on states’ revenues.     

Polit-ökonomische Aspekte des Berichts zur Lage der Verbraucher:innen

Wirtschaftsdienst - Der Sachverständigenrat für Verbraucherfragen hat erstmals ein breit angelegtes Gutachten zur Lage der Verbraucher:innen in Deutschland vorgelegt. Gert G. Wagner,...     

Hartz IV: die Lösung für die Probleme in der Währungsunion?

The Hartz reforms are often regarded as the therapy which turned the so called “sick man of Europe” into a global superstar. But this diagnosis was wrong. The strength of the German economy was overshadowed by the negative effects of reunification. The decline in unemployment can partly be attributed to the end of the transformation in East Germany. It also reflects the negative cyclical situation in 2005. This analysis is in line with the finding that compared e.g. with Italy and Greece, German unemployment assistance is still very generous. Thus, for the member states of the Eurozone Hartz IV is not a promising strategy. This could be different should wage moderation be cosnidered. However, if member states practice it simultaneously, this will lead to deflation. This calls for higher wage increases in Germany and a more symmetric adjustment.     

Ersatz für die Grundsteuer: eine einfache,effiziente, kostengünstige und gerechte Lösung

The highest constitutional court in Germany recently declared that property tax is not in conformity with the constitution. A revision of the property tax laws needs to be undertaken but there is no consensus about a favourable solution yet. One of the main obstacles to a consensus is tackling the new assessments of over 35 million households and the ensuing wave of millions of lawsuits. This paper proposes avoiding those costs by slightly increasing the tax rates of the value added tax and income tax and giving the increased revenues to the municipalities as a substitute for the property tax. This procedure has at least two advantages: (1) It can take up and reflect the distributional effects of the property tax. (2) It is simple, efficient, economic and fair.     

Das ökonomische Einmaleins des Bankgeheimnisses

Das Schweizer Bankgeheimnis und die damit verbundenen M?glichkeiten zur Steuerhinterziehung haben in anderen Staaten zu erheblichen Verlusten bei den Haushaltseinnahmen und weitergehenden Wohlfahrtseinbu?en geführt. Die Europ?ische Kommission ist bemüht, die Problematik nachhaltig zu l?sen. Das paraphierte bilaterale Steuerabkommen Deutschlands mit der Schweiz zementiert demgegenüber vor allem die durch ein Abwehrdispositiv begründete ungleiche Behandlung von Arbeits- und Kapitaleinkommen im deutschen Steuersystem.     

Optionen zur Stärkung des Pharmastandorts Deutschland

Deutschland hat seine vormals führende Stellung als „Apotheke der Welt“ l?ngst eingebü?t und verliert als Standort für die forschende Arzneimittelindustrie international immer weiter an Bedeutung. Woran l?sst sich dies erkennen? Ist das hierzulande besonders dicht geknüpfte Netz pharmarelevanter Regulierungen die Ursache? Und was l?sst sich industrie-, forschungs- und gesundheitspolitisch gegen die weitere Erosion des Pharmastandorts Deutschland tun? Prof. Dr. Dieter Cassel, 68, ist Emeritus für Wirtschaftspolitik im Fachbereich Betriebswirtschaft – Mercator School of Management – der Universit?t Duisburg-Essen, Campus Duisburg. Dieser Beitrag beruht in wesentlichen Teilen auf Ergebnissen des Gutachtens „Steuerung der Arzneimittelausgaben und St?rkung des Forschungsstandortes für die pharmazeutische Industrie“ von IGES Berlin (B. H?ussler, M. Albrecht), D. Cassel, E. Wille und WIdO Bonn (H. Schr?der, K. Nink, Chr. Lankers) vom 2. Juni 2006 im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für Gesundheit (BMG). Siehe BMG (Hrsg.): Forschungsbericht 006 – Gesundheitsforschung, Berlin 2006.     

Ursachen des Rohölpreisanstiegs seit 2016

Over the past year and a half, the price of crude oil has more than tripled. Such a price increase can have severe negative effects on the global economy. The effects depend on the underlying causes of the oil price rise. We find that the rise in crude oil prices is mainly due to an increase in global real economic activity and can only be explained to a small extent by a decline in the physical supply of crude oil.     

Querschnittstechnologie Internet – Universallösung für den Arbeitsmarkt der Zukunft?

The ongoing processes of digitalisation in economy and society have certainly important implications, not only for economic growth but also for the future labour market. But, what are the actual effects of this ?Digital Revolution“? Who will be the winners and who will be the losers? This article reviews the current empirical literature and draws relevant policy conclusions. While the growth effects will be substantial, the labour market effects of ICT and broadband technologies and their linkage with industrial production via the “internet of things” are likely to be ambivalent. The authors point to the need for political action with respect to labour market institutions that support workers in adjusting to the rapidly changing work environment in a digital world, and measures designed to reduce the skill gap between “digital natives” and “digital illiterates”. They also identify the need to help increase adoption and use intensity of the new technologies, rather than solely investing in broadband infrastructure.     

Plädoyer zur gesetzlichen Regelung des Streikrechts – eine Replik

In the recent past, Germany has experienced increasing strike activity by small trade unions. This became possible through a change in high-level legislation allowing competition between trade unions at the firm level. The German government has responded by implementing a new law, which restricts this competition, but many observers regard it as inappropriate. In a recent issue of this journal, the Scientific Advisory Board to the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure proposes specific legal measures to be taken. The present paper comments on these proposals. It supports the claim for legal regulation of strike activities, but it deviates with regard to the scope of application. The point is made that striking is an activity that inherently requires legal regulation, and that legal regulation is only dispensable in sectors governed by strong competition.     

Macht es einen Unterschied? Ein ökonomischer Blick auf die Geschlechtlichkeit von Sprache

Experimental evidence in the fields of linguistics and psychology supports the hypothesis that gendered language, such as omitting the female genus, is attended by a perception bias and may thereby foster the cognitive exclusion of women. Economic approaches have furthermore encountered a correlation between the gender intensity of language and individual behaviour. The full extent of the bias and its related undesirable social consequences, for instance on occupational gender segregation or gender pay gaps, remain unknown. This paper points out research gaps, methodological challenges and the significance of gendered language in economics.     

Neue Informations- und Kommunikationstechnik: L?sung für den Arbeitsmarkt der Zukunft?

Recent technological advances have prompted both utopian and dystopian visions of the transformation of work. The design of humane work environments requires not only a thorough understanding of technological affordances but also ?? critically ?? of work practices and their development. Many workers use advanced communication technologies on the job. It is assumed that this may foster economic productivity and growth, but there may also be negative effects, i.e. problems due to information overfl ow, diversion of attention and blurred boundaries between professional life and family life. The Internet has become one of the most popular tools for job seekers and changed the way workers and firms are matched on the job market. There is evidence that job changers who found their new job through the Internet are better matched than those who found a new job through newspapers, friends or other channels. The Internet has the potential to improve the matching quality of the labour market.