The European debt crisis and fiscal reactions in Europe 2000–2014

After the outbreak of the global financial crisis, some governments in the EU experienced serious fiscal problems, while others were less affected. This paper seeks to shed light on the divergent fiscal performance in the EU countries before and after the outbreak of the crisis. Fiscal reaction functions of the primary balance are estimated for different groups of EU countries using quarterly data for the pre-crisis period 2001–2008 and for the crisis period 2009–2014. The pre-crisis estimations reveal some differences in persistence and cyclical reaction between different groups of countries, but in most cases little feedback from the debt stock to the primary balance. The fiscal reaction functions of the countries that eventually developed fiscal problems do not stand out. The estimations on data from the crisis period show largely unchanged persistence and counter-cyclicality but much more feedback from the debt stock, and this applies both to the crisis countries and those less affected. In spite of large deficits and accumulation of debt, the underlying fiscal reaction has become more prudent after the outbreak of the European debt crisis.     

Too Much Competition in Higher Education? Some Conceptual Remarks on the Excessive‐Signaling Hypothesis

Within the economics of higher education, there is a small but influential literature that describes and analyzes the outcomes of competitive processes on markets for higher educational services. Colleges and universities in the United States currently invest a vast amount of resources in order to attract well-qualified students. Costly activities like advertising, infrastructure investments, the recruitment of academic stars, or the granting of merit-based tuition discounts can be interpreted as different forms of "market signaling" in the sense of Spence. According to some social science authors, these signaling activities have reached a dimension that has to be classified as excessive or socially wasteful from a welfare-economic viewpoint. The present article makes some conceptual remarks on this excessive-signaling hypothesis, and intends to contribute to the debate about the (potentially) harmful and beneficial effects of competition in higher education.     

Passengers,consumers, and travellers: The rise of passenger rights in EC transport law and its repercussions for Community consumer law and policy

EC transport law is set to be complemented by a series of Regulations giving rights to passengers for almost every mode of transport. These Regulations not only give transport law a distinct consumer dimension but also add new elements to European private law. This paper attempts to provide a horizontal, or intermodal, survey of these Regulations, adopted and proposed. It is argued that passenger law, although originating separately and remaining a sector distinct from other fields of law, has become part of a wider, three-stranded notion of European consumer policy deserving due attention as the force most dynamically expanding the area of Community law of contracts and of torts. The paper will point to the elements of consumer contract law and the law on travel and tourism related to passenger transport and elaborate on the basics for finding a common notion of the key terms like “passenger” and “damage” for Community law. It concludes with some points for further reflection.

Quantum Theory and Social Economics:

A bstract . The holistic approach of quantum theory is investigated as a tool for social economists to analyze and to interpret socioeconomic reality and paradigms. The link between quantum theory and the social economist's approach to socioeconomic reality, i.e. , the "what is," rests on the premise that each element of the socioeconomic universe relates to the whole system and vice versa. In other words, the meaning of each part is to be found in its implicit reflection of the whole of reality; it has no meaning exclusive of the whole. In terms of quantum theory, investigations of microeconomic processes are interwoven with the macroeconomic frame of reference of the observer. The very act of observation is to be considered as an integral part of the observed system.     

Inflation dynamics and nominal adjustment in the Baltic States

The paper seeks to explain the inflationary dynamics in the Baltic countries since the mid-1990s. Single-equation estimations generally yield poor results, while panel data estimations provide statistically and economically satisfactory findings. The main result is that the observed gradual disinflation can to a large extent be explained by adjustment to international prices. Stringent fixed exchange rate systems have exerted downward pressure on inflation both directly and via expectations to future inflation. Measures of excess capacity in the labour market have no effect on inflation, while industrial output gaps have some explanatory power. Real oil price shocks have an immediate but short-lived impact on inflation.     

The Determinants of International Commercial Real Estate Investment

We examine the determinants of international commercial real estate investment using a unique set of panel data series for 47 countries worldwide, covering the period from 2000 to 2009. We explore how different socio-economic, demographic and institutional characteristics affect commercial real estate investment activity by determining both cross-sectional and time-series estimators, running augmented random effect panel regressions. We provide evidence that economic growth, rapid urbanization and compelling demographics attract real estate investment, and also demonstrate that a lack of transparency in the legal framework, administrative burdens of doing real estate business, socio-cultural challenges and political instabilities reduce international real estate allocations.