regulations

September 5, 2019

Reducing Shadow Economies

Across Europe, shadow markets constitute a significant portion of the economy. According to some estimates an average of 16 percent of GDP in EU member states is generated by the shadow economy. In Eastern and Southern Europe, the share of GDP produced by the shadow economy is even higher. On the one hand, governments admit that activities carried out within shadow markets create added value – they are included in official estimates of GDP among EU member states. On the other hand, governments have attempted to combat the shadow economy by introducing all kinds of policy measures aimed at reducing its operations as far as possible.
May 28, 2019

Not Everyone’s Cup of Tea

MiFID II, together with MiFIR (Regulation (EU) No 600/2014), was intended to create a more transparent, competitive and integrated financial market in the EU by reducing trading outside regulated markets, increasing protection for investors and consumers, and improving financial stability.
April 30, 2019

Nanny State Index

Germany has overtaken the Czech Republic to become the EU’s most liberal country, according to the 2019 edition of the Nanny State Index. Finland remains the least free member state when it comes to drinking, smoking, vaping and food regulation, with Lithuania and Estonia in second and third place respectively.
February 26, 2019

Better Regulation: Risks, Markets, Responsibility

A popular explanation for economic scandals, crises and suboptimal market outcomes is the lack of government regulation. This interpretation is intensively promoted by the promoters of a “bridled” market and by the communication departments of the respective administrations: only the supervision and control of the market economy by the bureaucratic state would ensure the integrity of economic actors. This would even apply to competition, which would allegedly be endangered without a dedicated authority.
January 14, 2019

Violations of the Rule of Law Principles in Poland Despite Recent Amendments

On 21 November, public opinion in Poland and the EU was surprised by the ruling Law and Justice’s (PiS) proposal “backtracking on controversial reforms it made to lower the retirement age of Supreme Court judges”.
January 1, 2019

Free to Work: Employment Regulations in 2019

The Employment Flexibility Index of LFMI quantifies a great divergence in employment regulations between EU countries. Of the 41 countries included in the index (EU and OECD countries), Denmark and the United States were ranked as having the most flexible labour regulations, while France and Luxembourg were ranked last.
November 19, 2018

Shadow Economy: Understanding Drivers, Reducing Incentives

The aim of this publication is to present and analyse the results of representative population surveys into public perceptions of the shadow economy and engagement in illicit activities that were conducted in six countries – Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic – between March and April, 2018.