trade

July 1, 2018

The Impact of the Energy Taxation Directive

Instead of comprehensive re-examination of the Energy Taxation Directive, the European Commission is examining whether ETD should continue the exemptions and lower tariffs for specific products.
June 22, 2018

Labour Migration and Employment Flexibility

Economic migrants rarely displace local labour force. Immigrants are more likely to complement existing labour force creating opportunities for growth and bringing needed skills. Foreign workers reduce imbalances in local economies by filling in the demand for workers that a local economy cannot provide or by taking up jobs that local workers do want to pursue.
January 29, 2018

Digital Resellers: the Case for Secondary Ticket Markets

The reselling of tickets for events has a long history, dating back at least to Roman times. Such secondary markets in tickets are no different from other kinds of secondary market, and serve the same purpose: to correct flaws in the initial primary market.
January 24, 2018

How to Develop Secondary Markets for Non-performing Loans?

The ECB seeks to increase trading in non-performing loans by reducing the pricing gap between prospective investors and banks. For this to happen, there need to be structural reforms aimed at reducing recovery times, as well as better access to information about loans and debtors. Only when the price offered by investors is in line with the price demanded by banks will we see more activity in distressed debt markets.
January 1, 2018

How the Municipal VAT Exemptions Promote Tax Increases in the EU

As a general rule, local governments are exempt from VAT in the EU. Thus, VAT is not payable on the tax-financed consumption of municipalities and other local governments, at least when the services are produced in-house.
January 1, 2018

Is Neoliberalism to Blame for Orbàn and Le Pen?

Populism is on the rise, especially in Europe. Determining the causes is of crucial political importance. Some claim that “neoliberal” policies such as deregulation and free trade have contributed to the populist tide.
December 1, 2017

Android and the Challenge of Platform Management

Google Android is usually described as a mobile operating system – the software that links mobile hardware with applications and thus enables users to operate their smartphones in an effective way.