This thesis studies the relationship of income tax progressivity and output volatility. Using our dataset of 31 OECD countries and Bayesian model averaging (BMA) approach to address the model uncertainty issue, we find positive evidence that higher income tax progressivity leads to lower output volatility. This effect is robust to different prior specifications in BMA and to different tax progressivity measures, including our newly constructed measure which is based on the slope of the average tax curve. We also find a strong effect of tax progressivity on the consumption volatility and the volatility of hours worked which we see as the main channels for the reducing effect of tax progressivity on output volatility.

This paper investigates the automatic stabilizer and the underlying factors behind its function. The paper includes both a literature review and an empirical analysis. The literature review discusses the IS-LM and Mundell-Fleming models and different ways to quantify the automatic stabilizer. Based on the theory, the relationship between volatility in GDP and the size of the automatic stabilizers is then analyzed with the help of regressions. Our main result shows a negative relation between these two variables. This effect seems to be decreasing over time, which may be explained by an increased openness. However, it is hard to tell if the decreasing effect is a long-term development or just a result of the most recent financial crisis.

A new technology is a bold new combination of production factors that potentially yields a higher level of total factor productivity. The optimal combination of input factors is unknown when an innovation is pursued. A larger targeted innovation may require a greater change in the optimal combination of production factors employed and increases volatility alongside with economic growth. We show that economic policy can interfere in this relationship with by adjusting source based capital income taxes. / Series: Discussion Papers SFB International Tax Coordination

This doctoral thesis addresses in a sequence of five essays the question how fiscal policy and economic output are interrelated in emerging Europe and how this relationship is shaped by the respective politico-economic environment and the individual-level support for economic reforms. Following main findings can be highlighted: (1) Countries in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) respond to a fiscal expansion in the euro area with fiscal easing at home, while the GDP response is mixed across countries.(2)Automatic fiscal stabilizers are comparatively small and discretionary fiscal policy has been largely pro-cyclical in CESEE. (3) The public spending and revenue structure is more "growth-friendly" in CESEEthan in the EU-15. (4) In transition economies with more democratic institutions and a better quality of governance, individuals with high market-relevant skills show a significantly larger support of the privatization status quo than individuals with low market skills. (5) The society in Russia - triggered by a lack of social capital - chooses to demand more state regulationand tolerate corruption to reduce negative externalities imposed by private business.(author's abstract)