This paper analyzes the effects of globalization on social protection expenditures in European countries. The analysis adds to the literature due to its special focus on (a) the Eastern European countries and (b) on differences in globalization effects between welfare regimes. We find evidence in favor of the compensation hypothesis in Western Europe which is driven by the conservative welfare regime, outweighing the efficiency effect of globalization in the social-democratic welfare regime. In Eastern European countries the efficiency effect is predominant. No globalization effect is found for the liberal and the southern welfare regimes. Our results indicate some convergence within Western Europe and a divergence between the East and the West of Europe. We stress the importance of disaggregating by welfare regimes when exploring the effects of globalization on public social protection expenditures. (author's abstract) / Series: Discussion Papers SFB International Tax Coordination

The new growth theory establishes, among other things, that government expenditure can manipulate economic growth of a country. This study attempts to explain whether government expenditure increases or decreases economic growth in the context of Sri Lanka. Results obtained applying an analytical framework based on time series and second degree polynomial regressions are generally consistent with previous findings: government expenditure and economic growth are positively correlated; excessive government expenditure is negatively correlated with economic growth; and an open economy promotes growth. In a separate section, the paper examines Armey's (1995) idea of a quadratic curve that explains the level of government expenditure in an economy and the corresponding level of economic growth. The findings confirm the possibility of constructing the Armey curve for Sri Lanka, and it estimates the optimal level of government expenditure to be approximately 27 per cent. This paper adds to the literature indicating that the Armey curve is a reality not only for developed economies, but also for developing economies.(author's abstract) / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers

Gegenstand dieser Dissertation ist die Rolle fiskalischen Stresses auf die Größe des Staatsausgabenmultiplikators. Hierbei werden zuerst die Folgen von empirisch identifizierten Staatsausgabenschocks in Italien untersucht. Dies geschieht sowohl in einem Zustand mit hohen Risikospreads auf Staatsanleihen, als auch in einem Zustand mit niedrigen Risikospreads. Das Resultat ist, dass kumulative Multiplikatoren kleiner sind, wenn das Ausfallrisiko von Staatsanleihen hoch ist. Zweitens erklärt die Dissertation dieses empirische Resultat im Rahmen eines DSGE Models. Im Model verdrängt ein Anstieg der Staatsausgaben private Investitionen. Der Verdrängungseffekt wird durch fragile Banken und die Rolle aggregierten Risikos ausreichend verstärkt, so dass fiskalischer Stress zu sehr kleinen oder sogar negativen Multiplikatoren führen kann. Zuletzt untersuche ich die Rolle fiskalischen Stresses auf den Staatsausgabenmultiplikator unter der Nebenbedingung, dass die nominale Zinsuntergrenze bei null bindet. In diesem Szenario kann sich der Effekt fiskalischen Stresses ins Gegenteil verkehren und der Staatsausgabenmultiplikator groß werden. / This thesis examines the role of fiscal stress on the size of the government spending multiplier. First, it explores the dynamic consequences of empirically identified government spending shocks in Italy in a regime with high sovereign bond yield spreads and a regime with low spreads. It finds that cumulative multipliers are lower when sovereign risk spreads are high. Secondly, the thesis explains the empirical result of small government spending multipliers in times of high levels of fiscal stress in the context of a DSGE Model. In this model, an increase in government spending crowds out private investment. A fragile banking sector and aggregate risk amplify the crowding out of investment sufficiently to imply small multipliers in the presence of fiscal stress. Finally, I analyze the role of fiscal stress on the multiplier, when the economy is at the zero lower bound for nominal interest rates and find that in this scenario, the effect of fiscal stress is reversed and the government spending multiplier is large.