Slovak economic think tank INESS prepared updated version of the Universe of Public Expenditures, a visual feature at The Price of the State (SVK and ENG version). Majority of population (and voters as well) have only very limited knowledge how much money they contribute to online casino the state and how the money joyce”s driving school is proud to provide quality driver”s education in barrington, crystal lake, mchenry, palatine, hoffman estates, fox river grove, cary,…

France makes promises and Commission is happy. Will Spain get gifts during the weekend? Be careful about your language, there is always somebody listening. Is euro a dogma? Will it rain dollars or are we facing a dry summer? Silvio is joking  again. In a detailed analysis of French public finances, the European Commission expressed concern if the country will be able to fulfill the deficit target  3% of GDP in the year 2013 and it warned…

Tax Freedom Day that is calculated and promoted by Liberalni Institut every year in the Czech Republic, was celebrated on Saturday, 9th June 2012. This result indicates six-day improvement compared to the last year, i.e. the Czech taxpayers must work 160 days to cover expenditures of the general government. In 2011, the obligation was 165 days (one day difference is due to leap-year). Tax Freedom Day is an indicator that divides the year into two…

The European Central Bank (ECB) published its Convergence Report(2012), in which it evaluates the progress of the members states that have committed themselves to joining the euro by following the convergence criteria, better known as the “Maastricht” criteria. At this point in time, Bulgaria has passed the requirements for deficit, debt, inflation and long-term interest rates, but this does not mean automatically that the road to the euro is open. What is more important, the…

Two years ago, here in Wrocław [at Wrocław Global Forum], you called United States and Europe “G2 of the world” and today you referred to them as “catamaran on stormy waters”, so I was wondering if you think that we can observe serious, permanent shift of power in contemporary world or just this storm that is going to pass? Well, I hope it’s a storm that is going to pass and I hope that we…

Greek run continues – sPain or sPanic? Fiscal rules will be strict. Right after exemptions for Spain, Italy…Will Spiderman save the banks? Can somebody who doesn’t pay taxes criticize others for not paying taxes? Who works the hardest in the EU? Will Greeks unveil the European bluff? Jogging on banks in peripheries continues. EUR 31 billion (1.9%) were withdrawn from Spain in April. Portuguese central bank also warns against possible withdrawal of the deposits from…

On April 16th 2012 the Institute for Market Economics (IME) released a report, analyzing the current regulatory framework and policies for the integration of people with disabilities. The report also proposes positive reform measures that, we believe, will better serve the purpose of full-fledged inclusion of such individuals. The full text (in Bulgarian) is available here. According to the National Social Security Institute (NSSI), annual expenditure on disability pensions financed by the National Social Security…

In response to the on-going financial crisis in the euro zone, LFMI, a leading economic policy think-tank in Lithuania, has worked out and submitted to responsible institutions a plan which would help countries exiting the euro zone to build stable and sound money. LFMI‘s proposal can be also used by the euro zone when attempting to strengthen the euro and to restore people‘s confidence in the single currency. The persisting crisis of euro zone state…

An answer to this rather broad question is one of the issues that formed the subject of Alexander Fink´s presentation during the discussion forum on the topic of “East German Transformation and German Public Finance” organised by Liberalni Institut on Wednesday, March 14, 2012.  Before we are able to even tackle this question, it is necessary to put it in to proper context. The first issue that Mr. Fink discussed was the method of evaluation…