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151. What reforms for the credit rating industry? A European perspective

Author:
Karel Lannoo
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Credit rating agencies (CRAs) continue to find themselves in the eye of the storm. Despite having singled out the industry early on in the financial crisis as needing more regulation, policy-makers seem not to be reassured by the measures that have been adopted in the meantime, and want to go further. Faced with a rapid downgrading in ratings in the context of the sovereign debt crisis, European Commissioner Michel Barnier raised the possibility last May of creating a new EU-level rating agency that would specialise in sovereign debt.
Topic:
Global Recession, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe

152. The Political Future of Afghanistan

Author:
Radha Kumar, Fabrice Pothier, and Waliullah Rahmani
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Since the Obama administration set 2011 as the date for withdrawal from Afghanistan, speculation has been rife on whether and how the deadline will be met. Although this date is actually fuzzy – it is doubtful whether 2011 will see even the beginning of an American drawdown – it has focused attention on the critical issues for stabilisation in Afghanistan that have remained unaddressed over the past nine years.
Topic:
Security, Islam, War, Armed Struggle, and Insurgency
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Asia

153. The Place of Religion in European Union Law and Policy: Competing Approaches and Actors inside the European Commission

Author:
Sergio Carrera and Joanna Parkin
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
While the EU has no explicit legal competence in the sphere of religion and the management of relations with faith communities, religious concerns have taken on increasing importance within the legal and institutional framework and policy discourses of the European Union in the last years. This paper provides an overview of how religion and issues of religious diversity are being framed and addressed in EU law and policy by undertaking a critical analysis of the ways in which EU law and policy deal with, engage and understand religion at the policy level of the European Commission. Through an examination of EU legislation and both formal and informal policy initiatives in the fields of citizenship and fundamental rights, non-discrimination, immigration and integration, social inclusion and education and culture, this paper demonstrates that there is a complex and highly heterogeneous patchwork of EU normative approaches delineating the relationship between religion and the EU. These competing framings, very much rooted in the institutional structures of the Commission services, have important implications for discretionary power and sovereignty of the EU member states and for the coherence of European Union policies.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation and Law
Political Geography:
Europe

154. The same old modernisation game? Russian interpretations of modernisation

Author:
Roderick Kefferpütz and Félix Krawatzek
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The modernisation of Russia has been a topic of vigorous debate for centuries. It has also been an intensely divisive issue among Russia's elite, and since President Dmitry Medvedev came to power, modernisation has become the leitmotif of the presidency. The global economic crisis hit Russia hard, meaning that the status quo in political, economic and social terms is no longer acceptable. However, there are a number of competing visions on modernisation within the Russian political elite and society as a whole. This Working Document aims to illustrate the diversity of and competition for the dominance of views on Russia's future. In a second step, authors Félix Krawatzek, Visiting Researcher at CEPS and Roderick Kefferpütz, Associate Research Fellow, analyse the obstacles to a successful realisation of the ambitious modernisation agenda and outline the implications for the new EU-Russia modernisation partnership.
Topic:
Economics and Globalization
Political Geography:
Russia and Europe

155. What kind of governance for the eurozone?

Author:
Paul De Grauwe
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The survival of the eurozone hinges on the capacity of its leaders to improve its governance. This has become very clear since the eruption of the government debt crisis in the eurozone in 2009, which can be said to result from a failure of economic governance. In order to answer the question of how the economic governance of the eurozone should be reformed, we should first make a diagnosis of the crisis in which the eurozone has been mired since 2009.
Topic:
Economics, Regional Cooperation, and Governance
Political Geography:
Europe

156. Has the financial crisis spurred demand for stronger state regulation?

Author:
Felix Roth
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This paper analyses whether the financial crisis has affected citizens' confidence in the free market economy and whether it has triggered citizens' demand for a free market economy with stronger state regulations. Using panel data, the paper confirms that citizens' confidence levels in the free market economy have decreased in most of the largest economies and demand for a free market economy with stronger state regulation has increased on both sides of the Atlantic. After analysing the determinants for citizens' confidence in the free market economy and demand for a free market economy with stronger state regulation before and after the financial crisis, the author concludes that citizens' net confidence loss in the free market economy seems to have been driven by rising unemployment rates, and citizens' demand for stronger state regulation seems to have been driven by the real economic downturn in GDP growth.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, Monetary Policy, Financial Crisis, and Governance
Political Geography:
Europe

157. Politicians Online! MEP Communication Strategies in the Internet Era

Author:
Stefano Braghiroli
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The last decades have witnessed a dramatic growth of internet-based communication. This phenomenon and its still partially unexplored potential have increasingly attracted the attention of a growing number of political entrepreneurs. This paper analyses to what extent it has characterised vertical communication between politicians and voters looking at a very particular group: the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
Topic:
Politics, Regional Cooperation, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Europe

158. Fiscal Policy Coordination and Competitiveness Surveillance: What solutions to what problems?

Author:
Daniel Gros and Cinzia Alcidi
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
In June 2010, both the European Commission and the European Central Bank published documents containing ideas for enhancing European economic governance. Both proposals stress the need for stronger surveillance on a country-by-country basis and the effective enforcement of surveillance through incentives and a wider spectrum of sanctions.
Topic:
Economics, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe

159. Does intangible capital affect economic growth?

Author:
Felix Roth and Anna-Elisabeth Thum
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Using new international comparable data on intangible capital investment by business within a panel analysis from 1995-2005 in an EU-15 country sample, we detect a positive and significant relationship between intangible capital investment by business and labour productivity growth. This relationship is cross-sectional in nature and proves to be robust to a range of alterations. Our empirical analysis confirms previous findings that the inclusion of business intangible capital investment into the asset boundary of the national accounting framework increases the rate of change of output per worker more rapidly. In addition, intangible capital is able to explain a significant portion of the unexplained international variance in labour productivity growth and when incorporating business intangibles, capital deepening becomes an even more significant source of growth. The relationship is slightly stronger in the time period 1995-2000 and seems to be driven by the coordinated countries within the EU-15.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe

160. Do the European Union's bilateral investment treaties matter?

Author:
Selen Sarisoy Guerin
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Several policy-relevant issues regarding the EU's bilateral investment treaties (BITS) are addressed in this paper. First and foremost, we explore the question of whether EU's BITs have a significantly positive impact on outflows or not. Second, we ask the question which member states and which BIT partners have had a significant experience after the implementation of the BIT. In our sample we find that both OECD BITs and EU BITs have a statistically significant and positive impact on FDI outflows. This result is robust to the inclusion of variables such as privatisation proceeds that control for the level of economic reform, the level of trade linkages, the level of democratic freedom and a measure of risk of expropriation among other standard controls. We control for endogeneity in our estimations by using the fixed-effects estimator as our preferred estimator on a large panel dataset. We also test the strict exogeneity of our results by using a method suggested by Baier and Bergstrand (2007) and we find no feedback effect in our sample.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe