Policy Work

From The Cliff to The Top: The Path to a Resilient and Sustainable Europe [with Chi Hyun Kim and Anna Gibert (European Parliament, Monetary Dialogue Papers, March 2021)]
Avoiding cliff effects during the COVID-aftermath requires a combination of decisive and long-lasting fiscal stimuli with an accommodating monetary stance, as well as a renewed European strategy that presents a unified fiscal policy, growth-enhancing investments, and a green modernisation of the economy.

Negative Einkommensteuer: Faire Alternative [Wirtschaftsdienst, 2020, Heft 5, S. 312)]
Vor dem Hintergrund Corona-Krise kann es nur sinnvoll sein, über stärkere automatische Stabilisatoren zu verfügen, statt unter Zugzwang Programme mit heißer Nadel zu stricken. Eine negative Einkommensteuer würde – wie ein Airbag – blitzschnell, aber nur im Notfall aktiviert werden.

Fix the Supply Side! Demand Stimulus Will Not Cure What Ails/Corona-Krise: (Wirtschafts-) politische Perspektiven [with Patrick Christian Harms (Wirtschaftsdienst, 2020, Heft 4, S. 266-271)]
A suppression of the virus remains the best solution for the crisis. Supply will suffer as long the virus persists. Until then, demand side measures will not cure the epidemic. Coordinated measures for business that ensure compliance and European debt instruments may be part of a strategy to solve the crisis.

Handlungsspielraum der EZB – von Zinspolitik bis Helikoptergeld [with Lea Steininger (DIW Roundup 134, 2019)]
Dieser Round-up bietet einen Überblick über die Handlungsmöglichkeiten der EZB. Die EZB hat ihren Spielraum noch nicht voll ausgeschöpft und verfügt über ein Repertoire vielversprechender Instrumente, die bisher noch unerprobt sind.
Related Publication: derstandard.de

The Implications of Removing Repo Assets from the Leverage Ratio [with Michael Grill and Claudia Lambert (ECB, Macroprudential Bulletin, 2018, Issue 6))]
This article summaries the key findings from a counterfactual exercise where the effect of removing repo assets from the leverage ratio on banks’ default probabilities is considered. The findings suggest that granting such an exemption may have adverse effects on the stability of the financial system, even when measures are introduced to compensate for the decline in capital required by the leverage ratio framework.

Small is beautiful? Capital market funding for sub-sovereign authorities on the rise [with Frank Zipfel and Stefan Vetter (Deutsche Bank EU Monitor, 2014)]
This article provides an overview of the sub-sovereign bond market and fiscal federalism during debt crisis in Europe. The market for sub-sovereign bonds is dominated by Germany’s subordinate levels of government, which alone constitute 72% of the total volume. From 2011 onwards many of Spain’s autonomous communities were effectively cut off from the capital market and even more solvent regions could only obtain short-term, excessively costly funding. In centralized France the importance of the regional level is relatively small, but issuance by the municipalities via the newly established Agence France Locale is likely to increase in the coming years.