News
31.05.2022 - How can taxes and special levies regulate human behaviour? And how should the resulting revenue be used? In FiFo Discussion Paper 22-3, Dieter Ewringmann and Klaus Mackscheidt analyse these questions with a view to the longstanding debate in public economics. For Germany, they recommend a CO2 levy that finances a compensation fund.
13.05.2022 - Congratulations to Martin Werding for his nomination to the Council of Economic Experts! His great expertise on the sustainability of fiscal policy and social protection will be a welcome addition to the work of the "Economic Wise Persons". See Martin Werding's work e.g. in FiFo Report No. 29 and in the newly published book "Deutschland und sein Geld" (Germany and its Money).
06.05.2022 - Public finances between ambition, day-to-day life and the crises are presented in the new book published by Jens Bullerjahn, Michael Thöne and Ringo Wagner. A wealth of perspectives from politics, academia and practitioners are brought together on 720 pages in 41 essays and 16 conversations with Olaf Scholz and many others. A very personal exchange between Jens Bullerjahn and Michael Thöne. Furthermore, there are contributions from FiFo by Eva Gerhards, Klaus Mackscheidt and a few more by Michael Thöne. More on that soon. The free digital book (in German) is available here; the free print version will follow in a few weeks.
29.04.2022 - "The more the better'' often is the motto of fiscal policy in crisis management. Which expenditures contribute to long-term goals and which, at worst, create burdens for the future is of secondary importance. Such differences in the quality of public finances, however, offer the starting point for improving governments’ performance and resilience without undermining the intergenerational sustainability of public finances. In FiFo Discussion Paper 22-2, Michael Thöne reviews the concept of the "Quality of Public Finances" (GPF) and discusses its contributions for the 2020s policies.
23.02.2022 - Biontech's profits create tax gains worth billions. The state of Rhineland-Palatinate even becomes a payer state in the federal-state fiscal equalisation system. Model calculations show a paradoxical drop of revenues in the short term, but more important is the possibly permanent shift of power in federal finances, Michael Thöne explains in the Handelsblatt. This will considerably shorten the time until the finely balanced construct needs to be revamped.