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This article critically assesses the division that the recent decisions of the European Commission in the field of State aid have exposed between the EU and the U.S. It examines how the two legal orders address the issue of government subsidies and explores the reasons for their different approach. It argues that State aid law has become increasingly important as a competition policy issue and its enforcement is much more aggressive compared to the past. The article tries to untangle the longterm effect that the recent cases of fiscal aid will have for the tax relationship between the U.S. and the EU. Finally the article concludes with some tentative solutions and stresses the importance of international cooperation in the field of taxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article demonstrates that tax avoidance via controlled foreign companies (CFCs) established in the most favourable tax environments among EU Member States such as Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Cyprus, remains a considerable problem. Not only does it affect taxpaying residents in the Member States but, indirectly, all taxpayers regardless of their EU affiliation, US multinational enterprises (MNEs), for example. Focusing on the use Polish taxpayers make of CFCs, this study undertakes a detailed legal analysis of the problem of tax avoidance under EU law by examining empirical data and EU law on tax avoidance. The choice of this topic is largely justified by the exponential rise in tax avoidance schemes through CFCs involving Polish taxpayers since the country's accession to the EU. The legal analysis brings to light a series of weaknesses in the current EU law that make it possible for both EU and non-EU taxpayers to avoid taxation. As a solution to this problem, the author suggests that CFC rules should be designed so as to tax only "tax avoidance income" from CFCs. This would ensure their compliance with EU law as well as an effective prevention of tax avoidance via CFCs within the framework of EU law. Interestingly, the solution follows from the author's interpretation of the concept of "wholly artificial arrangements" in favour of the internal market rather than from Action 3 of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project or Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive as adopted by the Council on 12 July 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing studies have found only limited empirical evidence of welfare state convergence. Moreover, although there are good theoretical reasons both for and against welfare state convergence, there are virtually no studies that have explicitly tested the assumed effects. We argue that the concept of conditional convergence helps to both better describe and explain the phenomenon. By applying error correction models, we examine conditional convergence of various types of social expenditure in 21 OECD countries between 1980 and 2005. Our empirical findings go beyond the existing literature in two respects. First, we show that there is very strong evidence of convergence across all categories of social expenditure when conditional factors are taken into account. Second, we demonstrate that the speed of convergence is highly driven by globalization and European Union membership and shaped by existing welfare state structures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Two alternate visions for shaping and explaining the governance of economic globalization have been in competition for the past 20 years: an ad hoc, laissez-faire vision promoted by the United States versus a managed vision relying on multilateral rules and international organizations promoted by the European Union. Although the American vision prevailed in the past decade, the current worldwide crisis gives a new life and legitimacy to the European vision. This essay explores how this European vision, often referred to as 'managed globalization', has been conceived and implemented and how the rules that Europe fashioned in trade and finance actually shaped the world economy. In doing so, we highlight the paradox that managed globalization has been a force for liberalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We eat more food, burn more energy and build more things than we ever have. This scarcity of resources unfolds against a backdrop of seemingly countless bouts of extreme weather on every continent placing unprecedented strain on affected communities, as well as ongoing threats to the security and stability of nations placing unprecedented strain on governments required to meet those threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses presuppositions in higher education policy documents of the OECD and the European Union from the point of view of their persuasiveness. Presuppositions set the assumed common ground, which in turn sets the frame of interpretation of texts. However, by presenting something as common ground, presuppositions also shape our views of the reality. Used in this way, presuppositions can be used to present contested views, which would be open to criticism if they were asserted explicitly. The analysis does not evaluate the actual success of persuasion, but rather how policy documents are construed in a persuasive way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subsidies have become increasingly important tools of industrial policy due to the gradual liberalization of trade and finance. However, there is considerable variation in the level of subsidies granted by governments of industrialized countries. This article explores domestic and international factors that affect levels of government support to industry in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in the period 1989 to 1995. The results indicate that higher unemployment leads to higher levels of subsidies, while European Union membership and high levels of economic openness lead to lower levels of subsidies. Contrary to theoretical expectations, upcoming elections are associated with lower levels of subsidies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]