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Living costs in Germany have surged since Russia’s attack on Ukraine. In this article, we discuss pros and cons of different government policies to protect affected citizens. There is a vast domain of possible relief options, each coming with its own trade-offs and design pitfalls. Information gaps in German public administration render desirable options like income and energy-use-contingent transfers administratively infeasible. These frictions should be addressed — if not for the present, then for the next crisis. With regard to other options, governments must be mindful to design policies that are well-targeted to people in need and that do not distort incentives to reduce energy consumption. Possibilities for that do exist.

Combining formal democracy, neoliberal capitalism, and conservative Islam, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) transformed state-society relations in Turkey dramatically after its first electoral victory in 2002. Yet the elections to be held on 14 May 2023 might mark the end of an era defined as the "New Turkey" by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan himself. There are three key catalysts here. Until recently, AKP pursued an economic growth model that brought together a ruling bloc consisting of various social forces and state actors. Simultaneously, it reproduced mass consent leading to consecutive electoral victories. Yet, the current economic crisis makes the maintenance of the incumbent party's electoral support extremely difficult. On 6 February, southern Turkey was struck by the deadliest earthquakes in the country's history. The government's highly politicised yet wholly inadequate management of the crisis exacerbated the earthquakes' adverse effects, harming Erdoğan's image and posing another challenge for the ruling coalition in the upcoming elections. Despite Erdoğan's frequent attempts to sow discord among his critics, the opposition seems to have learnt its lesson from past mistakes, uniting behind the main oppositional candidate, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who will significantly challenge the ruling coalition. The response of European politicians to Turkey's increasing authoritarianism in the recent past has not gone beyond expressing "deep concerns," focusing on short-term interests such as the containment of refugee flows and pursuing a transactional relationship with the incumbent president. The upcoming elections are a watershed moment for Turkey's threatened democratic institutions. European governments need to reconsider their approach, since a rules-based mode of engagement would benefit both the European Union and Turkish society in the long run.

The aim of this study is to analyse the role of social policies in different European welfare states regarding minimum income protection and active inclusion. The core focus lies on crisis resilience, i.e. the capacity of social policy arrangements to contain poverty and inequality and avoid exclusion before, during and after periods of economic shocks. To achieve this goal, the study expands its analytical focus to include other tiers of social protection, in particular upstream systems such as unemployment insurance, job retention and employment protection, as they play an additional and potentially prominent role in providing income and job protection in situations of crisis. A mixed-method approach is used that combines quantitative and qualitative research, such as descriptive and multivariate quantitative analyses, microsimulation methods and in-depth case studies. The study finds consistent differences in terms of crisis resilience across countries and welfare state types. In general, Nordic and Continental European welfare states with strong upstream systems and minimum income support (MIS) show better outcomes in core socio-economic outcomes such as poverty and exclusion risks. However, labour market integration shows some dualisms in Continental Europe. The study shows that MIS holds particular importance if there are gaps in upstream systems or cases of severe and lasting crises.

Das Abkommen, das die Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) und die äthiopische Regierung am 2. November 2022 unterschrieben haben, bietet eine reale Chance, einen der blutigsten Kriege weltweit zu beenden. Die Umsetzung der Vereinbarung verläuft bisher gut. Durch den Friedensprozess ist jedoch die Frage nach einer stabi­len Machtverteilung innerhalb Äthiopiens und am Horn von Afrika ins Blickfeld gerückt. Die Regierung unter Premierminister Abiy Ahmed steht vor drei zentralen Herausforderungen. Erstens muss sie die TPLF integrieren und sich gleichzeitig aus der Partnerschaft mit Eritrea lösen. Zweitens muss sie das innenpolitische Verhältnis der wichtigsten politischen Akteure neu austarieren, um eskalierende Gewalt in den Bundesstaaten Amhara und Oromia zu stoppen. Schließlich muss sie die durch den Krieg gespaltene und verarmte Gesellschaft wieder zusammenbringen. Internationale Partner sollten Äthiopien mit konditionierten Finanzhilfen und Projekten zur Frie­densförderung bei der Bewältigung dieser Herausforderungen unterstützen. (Autorenreferat)

Die letzten zwei Jahre waren geprägt durch die Covid-Pandemie. Es war eine der größten Herausforderungen für die österreichische Bundesregierung und die damit verbundene Erhaltung des Wirtschaftsstandorts Österreich. Um die wirtschaftlichen Folgen der Pandemie abzuschwächen und zur Rettung der Unternehmen beizutragen, wurden die Covid-Förderungen geschaffen. Diese Arbeit soll die einzelnen Förderungen im Zusammenhang mit der Covid-Pandemie erläutern sowie - zudem Aufschluss darüber geben, wie die ertragsteuerliche Behandlung vonstattengeht. In diesem Zuge soll erarbeitet werden, welche finanzstrafrechtlichen Konsequenzen möglich sind und welche Folgen ein bereits finanzstrafrechtlich vorbelastetes Unternehmen in diesem Zusammenhang auf die Gewährung von Beihilfen zu erwarten hat. Zu Beginn wird die Ausgangssituation der Pandemie geschildert. Es soll ein Verständnis geschaffen werden, warum derartige Beihilfen nötig waren, um die Folgen der schlimmsten Wirtschaftskrise nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg einzuschränken. Im Zuge dieser Arbeit soll die Covid-Finanzierungsagentur COFAG des Bundes beleuchtet werden, da diese für die Abwicklung der Förderungen verantwortlich ist und somit ein wichtiger Bestandteil diese Beihilfensystems darstellt. Näher betrachtet wird jede einzelne Förderung für sich. Mit besonderem Augenmerk werden begünstigte Unternehmen und Antragsvoraussetzungen unter die Lupe genommen, zudem die Ermittlung des Umsatzausfalles sowie die Berechnungsparameter der Zuschüsse erläutert. Weiteres wird als Hauptaugenmerk die steuerliche Behandlung der jeweiligen Unterstützungen thematisiert und abschließend ein Zusammenspiel der unterschiedlichen Zuschüsse behandelt. Nach ausreichender Erläuterung der einzelnen Beihilfen soll diese Arbeit Antwort auf die Frage von etwaigen Konsequenzen bei missbräuchlicher Inanspruchnahme von COVID-19-Fördermaßnahmen geben. Im Zusammenhang damit wird eine Sequenz des Wohlverhaltensgesetzes erklärt, welches die Rechtsgrundlage für einen Ausschluss von Förderungen schafft. The last two years have been marked by the Covid pandemic. It was one of the biggest challenges for the Austrian Federal Government and the associated preservation of Austria as a business location. In order to mitigate the economic consequences of the pandemic and help save companies, the Covid funding was created. The aim of this paper is to explain the individual funding of the Covid pandemic – and to provide information on how the income tax treatment is carried out. In this context, the aim is to determine the possible consequences of financial criminal law and the consequences that a company already subject to financial criminal law can expect to have on the granting of aid in this context. The initial situation of the pandemic is described. The aim is to create an understanding of why such aid was necessary in order to mitigate the consequences of the worst economic crisis since the Second World War. In the course of this work, the Covid funding agency COFAG of the federal government is to be illuminated, as it is responsible for the processing of the grants and thus represents an important component of this subsidy system. Each individual grant is examined in more detail. Particular attention is paid to the beneficiary companies and the application conditions, as well as to the determination of the loss of turnover and the calculation parameters of the grants. Furthermore, the main focus is on the tax treatment of the respective grants and finally on the interaction of the different grants. The aim of this study is to provide an answer to the question of possible consequences in the event of financial offences. In this context, a sequence of the rule for good conduct is explained, which creates the legal basis for the exclusion of funding.

The agreement signed by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethio­pian government on 2 November 2022 offers a real chance to end one of the bloodiest wars in the world. The implementation of the agreement is going well so far. How­ever, the peace process has brought into focus the question of a stable distribution of power within Ethiopia and in the Horn of Africa. The government under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed faces three key challenges. First, it must integrate the TPLF and at the same time disengage from the partnership with Eritrea. Second, it must rebalance the domestic relationship between the main political actors in order to stop the escalating violence in the states of Amhara and Oromia. Finally, it must bring together a society divided and impoverished by war. International partners should support Ethiopia in addressing these challenges with conditional financial assistance and peacebuilding projects. (author's abstract)

Die Ampelkoalition steht nach einem Regierungsjahr vor großen Herausforderungen. Der Krieg in der Ukraine und die steigenden Preise insbesondere im Bereich der Energie machen den Deutschen Sorgen und sie erwarten unterstützende Maßnahmen des Staates. Eine empirische Analyse der Forderungen der Wähler:innen nach Umverteilungsmaßnahmen während der Energiekrise in Deutschland zeigt allerdings Merkmale inkonsistenter Präferenzen. An empirical analysis of voters' demands for redistributive measures during the energy crisis in Germany reveals three characteristic features of inconsistent preferences. First, although people favour targeted support for the disadvantaged, they deviate from this principle when confronted with policy proposals. Second, policies are often evaluated along party preferences, thus contradicting the exclusion of higher-income classes from support policies. Third, drawing on the Sinus-Milieu model, we identify different mentalities that lead to disapproval of the attitudes towards the disadvantaged. We conclude that managing expectations through policies and fostering personal responsibility on the part of both beneficiaries and benefactors of the welfare state will be crucial for successful future transition policies.

In this paper, we analyse the interregional migration of Spanish-born young adults by educational attainment and explore unemployment and over-education in the labour market among internal migrants and sedentary individuals with a university degree. We used register data of population movements from 2000 to 2018 to analyse internal migration patterns and the Labour Force Survey to study the educational attainment of migrants, as well as unemployment rates and over-education among college graduates. Our results indicate a regional polarisation after the economic crisis. Peripheral regions in the interior of Spain have been affected by an increasing exodus of university graduates, in addition to high levels of unemployment and over-education among individuals with a university degree who remain at origin. However, peripheral regions in the north-west and south of Spain have been less affected by out-migration, even though the south has shown higher levels of unemployment for college graduates. The central region of Madrid has emerged as the main destination for university graduates, with a large capacity to employ populations with university education from other regions. Semi-central regions of the Mediterranean and north-east of Spain retain local college graduates and exhibit good labour market conditions among residents with a university degree, but they are not destinations of individuals with university education from other regions.

Gesellschaftliche Umbrüche bedeuten für Migrierende und ihre Familien eine besondere Herausforderung; zusätzlich zur meist notwendigen Neuaushandlung der Beziehungen nach der Migration eines Familienmitglieds. Die biographisch angelegte Fallstudie untersucht diesen Prozess in grenzübergreifend organisierten ecuadorianischen Familien und schaut besonders auf sich verschiebende Machtbalancen. Die Bedeutung der jüngsten Wirtschaftskrise im Ankunftsland Spanien wird dabei vor dem Hintergrund eines mehrere Jahrzehnte andauernden familialen Wandlungsprozesses erschlossen. Im Ergebnis erweist sich die Krise als weniger einschneidend wie zuvor angenommen, wobei die Resilienz familialer Machtverhältnisse als ambivalent bewertet wird.

The coronavirus crisis has led to a sharp increase in the debt-to-GDP ratios of the euro area member states. Without external support, access to the capital market could be seriously threatened in the medium term for Italy, but also for other member states. While the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme, which is designed as a monetary policy instrument, is regarded by some as a violation of the prohibition of monetary financing, the Next Generation EU recovery fund is likely to direct the fundamental structures of the European Union towards a fiscal union with considerable redistribution elements. This article analyses an alternative strategy, namely debt relief by the European System of Central Banks through an EU debt agency. Such a scheme would be possible without amending the EU treaties and would avoid negative equity at the central banks. The question is under what circumstances would this approach be suitable and proportionate?

Wirtschaftliche Krisen begleiten die Menschheit seit vielen Jahrhunderten und beeinflussen die Gesellschaft maßgeblich. Die seit Ende 2019 anhaltende Corona-Pandemie hat in den vergangenen Monaten bzw. Jahren nicht nur in Österreich, sondern auf der ganzen Welt starke wirtschaftlichen Einschnitte hervorgerufen. Aus diesem Grund hat die österreichische Bundesregierung seit dem Ausbruch des Virus in Europa einige Hilfspakete geschnürt, um die heimische Wirtschaft zu stabilisieren. Wie die Hilfspakete den Unternehmen geholfen haben und welchen Beitrag diese zur Überwindung der Krise leisteten, wurde im Zuge einer qualitativen Befragung von österreichischen produzierenden Getränkebetrieben erhoben. Zum einen haben die befragten Personen bestätigen können, dass die Betriebe ohne der Corona-Kurzarbeit Mitarbeiter bzw. Mitarbeiterinnen kündigen hätten müssen. Zum anderen konnte festgehalten werden, dass die von der Regierung versprochene rasche und unbürokratische Hilfe von den Unternehmen nicht erkennbar war. Für zukünftige Hilfspakete ist es wichtig, Personen bzw. Unternehmen aus der Praxis miteinzubeziehen, wie diesen am sinnvollsten geholfen werden kann. *****Economic crises have been accompanying humanity for many centuries and have had considerable impact on society. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has left big economic incisions not only in Austria, but all over the world during the past months and years. Due to this, the Austrian government has come up with several economic aid measures to stabilise the national economy since the outbreak of the virus in Europe. This paper examines how these measures have been helping businesses and what they have contributed to overcoming the crisis. This was done via a qualitative survey carried out amongst Austrian beverage producers. For one, the people surveyed have confirmed that without short-time work they would have had to let employees go. That being said, it can be noted that the fast and unbureaucratic help that had been

The development of a common standard of consumption is one goal of the ongoing harmonization of the EU member states’ economies. As a result, the degree to which household deprivation affects people’s economic stress should converge. Based on comparison theory, such convergence could be one indicator for Europe growing together (‘Europeanization’). The association between deprivation and economic stress is tested across and between 28 EU countries with EU-SILC data. Moreover, it is examined whether this association changed between 2007 and 2015, as the great recession starting in 2008 affected European countries differently. The results show that, given a certain level of household deprivation, people judge their situation differently across Europe. Whereas economic stress levels are higher in relatively poor countries, the deprivation-stress link is stronger in rich countries. Across-time comparisons suggest no decline in the extent to which a country’s deprivation level moderated the effect of household deprivation on economic stress. The findings support the persistence of national reference groups against which individuals judge their own economic situation.

The question of how rising atavistic nationalism will affect democracies worldwide is an essential one of our time. In this paper, I focus instead on conducting a comparative historical analysis of atavistic nationalism in two unrecognized states: North Cyprus and Taiwan. I argue that the democratic crisis of our times is, in its essence, economic and has been precipitated by the failure of democracies to build domestic capacities to support democratic values. Furthermore, I posit that engaging populaces at the local political level will prove essential to preserving democracies around the world. I conclude by underlining that atavistic nationalism is indeed a significant threat to regional and global peace and requires further co-operation on trade and governance, and should be engaged at the local level. Lastly, I suggest that co-creating local cultures that will act to soften atavistic nationalism, which feeds off the perception of threats and fear.

Economic recovery post-COVID-19 will be structured around answering a number of fundamental questions. It is necessary to take stock of the extent of the recovery and of the transformation our economies have experienced in the last year and a half.

First published online: 18 December 2019 This article links the consequences of the Great Recession on protest and electoral politics. It innovates by combining the literature on economic voting with social movement research and by presenting the first integrated, large‐scale empirical analysis of protest mobilisation and electoral outcomes in Europe. The economic voting literature offers important insights on how and under what conditions economic crises play out in the short‐run. However, it tends to ignore the closely connected dynamics of opposition in the two arenas and the role of protests in politicising economic grievances. More specifically, it is argued that economic protests act as a ‘signalling mechanism’ by attributing blame to decision makers and by highlighting the political dimension of deteriorating economic conditions. Ultimately, massive protest mobilisation should, thus, amplify the impact of economic hardship on the electoral losses of incumbents and mainstream parties more generally. The empirical analysis to study this relationship relies on an original semi‐automated protest event dataset combined with an updated dataset of electoral outcomes in 30 European countries from 2000 to 2015. The results indicate that the dynamics of economic protests and electoral punishment are closely related and point to a destabilisation of European party systems during the Great Recession.