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Vierzig Jahre Schengen: Vom Integrationsprojekt zur Dauerbaustelle im Schatten der EU-Asylpolitik
No full textVierzig Jahre nach Unterzeichnung ist mit dem Schengener Übereinkommen eines der erfolgreichsten Projekte europäischer Integration mit einem Paradox konfrontiert: Trotz zahlreicher Reformen, die der Stärkung des Außengrenzschutzes und des europäischen Asylsystems dienen sollen, halten zentrale Mitgliedstaaten unbeirrt an nationalen Binnengrenzkontrollen fest. Deutschland nimmt in dieser Entwicklung eine fragwürdige Vorreiterrolle ein. Es hat im September 2024 Kontrollen an den Grenzen zu allen seinen Nachbarn eingeführt und diese im Mai 2025 durch die systematische Zurückweisung von Asylsuchenden verschärft. Diese Maßnahmen konterkarieren das Kernversprechen Schengens - die Schaffung eines Raumes ohne Grenzkontrollen. Treibende Kraft dieser Erosion ist das ungelöste Problem der irregulären Migration, die das politische Vertrauen zwischen den Mitgliedstaaten kontinuierlich aushöhlt. Schengen droht in der Folge zu einer Dauerbaustelle zu werden, weil nationalen Sicherheitsinteressen Vorrang vor gemeinsamen Regeln gegeben wird
Automatischer Informationsaustausch über Auslandsvermögen funktioniert, doch Regierungen sind bei Transparenz zögerlich
Get PDFMit dem 2013 eingeführten automatischen Informationsaustausch über Finanzkonten im Rahmen des Common Reporting Standard (CRS) gelang den G20-Staaten ein Durchbruch bei der Bekämpfung internationaler Steuerhinterziehung. Der vorliegende Bericht veröffentlicht erstmals gesammelte Statistiken über die von 16 Ländern im Rahmen des CRS erhaltenen Informationen. Diese decken etwa 30 Prozent der laut OECD im Jahr 2022 ausgetauschten Informationen ab. Detailliertere von Dänemark, Deutschland, Spanien, Slowenien und dem Vereinigten Königreich bereitgestellte Daten zeigen, dass Auslandsvermögen stärker in Finanzzentren wie Luxemburg oder Schweiz konzentriert sind und dort häufig von passiven Firmenkonstrukten gehalten werden. Die über den CRS gemeldeten Haushaltsvermögen in Finanzzentren sind allerdings mindestens 30 Prozent niedriger, als bisherige Schätzungen über Offshore-Vermögen nahelegten, was als Hinweis auf Untererfassung gewertet werden könnte. Die gemeldeten Trefferquoten der Finanzbehörden deuten auf eine gute Qualität und Verarbeitung der CRS-Daten hin. Bei über Unternehmensstrukturen gehaltenen Konten, die mit einem höheren Steuerhinterziehungsrisiko verbunden sind, besteht jedoch noch Verbesserungsbedarf. Die Politik sollte die Steuerbehörden bei der Datenverarbeitung umfassend unterstützen und mehr Transparenz über Auslandsvermögen und die Effektivität des Informationsaustauschs herstellen
A hybrid patch decomposition approach to compute an enclosure for multi-objective mixed-integer convex optimization problems
No full textIn multi-objective mixed-integer convex optimization, multiple convex objective functions need to be optimized simultaneously while some of the variables are restricted to take integer values. In this paper, we present a new algorithm to compute an enclosure of the nondominated set of such optimization problems. More precisely, we decompose the multi-objective mixed-integer convex optimization problem into several multi-objective continuous convex optimization problems, which we refer to as patches. We then dynamically compute and improve coverages of the nondominated sets of those patches to finally combine them to obtain an enclosure of the nondominated set of the multi-objective mixed-integer convex optimization problem. Additionally, we introduce a mechanism to reduce the number of patches that need to be considered in total. Our new algorithm is the first of its kind and guaranteed to return an enclosure of prescribed quality within a finite number of iterations. For selected numerical test instances we compare our new criterion space based approach to other algorithms from the literature and show that much larger instances can be solved with our new algorithm
Welfare Conditionality in the OECD and in Latin America: A Comparative Perspective
Get PDFCash benefit programmes have increasingly emphasised conditionality and "demanding" forms of activation in recent decades. Behavioural requirements are now a key element in reforms of unemployment benefits (UB) and related out-of-work benefits in high-income OECD countries, and they are the defining feature of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs in many emerging economies, notably in Latin America (LA). In existing research, developments in the two regions have been studied separately from each other, limiting our understanding of commonalities and differences as inputs into policy debates and theory development. We address this gap using three comparative and longitudinal databases on benefit conditionality rules and policy trajectories in Europe, North America, Australasia, and LA. Behavioural requirements varied markedly across regions. They were initially less stringent for LA's CCTs than for UB programmes in OECD countries, but the gap has narrowed as requirements in LA's CCT programmes became more demanding. The strictness of requirements was more volatile in LA than in other regions. Although strictness initially varied strongly across LA, the region recently saw faster convergence than high-income OECD countries
Costs associated with insufficient physical activity in Germany: cross-sectional results from the baseline examination of the German national cohort (NAKO)
Get PDFBackground: Insufficient physical activity (PA) is a leading risk factor for non-communicable diseases posing a significant economic burden to healthcare systems and societies. The study aimed to examine the differences in healthcare and indirect costs between sufficient and insufficient PA and the cost differences between PA intensity groups. Methods: The cross-sectional analysis was based on data from 157,648 participants in the baseline examination of the German National Cohort (NAKO) study. Healthcare and indirect costs were calculated based on self-reported information on health-related resource use and productivity losses. PA in the domains leisure, transport, and work was assessed by the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire and categorized into sufficient/insufficient and intensity levels (very low/low/medium/high) based on PA recommendations of the World Health Organization. Two-part models adjusted for relevant covariates were used to estimate mean costs for PA groups. Results and conclusion: Insufficiently active people had higher average annual healthcare costs (Δ €188, 95% CI [64, 311]) and healthcare plus indirect costs (Δ €482, 95% CI [262, 702]) compared to sufficiently active people. The difference was especially evident in the population aged 60 + years and when considering only leisure PA. An inverse association was observed between leisure PA and costs, whereas a direct association was found between PA at work and costs. Adjusting for the number of comorbidities reduced the differences between activity groups, but the trend persisted. The association between PA and costs differed in direction between PA domains. Future research may provide further insight into the temporal relationship between PA and costs
Social mobility and economic development
No full textWe explore the relationship between social mobility and economic development. First, we map the geography of intergenerational mobility in education for 52 Latin American regions, and examine its evolution over time. Then, through a new weighting procedure considering the level of participation of various cohorts in the economy in each year, we estimate the association between changes in mobility and regional economic indicators, such as income per capita, inequality, poverty, labor formality, and luminosity. Our findings show that increasing social mobility is consistently associated with economic development and growth in Latin America
Persistence and Nonlinearities in the US Federal Funds Rate
No full textThis paper examines persistence and nonlinearities in the US Federal Funds rate over the period from July 1954 to April 2025 by using fractional integration methods. More precisely, a general model including both deterministic and stochastic components is estimated under alternative assumptions concerning the error term (white noise and autocorrelation), and both linear and a nonlinear specification (the latter based on Chebyshev polynomials) are considered. The empirical results provide evidence of mean reversion but also of high persistence when allowing for autocorrelation in the errors. Moreover, they point towards significant nonlinearities in the stochastic behaviour of the series. Both are important properties of the Federal Funds rate, mainly reflecting underlying inflation persistence and policy shifts respectively
The power of the “weak” and international organizations
No full textBy nearly every measure, power in the international system is concentrated, meaning that most states lack significant power resources. And yet international relations theory tends to focus on the behavior of great powers. This special issue instead explores the strategies that “weak” states use in the context of international organizations both to advance their interests and to resist pressure from stronger states. We define weakness as a relative lack of power across one or more dimensions. While the literature, to the extent it has focused on weak actors, has too often defined weakness solely in material terms, we adopt a broader conception that builds on the influential typology of power by Barnett and Duvall (Barnett and Duvall, 2005a , Barnett and Duvall, International Organization 59 , 39–75, 2005b ). A multidimensional conceptualization of power allows analysts to show how actors that are weak in one dimension (often material power) may be stronger on other dimensions, giving them greater capacity for action than is often recognized. From this framework we create a typology of “strategies of the weak” that emphasizes the agency of weaker actors to make the most of their positions. The contributions to the special issue, summarized here, illuminate and substantiate many of these strategies across a diverse range of international organizations, understood as both forums and actors. As the articles show, these alternative theoretical mechanisms help explain how and why seemingly weak states sometimes fare better than a simplistic assessment of their material capabilities might suggest. By deepening our understanding of weakness and how it influences state behavior, the volume advances our theoretical understanding of how power is built, wielded, and resisted in and through international organization
“How Long Are You Gonna Stay?” Implications of Residents’ Perceptions of Refugees’ Occupational Future Time Perspective in Receiving Countries
No full textOccupational work is a cornerstone for refugees’ integration in a receiving country, and residents’ perceptions of refugees is a key factor in this process. As compared to migrants in general, refugee migrants have been forced to leave their home country, which should have multiple implications for their integration in receiving countries. In the current study, we investigated whether residents’ perception of migration forcedness affects their expectations about migrants’ occupational future time perspectives (OFTP) in the receiving country, which in turn should correspond to expectations about migrants’ occupational integration efforts. We tested our hypotheses in a preregistered online experiment with N = 190 working adults in Germany (71% women; age: M = 50.26, SD = 10.78). The results confirmed the hypothesized negative relation between perceived migration forcedness and expected OFTP, the hypothesized positive relation between expected OFTP and expected occupational integration efforts, and the hypothesized mediation mechanism of expected OFTP. Overall, our results demonstrate that residents’ perception of migration forcedness and related OFTP are relevant processes that affect the integration of migrants into the labor market of receiving countries