Competition Policy in Europe – Temporary or Long-Lasting Changes?
During the first phase of the global crisis, the scale and scope of state aid increased at an unprecedented rate all over the world. Although their approval is – uniquely – part of competition policy in the European Union, the Commission and DG Competition did not oppose the unprecedented expansion of state aid. On the contrary, they played an active role in the modification and enforcement of frameworks. The paper analyses how EU regulation, prohibiting state aid for distorting competition, might be compatible with recent developments in this field. It comes to the conclusion that the European Commission proved to be strong enough to keep the regulation of distribution methods under control and to try to enforce the basic principles, but was unable to stem the tide of aid. By doing so, it contributed to the accumulation and growth of state deficits, the repeated destabilisation of financial markets and sovereign debts, and thus to the escalation of the second wave of the financial crisis in Europe in 2011.
Versenybarát és versenykorlátozó állam - válság előtt, válság közben [The pro-competition and a competition-restricting state - before and during the crisis]
Az allam szerepe a gazdasag műkodeseben, igy a kozerdeket szolgalo verseny fenn¬tartasaban es erősiteseben a liberalizalas evtizedeiben is alapvető volt, magaban foglalta a verseny- es piacszabalyozast, az allami tamogatasokat es az allami megrendeleseket, vagyis a verseny elenkitesenek es korlatozasanak sokfele eszkozet. A cikk a magyar allam es a verseny kapcsolatat tekinti at a valsag kitoreset meg¬előzően, hogy osszevethesse azt a valsagkezeles kezdeten mutatkozo nemzetkozi es hazai jelensegekkel. Amellett ervel, hogy a versennyel kapcsolatos allami magatartas korabban is ketarcu volt, es a valsag nem valtoztatta meg alapvetően sem ezt a kettősseget, sem a beavatkozas modszereit, csak az eszkozok kombinacioja es lepteke modosult. Mikozben a valsagkezeles vilagszerte altalaban az allam szerepenek novekedesevel jart, Magyarorszagon viszonylag csekely maradt az allami piacteremtes es -tamogatas mozgastere es merteke. A gazdasagelenkites kenyszerű visszafogottsaga fekezte a versenykorlatozast, ami a kovetkező evekben előnyt jelenthet. Journal of Economic Literature (JEL ) kod: H2, L4.
Liquidity and the Dynamic Pattern of Asset Price Adjustment: A Global View
Global liquidity expansion has been very dynamic since 2001. Contrary to conventional wisdom, high money growth rates have not coincided with a concurrent rise in goods prices. At the same time, however, asset prices have increased sharply, significantly outpacing the subdued development in consumer prices. We investigate the interactions between money and goods and asset prices at the global level. Using aggregated data for major OECD countries, our VAR results support the view that different price elasticities on asset and goods markets explain the observed relative price change between asset classes and consumer goods.