Das goldene Zeitalter der Vermögensverkäufe – Die Determinanten der Einmalerlöse der Bundesländer 1995-2007

Abstract

The German Länder have very limited power over taxation. Overall, they are largely dependent on national legislation when it comes to the revenue side of the budget. In order to bypass this restraint, the German Länder sold assets and privatized stateowned enterprises and increased their public revenue in this way. However, the extent of the proceeds varied considerably over time and among the Länder. This article examines the state-wise variation of asset-sales variation quantitatively. According to the results of the analysis, three main variables infl uence the extent of these one-off revenues: the initial level of assets in a Land, the economic situation and -somewhat less important -the ideological position of the government and the institutional arrangement of the budget process.