Archive 2012 This section provides information on past activities and developments at our institute. Jöhr prize 2012 FGN-HSG: Award for the best master's degree in economics 10.2012 - For the sixth time, the Jöhr prize of the FGN-HSG for the best degree in the Master of Arts HSG in Economics was conferred on the Master Graduation Day 2012 at the University of St.Gallen. We congratulate Michael Kogler, assistent of Prof. Keuschnigg, on the Jöhr prize 2012. The award includes price money of 5'000 francs. The award is in memory of Walter Adolf Jöhr, co-founder of our institute and former president of the University of St.Gallen. The prize is financed by a donation of Mrs. Martita Jöhr. New publication in Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization by Stefan Bühler 9.2012 - New publication in Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization by Stefan Bühler and Daniel Halbheer. "Noticeable" sovereign ratings for Europe and multiple equilibria in the capital market 7.2012 - The interaction between noticeable low ratings for several European countries and the existence of multiple equilibria in the market of sovereign bonds serves as an empirically viable explanation for the eruption of the sovereign debt crisis and its ongoing dynamics. Manfred Gärtner and Björn Griesbach come to this conclusion in a new working paper. A media release of the University of St. Gallen about the central results of the study has drawn a lot of interest also in the mass media. New publication in the National Tax Journal by Christian Keuschnigg et al. 5.2012 – Consumption based business taxes feature prominently in tax reform debate. The "Mirrlees Review" suggests to implement an ACE tax (allowance for corporate equity). The paper evaluates the consequences of enacting an ACE tax, discusses transition strategies, and compares to alternative cash-flow taxes. New study on international tax evasion due to Swiss banking secrecy 4.2012 – Foreign governments lost 4 trillion Swiss francs in tax revenue due to Swiss banking secrecy over the last 60 years. Manfred Gärtner presents this estimate in a study published in the Wirtschaftsdienst, a German policy review. The study also calls the bilateral tax treaties negotiated by Britain and Germany as patchwork with short-term expiration date because they deprive these countries of their sovereignty over their tax system and tax rates. Christian Keuschnigg to head the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna 2.2012 – Christian Keuschnigg will become the director of Vienna’s Institute of Advanced Studies (IHS) next summer. He retains a part-time professorship at the University of St. Gallen and remains a director of our institute. The IHS (http://www.ihs.ac.at/vienna/) specializes in theoretical and empirical research in economics and other social sciences and is Austria's premier postgraduate research and training institute since its founding in 1963.