Papers Published in World Economics:
A Single European Market in Asset Management
In spite of progress with integration, the European single market is still far from
perfect. In particular, financial services markets are still heavily segmented along
national borders—even in the era of the Internet and the Euro. In order to
understand the reasons for and consequences of incomplete integration, a
detailed analysis is presented for the European asset management market. It
turns out that fragmentation is very costly both in micro- and macroeconomic
terms. The following obstacles are identified to be most relevant: tax
discrimination, certain properties of existing distribution channels, and regulative
issues related to fund mergers and registration. Only if these issues are addressed
by legislators and the industry can significant progress in integration be achieved.
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