Arnold Koller, Zur rechtlichen Realisierung neuer wirtschaftspolitischer Ziele, in: WuR 27 (1975), p. 181-191.
Arnold Koller – Zur rechtlichen Realisierung neuer wirtschaftspolitischer Ziele
Summary
In this text, Professor Dr. Arnold Koller explores the implementation of new economic policy objectives. The first part of his paper renders a description of where and what kind of economic principles are within in the legal system; the second part deals with the question of how economists and legal professionals view economic policy.
Dr. Koller draws a distinction between the “Volkswirtschaftslehre” and the “Nationalökonomie”. For the former, ‘economic policy’ comprises every direct or indirect activity that the state engages in; for the latter, it consists of all that the state undertakes, in an active or passive manner, that affects the economic order.
Prof. Koller then goes on to discuss different definitions of economy. He points out that the views of economists and lawyers do not align because the economists follow the political economic view while the lawyers’ view is based on administrative competences. In particular, in the case of a confederation, the constitution has an important function because it regulates the economic duties between the central government and the member states.
However, the delegated competences may change depending on the current political economic goals (e.g., with the use of sectoral interventionism or through the economic constitutional article itself). However, focusing on the political economy based on the current needs can lead to negative consequences for the economy.
In the opinion of the Prof. Koller, when setting up political economic goals in the constitution, the state must act carefully and seldom. The author concludes that the economic content of the constitution should be dynamic and that economic goals should be adapted to change with the economy.