The ECB’s stealth bailout
Sinn, Hans-Werner. The Eurozone crisis lingers on. This column argues that the Eurozone payments system has been operating as a hidden bailout whereby the Bundesbank has been lending money to the crisis-stricken Eurozone members via the Target system on the order of €300 billion. Urgent corrective action is needed, the author argues, as the scope […]
A torrent of mortgage defaults: A possible effect of the eurozone debt crisis
Fiorante, Angelo. The credit markets in Europe have witnessed fast-paced development, where the credit extended to households has increased considerably during the last decade. After seeing a range of property bubbles and overvalued real estate markets across Europe, a legitimate question is whether the amount of mortgage credit outstanding has reached its limit for certain […]
Houston, we have a problem: Iceland’s capital controls
Gylfason, Thorvaldur. The global crisis has brought many countries to their knees, none more so than the small island of Iceland whose losses amount to seven times its GDP. Yet while Iceland’s recovery has in many ways been remarkable, this column argues that the country’s capital controls stand in the way of further progress. Following […]
The Corporatist Threat to the Arab Spring
Phelps, Edmund. The young protesters of the Jasmine Revolutions of Tunisia and Egypt, many of them university graduates, overthrew the old regime because it impeded or blocked them from careers that would offer engaging work and the chance for personal growth. The protesters did not demand more creature comforts or better infrastructure; they demanded opportunities […]
Severance Pay Programs around the World: History, Rationale, Status, and Reforms
Holzmann, Robert, Pouget,Yann, Vodopivec, Milan & Weber, Michael. The paper examines severance pay programs around the world by providing the first ever overview of existing programs, examining their historic development, assessing their economic rationale and describing current reform attempts. While a significant part of the paper is devoted to a comprehensive 183 cross country review of existing […]