An action plan for the European Leaders
Marzinotto, Benedicta, Pisani-Ferry, Jean & Wolff, Guntram. At the extraordinary EU Council of 21 July European leaders have to accomplish a triple-mission. First, they should pave the way to restoring solvency in Greece by initiating debt reduction. Softening the Greek debt burden implies i) reducing the interest rate on official lending, ii) requesting from the EFSF […]
Jens Bastian: Is ‘Greece Inc.’ ready for privatization? Lessons learned from the German Treuhandanstalt
As the political authorities and corporate representatives in Athens embark on the most ambitious privatization programme ever undertaken in Greece, many across Europe are watching with interest and concern if the endeavour can succeed. Apart from the adoption of the privatization legislation and the publication of a roadmap for state divestment, a new privatization agency […]
A credible commitment for the Eurozone
Cooley, Thomas & Marimon, Ramon. The sovereign-debt crisis spreading through Europe is threatening the existence of the single currency. Meanwhile in the US, debt has been a problem for many states without threatening the US itself. This column proposes a way of preventing future crises in Europe by learning how policymakers in the US achieve fiscal […]
The Battle of the Bonds
Skidelsky, Robert. Everyone knows that Greece will default on its external debt. The only question concerns the best way to arrange it so that no one really understands that Greece is actually defaulting. On this topic, there is no shortage of expert plans – among them bond buy-backs, bond swaps, and the creation of Eurobonds, […]