What Is It About Greece?
Stevis, Matina. The Greek debt restructuring, now in its final stretch, is “being as closely watched as a U.S. presidential election,” a market participant quips. But, why, one might ask, are people prepared to put themselves through the process of memorizing acronyms, learning about complicated legal maneuvers and following what has been an exhausting process, if […]
Finally, Spain
Krugman, Paul. I’ve always viewed Spain, not Greece, as the quintessential euro crisis country. With Rajoy’s government balking — rightly — at further austerity, the focus is now where it arguably should have been all along. Πηγή: The New York Times πλήρες κείμενο
In the slipstream of the Greek debt exchange
Gulati, Mitu, Zettelmeyer, Jeromin. One of the most interesting questions arising from the ongoing Greek debt restructuring is what it implies about the feasibility of voluntary debt restructurings. Indeed, why would anyone voluntarily take a debt-exchange offer that promises a large reduction in repayments? This column argues creditors might feel safer with new debt instruments […]
Greece’s Soft Budgets in Hard Times
Gros Daniel. The first de facto default of a country classified as “developed” has now taken place, with private international creditors “voluntarily” accepting a “haircut” of more than 50% on their claims on the Greek government. As a result, Greece now owes very little to private foreign creditors. Πηγή: Project Syndicate πλήρες κείμενο
A Devaluation Option for Southern Europe
Gopinath, Gita, Farhi, Emmanouel, & Itskhoki, Oleg. This year is likely to mark a make-or-break ordeal for the euro. The eurozone’s survival demands a credible solution to its long-running sovereign-debt crisis, which in turn requires addressing the two macroeconomic imbalances – external and fiscal – which are at the heart of that crisis. Πηγή: Project Syndicate πλήρες […]
‘Hubrisk’ (hubris+risk) and the Greek crisis
Danielsson, Jon. The Eurozone’s problems are political as well as economic. The European leaders establishing the euro were, according to this column, guilty of putting political desire above economic reality. Their successors now trying to resolve the sovereign debt crisis are repeating that mistake, with potentially devastating consequences. Πηγή:Voxeu πλήρες κείμενο
Brinkmanship in Brussels, Sturm and Drachma for Greece and Europe
Kirkegaard, Jacob Funk. Brinkmanship has produced an early-morning deal in Europe to extend a new lifeline to Greece and clear the way for the biggest sovereign bond restructuring in history. This column takes a detailed look at the EU deal, the ongoing brinkmanship between the Eurozone and the IMF, and the general focus on austerity. […]
A Euro Sabbatical
Sinn, Hans-Werner. Under substantial external pressure, the eurozone’s crisis-hit countries are, at long last, bringing themselves to make painful cuts in their government budgets. Salaries are being slashed and public employees sacked to reduce new borrowing to a tolerable level. Πηγή: Project Syndicate πλήρες κείμενο
The Euro Prisoner’s Dilemma
Valiante, Diego. The last intergovernmental agreement among 25 countries and the ESM Treaty will set the ground for greater institutional coordination on fiscal policies among euro area member states. None of these decisions, however, will be able to pull the euro area out of this crisis. The eurozone is trapped in a classic prisoner’s dilemma. […]
The Dreary Dutch Economy In 2012
Dalton, Matthew. The European Commission expects Greece, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands to be Europe’s weakest economies in 2012. Wait a minute. The Netherlands? That stalwart of the euro zone? The same Netherlands that’s lending billions of euros to Greece, Portugal and Ireland? Πηγή: The Wall Street Journal πλήρες κείμενο