Self-defeating austerity?
Holland, Dawn, Portes, Jonathan. EU governments have individually embraced severe austerity programmes in an effort to avoid becoming the next Portugal. This column presents results from the National Institute Global Econometric Model suggesting that the individually rationale polices are leading to collective folly. Keynes’ ‘paradox of thrift’ is in full swing since EU nations continue to […]
External Imbalances in the Euro Area
Chen, Ruo, Milesi-Ferretti, Gian-Maria & Tressel, Thierry. The paper examines the extent to which current account imbalances of euro area countries are related to intra-euro area factors and to external trade shocks. Πηγή: IMF πλήρες κείμενο
What’s the use of economics?
Kirman, Alan. The economic crisis has thrown the inadequacies of macroeconomics into stark relief. This column argues that the narrow conception of the macroeconomy as a system in equilibrium is problematic. Economists should abandon entrenched theories and understand the macroeconomy as self-organising. It offers detailed suggestions on what alternative ideas economists can teach their future […]
From Great Depression to Great Credit Crisis: similarities, differences and lessons
Almunia, Miguel, Bénétrix, Agustín, Eichengreen, Barry, O’Rourke, Kevin & Rua, Gisela. The Great Depression of the 1930s and the Great Credit Crisis of the 2000s had similar causes but elicited strikingly different policy responses. While it remains too early to assess the effectiveness of current policy, it is possible to analyse monetary and fiscal responses in the […]
Νίκος Κουτσιαράς: Νομισματική ομολογία
Μέχρι τώρα, η στρατηγική διαχείρισης της ελληνικής κρίσης δημόσιου χρέους και ισοζυγίου τρεχουσών συναλλαγών –η στρατηγική των τριών ελληνικών κυβερνήσεων (Παπανδρέου, Παπαδήμου, Σαμαρά) και των επίσημων δανειστών της χώρας- προϋποθέτει και, ταυτοχρόνως, αποσκοπεί στην αποτροπή του ενδεχόμενου της εξόδου της χώρας από την ευρωζώνη. Η ανάκτηση της νομισματικής αυτονομίας –η επιστροφή στην δραχμή- άλλωστε, θεωρείται […]
The Only Game in Town
Rajan, Raghuram. What should central banks do when politicians seem incapable of acting? Thus far, they have been willing to step into the breach, finding new and increasingly unconventional ways to try to influence the direction of troubled economies. But how can we determine when central banks overstep their limits? When does boldness turn to […]
Coping with financial crises: Latin American answers to European questions
Cavallo, Eduardo, Fernandez-Arias, Eduardo. The Eurozone body politic seems to be slowly learning the lessons for crisis management. This column argues that Latin America’s decades of financial crisis can provide key insights for Europe. Πηγή: Voxeu πλήρες κείμενο
Keynesian vicissitudes
Kundnani, Hans. The first story I covered as a Berlin correspondent for The Observer in 1999 was the resignation of German Social Democrat leader and finance minister Oskar Lafontaine. Lafontaine was seen as a Keynesian and therefore viewed with suspicion by many Anglo-Saxons. A few months before his resignation, The Sun even famously called Lafontaine “the most dangerous […]
Euro needs a reset
Eichengreen, Barry. Εuropean monetary union requires a reboot but hopes it can happen by the end of the year are misplaced With every day that passes, it becomes harder to deny that Europe’s leap to monetary union was a mistake. Creating a monetary union without also creating a banking union allowed the continent’s banks to run […]
The Policy Mix and Macroeconomic Adjustment in the Euro Area
Mortensen, Jørgen, Alcidi, Cinzia. Against the background of the IMF’s latest global economic forecast, Jørgen Mortensen and Cinzia Alcidi raise questions in a new CEPS Commentary about the timing of the implementation and the effects of the three main categories of economic policy – fiscal, monetary and structural. Πηγή: CEPS πλήρες κείμενο