The ECB’s trillion euro bet
Wyplosz, Charles. Spreads on public debts in the Eurozone – with the exception of Greece – are falling hard and fast. This column argues that this is in large part because the ECB is now effectively guaranteeing Eurozone government debts. But it cautions that in doing so, the central bank is taking enormous risks. Πηγή: […]
Τελευταία ευκαιρία
Βαρουφάκης, Γιάνης. Άλλη μια φορά, τα «μέσα ενημέρωσης», τόσο εδώ όσο και στο εξωτερικό, στενάζουν πάνω από το λάθος ερώτημα. Το ερώτημα δεν είναι αν θα συμφωνηθεί η νέα δανειακή σύμβαση Ελλάδας-τρόικας. Το ερώτημα είναι τι θα γίνει όταν (κι όχι εάν) δεν είναι δυνατόν να κρυφτεί η αποτυχία της. Πηγή: protagon.gr πλήρες κείμενο
Europe’s Tobin Tax Distraction
Eichengreen, Barry. At last, European leaders have revealed their top-secret plan for solving the euro’s crisis. And it is – drum roll – a version of the “Tobin tax,” a levy on financial transactions first suggested in 1972 by the Nobel laureate economist James Tobin. Πηγή: Project Syndicate πλήρες κείμενο
Fiscal adjustment: Too much of a good thing?
Cottarelli, Carlo. Almost everyone agrees that the fiscal accounts of several advanced economies are in a pretty bad shape and need to be strengthened. But how rapid should the adjustment be in the present circumstances? At times over the last couple of years the IMF called on countries to step up the pace of adjustment […]
Fiscal policy: What does ‘Keynesian’ mean?
Portes, Jonathan. What does it mean to be a ‘Keynesian’? This column argues that, like so much in economics, the label has become politicised. The cost is an impoverished policy debate that is resulting in millions of avoidable job cuts. Πηγή: Voxeu πλήρες κείμενο
Seven things I learned about transition from communism
Shleifer, Andrei. Twenty years ago, communist countries began their shift towards capitalism. What do we know now that we didn’t know then? Πηγή: Voxeu πλήρες κείμενο
Sovereign ratings when default can come explicitly or via inflation
Goodhart, Charles. Inflation in the UK is now more than double that of France, but only one country has had its credit rating downgraded. This column argues that government credit ratings should be aided by a second rating measuring the potential loss of real value, whether by inflation or default. Πηγή: Voxeu πλήρες κείμενο
Fiscal Adjustment: Too Much of a Good Thing?
Cottarelli, Carlo. The IMF has argued for some time that the very high public debt ratios in many advanced economies should be brought down to safer levels through a gradual and steady process. Doing either too little or too much both involve risks: not enough fiscal adjustment could lead to a loss of market confidence […]
The debt challenge in Europe
Ahearne, Alan, Wolff, Guntram. The euro area faces a double challenge: debt overhang and the need for price adjustment. This paper reviews the debt challenges in the household and corporate sectors and maps out some policy options. In particular, we document the increase in private debt prior to the crisis and consider how the corporate […]
Understanding past and future financial crises
Gourinchas, Pierre-Olivier, Obstfeld, Maurice What explains the different effects of the crisis around the world? This column compares the 2007–09 crisis to earlier episodes of banking, currency, and sovereign debt distress and identifies domestic-credit booms and real currency appreciation as the most significant predictors of future crises, in both advanced and emerging economies. It argues […]