Is Higher Income Inequality Associated with Lower Intergenerational Mobility?
Wolfers, Justin. A lot of our political debate boils down to questions about equality of outcomes versus equality of opportunity. But it turns out that they’re pretty closely related. Πηγή: Freakonomics πλήρες κείμενο
Hungary’s Monetary Policy Mistakes
One of the most controversial topics in Europe right now is … Hungary’s national bank? Yes, we live in strange times. The Magyar Nemzeti Bank has become a focal point in the fight between the center-right government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and the European Union, which says the government has been undermining the […]
Income Inequality and Current Account Imbalances
Kumhof, Michael, Lebarz, Claire, Ranciere, Romain, Richter, Alexander , & Throckmorton, Nathaniel. This paper studies the empirical and theoretical link between increases in income inequality and increases in current account deficits. Cross-sectional econometric evidence shows that higher top income shares, and also financial liberalization, which is a common policy response to increases in income inequality, […]
The unexplained part of public debt
Campos, Camila, Jaimovich, Dany & Panizza, Ugo. How do countries get into debt? And how does this debt rise so fast? The short answer may be obvious, but this column shows that the longer answer certainly isn’t. The answer to the question “How do countries get into debt?” seems trivial. The stock of debt is equal to the […]
The Euro crisis and the new impossible trinity
Pisani-Ferry, Jean. The search for solutions to the euro crisis is based on a partial diagnosis that overemphasises the lack of enforcement of existing fiscal rules. Europe’s leaders should rather address the euro area’s inherent weaknesses revealed by the crisis. At the core of euro-area vulnerability is an impossible trinity of strict no-monetary financing, bank-sovereign […]
The Perils of 2012
Stiglitz, Joseph. The year 2011 will be remembered as the time when many ever-optimistic Americans began to give up hope. President John F. Kennedy once said that a rising tide lifts all boats. But now, in the receding tide, Americans are beginning to see not only that those with taller masts had been lifted far […]
Why isn’t capitalism working?
Summers, Lawrence. Americans have traditionally been the most enthusiastic champions of capitalism. Yet a recent American public opinion survey found that just 50 per cent of people had a positive opinion of capitalism while 40 per cent did not. The disillusionment was particularly marked among young people 18-29, African Americans and Hispanics, those with incomes […]
Financial repression German style
Fatás, Antonio. Last weekend I attended the American Economic Association meetings in Chicago where I had been asked to discuss a paper on historical lessons lessons on government debt reduction. The paper is written by Carmen Reinhart and Belén Sbrancia and the title is “The Liquidation of Government Debt”. The paper presents a historical review […]
Europe requires European bonds
Chamley, Christophe. Is it time for Eurobonds? This column argues that Eurobonds have always been the right solution. Every successful union throughout history has needed to create a proper financial instrument of sovereign debt – and the Eurozone is no different. The ongoing Eurozone crisis has at least four dimensions: Divergent labour costs between countries […]
Germans and Aliens
Krugman, Paul. The Times has an article today about Germany’s faith in austerity as the answer to depression. It’s sad reading for anyone hoping that Europe will get its act together; it’s especially galling that Germans remain so committed to belief in expansionary austerity, despite the thorough empirical debunking the notion has been given over […]