This site is for archive purposes. Please visit www.eliamep.gr for latest updates
Go to Top

Βιβλιοθήκη

Fiscal Consolidations and Growth: Does Speed Matter?

Pennings, S. and Pérez Ruiz, E., (2013), “Fiscal Consolidations and Growth: Does Speed Matter?”, International Monetary Fund, Working Paper No. 13/230, Νοέμβριος. Should fiscal consolidations be front-loaded or proceed at a more steady pace, and how does this affect growth? We make an attempt to address this question using a three-step methodology. First, we modify a standard regression of growth on consolidation size to allow speed to affect the multiplier. …Read More

Germany’s lack of reciprocity

Krugman, P., (2013), “Germany’s lack of reciprocity”, The New York Times, 12 Νοεμβρίου. Huge tensions over the ECB rate cut, with a split on the board and many German economists protesting. As usual, a lot of it is about the perception that those lazy southern Europeans are getting a free ride: A commentary by the chief economist of the financial weekly Wirtschaftswoche called the decision a “diktat from a new …Read More

The eurozone needs to get inflation up again

Münchau, W., (2013), “The eurozone needs to get inflation up again”, The Financial Times, 10 Νοεμβρίου. What surprised me last week was not the European Central Bank’s decision to cut interest rates, but that so few people had expected it. That is astonishing since the ECB is certain to fall short of its inflation target – achieving an annual rate of close to 2 per cent in the medium term. …Read More

Towards A Progressive Economy For Europe

Swoboda, Η.  and Hughes, S., (2013), “Towards A Progressive Economy For Europe”, Social Europe Journal, 11 Νοεμβρίου. Europe’s current misfortune is not just that it was hit by the most severe financial crisis in decades. It has also come from the fact that this crisis occurred during a time in which economic thinking was, and still remains, dominated by old concepts and neoclassical models. Back in 2008 and 2009, survival …Read More

Turning Germany’s surplus into a win-win for the Eurozone

Rehn, O., (2013), “Turning Germany’s surplus into a win-win for the Eurozone”, Olli Rehn’s blog, 11 Νοεμβρίου. Germany’s current account surplus has been a subject of heated debate for some time. On the one side, there are regular calls for the country to reduce its surplus through fiscal stimulus, to lift southern Europe from its doldrums. On the other side, in Germany these calls are often regarded as jealous attacks …Read More

The perils of private-sector deleveraging in the Eurozone

Bornhorst, F. and Ruiz Arranz, M., (2013), “The perils of private-sector deleveraging in the Eurozone”, VoxEU, 10 Νοεμβρίου. Private and public debt in the Eurozone increased since the 2000s, and especially so in certain countries. This column presents evidence that high levels of private and public debt, together with deleveraging of all sectors, are especially harmful for economic growth. Private sector debt is more detrimental to growth than public sector …Read More

The real problem with German macroeconomic policy

Wren-Lewis, S., (2013), “The real problem with German macroeconomic policy”, Mainly Macro Blog, 03 Νοεμβρίου. Paul Krugman has been laying into Germany in the past few days . I think it might be interesting to look at two possible defences for the German position. The first is that they are doing what any government would do, which is act in their national interest. The second is that, for from being …Read More

Austerity and Stupidity

Smaghi, L.B., (2013), “Austerity and Stupidity”, VoxEU, 06 Νοεμβρίου. Today’s austerity, many argue, is stupid. This column argues that today’s EZ austerity may arise from stupidity before the crisis – specifically lacklustre structural reform. Excess debt arose in nations maintaining unsustainable living standards and welfare systems in the face of poor growth. The Crisis forced radical adjustments such as austerity in a recession. It’s not austerity which caused low growth, …Read More

From Unemployment to Entrepreneurship

Mortensen, D., (2013), “From Unemployment to Entrepreneurship”, Project Syndicate, 07 Νοεμβρίου. It is well known that manufacturing employment has declined significantly in the United States, owing to the rise of manufacturing in developing countries like Mexico and China. But few recognize similar drops in other sectors, despite such trends’ far-reaching economic, social, and political implications. Since 1972, the number of telephone operators has fallen by 82%, typists by 80%, secretaries …Read More

Shadow banking and the global financial ecosystem

Pozsar, Z., (2013), “Shadow banking and the global financial ecosystem”, VoxEU, 07 Νοεμβρίου.   Modern banks operate in a complex global financial ecosystem. This column argues that regulating banks properly requires updating our ideas about how they operate. Modern banks finance bond portfolios with uninsured money market instruments, and thus link cash portfolio managers and risk portfolio managers. Gone are the days when banks linked ultimate borrowers with ultimate savers …Read More