Crook, C. (2015) “What Germany Owes Greece“, BloombergView, 19 Φεβρουαρίου.
How much does it matter, if at all, that Greece’s demand for a new bailout program with softer terms is being pressed by a new government, elected for that very purpose — a government that retains solid support even as its standoff with other European Union governments drags on? How much does democracy matter in a situation like this?
In a column for Project Syndicate earlier this month, Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate and professor of economics at Columbia, said it mattered a lot:
If Europe says no to Greek voters’ demand for a change of course, it is saying that democracy is of no importance, at least when it comes to economics.
The Economist disagreed. Greek voters may want debt restructuring and fiscal relaxation, it said — but what about voters in Germany and the rest of the euro area? Their opinions count too, and there are more of them. If democracy matters, maybe majority opinion across the EU ought to decide. Jacob Funk Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute agreed and went further. Pooling of economic sovereignty within the euro area isn’t consistent with the notion of an overriding national mandate:
Σχετικές αναρτήσεις:
- Friedman, G. (2015) “Germany Emerges“, Geopolitical Weekly, STRATFOR Global Intelligence, 10 Φεβρουαρίου.
- Mitchell, B. (2015) “Germany has a convenient but flawed collective memory“, Bill Mitchell Blog, 02 Φεβρουαρίου.
- Darvas, Z. & Hüttl, P. (2015) “Why a Grexit is more costly for Germany than a default inside the euro area – Contrary to the IFO institute, we conclude that German losses on both official and private claims would be much higher if Greece exits the euro“, Bruegel Institute, 16 Ιανουαρίου.