Vuillemey, G. (2015) “Do derivatives make the world safer?, VoxEU Organisation, 12 Φεβρουαρίου. The interest rate derivatives market has grown tenfold over the past 15 years. These contracts are mostly held by commercial banks, raising financial stability concerns. This column discusses how hedging using derivatives affects bank lending and the occurrence of bank defaults. The interest rate derivatives market is the largest market in the world, with an aggregate …Read More
Portugal must rebalance its economy and improve education to continue its economic recovery
Franco, F. (2015) “Portugal must rebalance its economy and improve education to continue its economic recovery“, LSE EUROPP, 12 Φεβρουαρίου. Portugal was one of the worst hit countries by the Eurozone crisis, but emerged from its bailout programme in 2014. As part of our ‘economies of Europe’ series, Francesco Franco provides an account of the development of the Portuguese economy since the crisis, including some of the key challenges …Read More
The maths behind an amended Greek plan – additional ESM financing would allow the Greek primary surplus to be lowered to 3% of GDP
Darvas, Z. (2015) “The maths behind an amended Greek plan – additional ESM financing would allow the Greek primary surplus to be lowered to 3% of GDP“, Bruegel Institute, 11 Φεβρουαρίου. Last week I published my assessment of Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis’ draft plan, and promised to do some calculations to illustrate its impacts. Mr Varoufakis abandoned the earlier haircut demand of Syriza that I welcomed as a …Read More
The ECB Should Stay Out of Politics
Crook, O. (2015) “The ECB Should Stay Out of Politics“, BloombergView, 10 Φεβρουαρίου. Has the European Central Bank made itself the judge of which countries remain members of the euro area? That would be an amazing assertion of power — on the face of it, completely at odds with its usual insistence that it stands outside politics. Yet that is more or less what the ECB seemed to do …Read More
Survey Report: Emigrating in times of crisis. Highlights and new data from an e-survey on high-skilled emigrants from Southern Europe and Ireland
Gropas, R. & Triandafyllidou, A. (2015) Survey Report: Emigrating in times of crisis. Highlights and new data from an e-survey on high-skilled emigrants from Southern Europe and Ireland, Global Governance Programme – European University Institute, Φεβρουάριος. The issues at stake Crises impact on migration trends and development in numerous ways. In general, remittances tend to fall and ‘brain drain’ tends to increase as high skilled individuals are prone to …Read More
Greece – a Varoufakis Conversion
Cook, C. (2015) “Greece – a Varoufakis Conversion“, Pieria Online, 06 Φεβρουαρίου. Greece’s new Syriza government has two major economic challenges to address: a Resolution of Greece’s unsustainable debt burden followed by a Transition to a long term sustainable economy. Conventional resolution of sovereign debt is a debt for debt swap: replacing existing debt with new debt which requires a smaller percentage of Greece’s national income and resources to …Read More
European Economic Forecast: Winter 2015
European Commission (2015) European Economic Forecast: Winter 2015, European Economy 1|2015, DG for Economic & Financial Affairs, Φεβρουάριος. GDP growth in the EU remains sluggish. Sputtering investment has so far prevented a broader and more robust acceleration of domestic demand. Amid challenging global conditions, the fall in crude oil prices should provide a welcome boost to growth. Several important shifts are under way in the global economy. Falling oil …Read More
Update on Economic and Monetary Developments, Economic Bulletin Issue 1/2015
ECB (2015) Update on Economic and Monetary Developments, Economic Bulletin Issue 1/2015, European Central Bank, Φεβρουάριος. Summary The recent decline in oil prices is supporting the global economic recovery. Nevertheless, the recovery remains gradual and economic developments vary across regions. Growth in the United States remains robust, momentum is slowing in China, and activity in Japan has not regained traction. Economic conditions in Russia have deteriorated further, but spillovers …Read More
Greece: ECB Kicks Syriza in the Face; Syriza Turns the Other Cheek
Weisbrot, M. (2015) “Greece: ECB Kicks Syriza in the Face; Syriza Turns the Other Cheek“, The Huffington Post, 05 Φεβρουαρίου. On Wednesday the European Central Bank (ECB) announced that it would no longer accept Greek government bonds and government-guaranteed debt as collateral. Although Greece would still be eligible for other, emergency lending from the Central Bank, the immediate effect of the announcement was to raise Greek borrowing costs and …Read More
Je suis Dijsselbloem ou Varoufakis?
Χατζησταύρου, Φ. (2015) “Je suis Dijsselbloem ou Varoufakis?“, Protagon Website, 04 Φεβρουαρίου. Η πρώτη συνάντηση Βαρουφάκη-Ντάισελμπλουμ φέρνει στη δημόσια συζήτηση ένα θέμα που μέχρι τώρα ήταν αντικείμενο ανάλυσης κυρίως των ενασχολούντων με τη θεσμική λειτουργία της ΕΕ στα οικονομικά θέματα. Ευκαιρία, λοιπόν, να δούμε ποιο είναι το πρόβλημα, γιατί υπάρχει πρόβλημα, και ποιες οι συνέπειές του μέχρι σήμερα. Από το 2010 και μετά οι ευρωπαϊκές κυβερνήσεις ομόφωνα προχώρησαν στην …Read More