Biggs, M. & Mayer, T. (2014) “Latvia and Greece: Less is More“, Economic Policy, CEPS High-Briefs, 12 Φεβρουαρίου 2014 Key Points: Despite considerable differences, there were also many similarities in economic performance between Latvia and Greece before their respective adjustment crises. After the immediate crisis, however, economic activity rebounded sharply in Latvia but continued to contract in Greece. This paper argues that this difference was due primarily to developments in …Read More
Financing the Real Economy
Canton, E. (2014) “Financing the Real Economy“, ECFIN Economic Brief, Issue 30, Φεβρουάριος 2014. Introduction In the aftermath of the economic and financial crisis, policymaking became more geared towards structural reforms to support the process of economic recovery, steered at the EU level through the reinforced economic govern-ance. While there areencouraging signs that an economic recovery is underway in Europe, growth pro-spects are modest and further re-forms remain necessary …Read More
Why The ECJ Should Reject The German Constitutional Court’s Ruling
De Grauwe, P. (2014) “Why the ECJ Should Reject the German Constitutional Court’s Ruling“, Social Europe Journal, 11 Μαρτίου 2014. Despite having a positive effect on the economic situation within the Eurozone, the European Central Bank’s Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) program has proved controversial, with the German Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe recently deeming it illegal under EU law. Paul De Grauwe argues that the ruling reflects a serious misunderstanding of central banking …Read More
The Euro at Age 15 — Is it a Reserve Currency Yet?
Horne, P. (2014) “The Euro at Age 15 – Is it a Reserve Currency Yet?”, The European Institute, Φεβρουάριος 2014. The euro was welcomed at birth on Jan. 1, 1999, as a new financial currency (coins and banknotes were issued three years later) and hoped by its promoters to be an alternative to the dollar, which had reigned as the world’s primary reserve currency since the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement. …Read More
If Scotland, why not Greece?
Βαρουφάκης, Γ. (2014) “If Scotland, why not Greece?“, Yannis Varoufakis Thoughts for the post-2008 World, 10 Μαρτίου Why an independent Scotland should get out of sterling, but Greece should not volunteer to exit the Eurozone Scotland should state its intention to decouple from sterling, once independent, rather than petitioning for a continuation of its subservient role in an asymmetrical sterling union. Or so I argued in the Scottish Times in ‘Scotland …Read More
Emerging economies respond to market pressure
Bank for International Settlements (BIS), “International Banking and Financial Market Developments”, Quarterly Review, Μάρτιος 2014. The retrenchment from emerging market economies resumed in full force around the turn of the year, as their subdued growth outlook continued to diverge from the optimistic sentiment in mature markets and as US monetary policy reduced the flow of easy money. Investors were also unsettled by signs of economic weakening and growing financial risks …Read More
Εβδομαδιαίο Δελτίο Οικονομικών Εξελίξεων
Alpha Bank, (2014): Εβδομαδιαίο Δελτίο Οικονομικών Εξελίξεων, 6 Μαρτίου. Τις τελευταίες εβδομάδες έχει, παραδόξως, ενταθεί η παραπληροφόρηση περί μη βιωσιμότητας του ελληνικού δημοσίου χρέους και περί μη επάρκειας της ισχύουσας (μετά την ανακεφαλαιοποίηση) κεφαλαιακής βάσης των τραπεζών της χώρας. Η εξέλιξη αυτή είναι πραγματικά εξαιρετικά περίεργη διότι συμβαίνει σε μια περίοδο κατά την οποία όλες οι προβλέψεις περί καταποντισμού της ελληνικής οικονομίας και περί αποτυχίας της δημοσιονομικής προσαρμογής της χώρας …Read More
What Makes Greece Special?
Gros, N., (2014), “What Makes Greece Special?”, Project Syndicate, 6 Μαρτίου. The euro crisis seems to be largely over. Risk premiums continue to fall across the board, and two countries – Ireland and Portugal – have already exited their adjustment programs. They can now finance themselves in the market, and their economies seem to have started growing again. By contrast, Greece is still having problems fulfilling the goals of its adjustment program and …Read More
Tectonic shifts – banking union is a long-term process that will dramatically reshape Europe’s financial system
Veron, N., (2014), “Tectonic shifts – banking union is a long-term process that will dramatically reshape Europe’s financial system”, Bruegel, 7 Μαρτίου. On June 29, 2012, the leaders of euro area countries set in motion what is now universally known as European banking union, or the transfer of banking policy from the national to the European level. The first step, the empowerment of the European Central Bank as the new …Read More
Options for Europe – Part 40
Mitchell, B., (2014), “Options for Europe – Part 40”, bilbo.economicoutlook.net, 6 Μαρτίου. The Christophersen Report of August 1990, which expressed the European Commission’s own viewpoint on how economic and fiscal policies might be coordinated, concluded that there “does not need to be a single economic policy in the same way as for monetary policy, and correspondingly there is not the same need for institutional change” (European Commission, 1990: 21). They …Read More