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Germany, Greece, and the Future of Europe

Sachs, Jeffrey, (2015), “Germany, Greece, and the Future of Europe”, Project Syndicate, 20 July I have been helping countries to overcome financial crises for 30 years, and have studied the economic crises of the twentieth century as background to my advisory work. In all crises, there is an inherent imbalance of power between creditor and debtor. Successful crisis management therefore depends on the creditor’s wisdom. In this regard, I strongly …Read More

Greece and Germany’s game of chicken

Boehnke, Olaf, (2015), “Greece and Germany’s game of chicken”, European Council on Foreign Relations Commentary, 17 July “We are both heading for the cliff. Who jumps first is the chicken” were the famous last words of James Dean’s opponent in the classic movie “Rebel Without A Cause”. The game of chicken is a standard model of conflict for two players in game theory. While game theorist and sometime finance minister Yanis …Read More

The dark clouds of peace-Built to foster friendship, the euro is manufacturing misery instead

Economist, (2015), “The dark clouds of peace-Built to foster friendship, the euro is manufacturing misery instead”, 18 July UNRAVELLING the tangled logic of Greece’s bail-out talks, Charlemagne has learned, is a little like trying to explain the rules of cricket to an American. How to make sense of a process in which Greek voters loudly spurn a euro-zone bail-out offer in a referendum, only to watch Alexis Tsipras, their prime …Read More

Germany, Not Greece, Should Exit the Euro

Mody, Ashoka, (2015), ” Germany, Not Greece, Should Exit the Euro”, Bloomberg View, 17 July The latest round of wrangling between Greece and its European creditors has demonstrated yet again that countries with such disparate economies should never have entered a currency union. It would be better for all involved, though, if Germany rather than Greece were the first to exit. Relevant Posts Gow, David, (2015), “Germany Undoes 70 Years …Read More

Greece Surrendered, But The Real Defeat Was For Europe

Cox, Michael, (2015), “Greece Surrendered, But The Real Defeat Was For Europe”, Social Europe Journal, 16 July In a recent article on the Greek crisis, I argued that a much bigger game was being played out in Europe over Greece – and the name of that game was deterrence. In plain English, make the terms of any deal with any rebellious, indebted, government in Europe so tough – almost unacceptable – that …Read More

The new European Union

Wyplosz, Charles, (2015), “The new European Union“, Voxeu, 14 July The new bailout deal for Greece was not easy. This column argues that it was also a failure. It will not be enough to recapitalise banks, it asks for structural reform that exceeds Greek capacities, and it raises the Greek debt-to-GDP ratio to unsustainable levels. In a few months or quarters, the programme will fail and the Grexit question will …Read More

Saving Greece, Saving Europe

Eichengreen, Barry, (2015), “Saving Greece, Saving Europe”, Project Syndicate, 13 July Whatever one thinks about the tactics of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government in negotiations with the country’s creditors, the Greek people deserve better than what they are being offered. Germany wants Greece to choose between economic collapse and leaving the eurozone. Both options would mean economic disaster; the first, if not both, would be politically disastrous as well. …Read More

The non-independent ECB

Wren Lewis, Simon, (2015), “The non-independent ECB”, Mainly Macro, 10 July Imagine that the Scottish National Party (SNP) had won the independence referendum. The SNP starts negotiating with the remaining UK (rUK) government over issues like how to split up national debt. On some issue the negotiations get bogged down. Rumours start circulating that this might mean that rUK will not form a monetary union with Scotland, and that Scotland …Read More

The Five Things Everyone Should Know About the European Union

Menon, A. (2015) “The Five Things Everyone Should Know About the European Union“, Social Europe Journal, 08 April.   Where to start when asked, in five points, to encapsulate an institution as complex, as contested, as frequently misunderstood and indeed as deliberately misrepresented as the European Union? Perhaps with the statement that both its supporters and detractors exaggerate their cases. Rather than being the all-powerful behemoth frequently alluded to by …Read More

Viva la competencia

Kern, A. (2015) “Viva la competencia“, The European Magazine, 27 March.   Argentina was once the economic pride of the southern hemisphere. There is barely anything left after a half-century of misrule. Europe can (and must) learn from this cautionary tale. The distance between Santiago de Chile and Bueneos Aires is only one hour flying time: an hour that separates the future from the past. One travels from an emerging …Read More