Brzeski, C. (2015) “Calling the eurozone’s bluff?“, EU Observer Opinion, 14 Ιανουαρίου. Next week’s events have the clear potential to plant the seeds for another eurozone crisis. Not an immediate one with sharp market turmoil, but rather a creeping one: the sneaking and growing awareness that the eurozone is far from being perfect. On 22 January, the European Central Bank (ECB) will plant the first seed. It will be …Read More
Stelter, D. (2014) “How Japan Bankrupted Itself – Lessons For Europe, The story of Japan’s decline — and the lessons for Europe“, The Globalist, 19 Δεκεμβρίου. Following the start of Abenomics in 2012, Japan moved back to the center of attention of global financial markets. After two and a half decades of economic stagnation, hopes were high that Japan would escape its long stagnation and deflation. Plenty of economists …Read More
Gros, D. (2014) “Europe’s Misguided Investment Mania“, Project Syndicate Opinion Page, 11 Δεκεμβρίου. The mantra in Brussels and throughout Europe nowadays is that investment holds the key to economic recovery. The lynchpin of the new European Commission’s economic strategy is its recently unveiled plan to increase investment by €315 billion ($390 billion) over the next three years. But the Commission’s proposal is misguided, both in terms of its emphasis …Read More
Interview with Thomas Piketty: “The myth of national sovereignty helps big corporations screw us over”, The European Magazine, 12 Δεκεμβρίου. French economist Thomas Piketty has put inequality back on the map and is being hailed as the Karl Marx of the 21st century. He talked to Max Tholl and Florian Guckelsberger about a globalization gone wrong, a Eurozone parliament and our obsession with economic growth. The European: Mr. …Read More
Fatas, A. (2014) “The logic behind the German Euro gamble“, Antonio Fatas on the Global Economy Blog, 02 Δεκεμβρίου. In the current economic policy debate in Europe there seems to be an increasing polarization between the German view and the view of the other countries. How did we end up with such polarized views of the world? What is the basis for the apparent German stubbornness to change their …Read More
Mitchell, B. (2014) “The inexact science of calibrating fiscal policy“, Bill Mitchell Blog: Modern Monetary Theory … macroeconomic reality, 02 Δεκεμβρίου. In the showdown between France and the European Commission last week, France clearly is the winner on points, which is not surprising given the impossibility of the task the Commission had set it in meeting the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) rules and the danger to the latter if …Read More
Amartya Sen (2014) “Social Choice and Social Welfare“, Project Syndicate Organisation, 26 Νοεμβρίου. Human beings have always lived in groups, and their individual lives have invariably depended on group decisions. But the challenges of group choice can be daunting, particularly given the divergent interests and concerns of the group’s members. So, how should collective decision-making be carried out? A dictator who wants to control every aspect of people’s lives …Read More
Smith, Y. (2014) “Germany and the European Commission’s €315 Billion Infrastructure “New Deal” is Yet More Smoke and Mirrors“, Naked Capitalism Blog, 26 Νοεμβρίου. I have to confess I had not taken the announcement of a €315 billion infrastructure spending program by the European Commission all that seriously, despite the fact that this on the surface represented a very serious departure from the Troika’s antipathy for anything resembling fiscal …Read More
Gros, D. (2014) “Europe’s German Ball and Chain“, Project Syndicate Organisation, 24 Νοεμβρίου. A storm-tossed ship near dangerous cliffs needs a strong anchor to avoid finishing on the rocks. In 2012, when a financial storm engulfed the eurozone, it was Germany that kept the European ship off the shoals of financial disaster. But now Europe’s anchor has become a brake, hindering forward movement. Of course, German Chancellor Angela Merkel …Read More
Shilling, Α. G. (2014) “Why Countries Wage Currency Wars, BloombergView, 23 Νοεμβρίου. The U.S. dollar has been on a tear this year, rising against the currencies of virtually all major developed economies. What we’re seeing around the world is intense — and in some cases, deliberate — devaluations. What’s going on and what are the investment implications? One reason for the devaluations is that, when economic growth is weak …Read More
