Gros, Daniel, (2016), “The silent death of eurozone governance”, CEPS, 19 Αυγούστου Sometimes the most important thing that happens is what doesn’t happen – or, to paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, it’s the dog that doesn’t bark in the night. The lack of response to the European Commission’s non-enforcement in Spain and Portugal of the terms of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) is one of those times. According to SGP rules, the Commission …Read More

Gonzalez-Eiras, Martin, Niepelt, Dirk, (2016), “Fiscal Federalism, Taxation and Grants”, CEPR, Αύγουστος We propose a theory of tax centralization and inter governmental grants in politico-economic equilibrium. The cost of taxation differs across levels of government because voters internalize general equilibrium effects at the central but not at the local level. This renders the degree of tax centralization and the tax burden determinate even if none of the traditional, expenditure-related motives for …Read More

Constâncio, Vitor, Hartmann, Philipp, (2016), “Selected takeaways from the ECB’s Sintra Forum on “The Future of the International Monetary and Financial Architecture””, VoxEU, 1 Σεπτεμβρίου The ECB’s 2016 Sintra Forum on Central Banking focused on the international monetary and financial system. In this column, the organisers of the forum highlight some of the main points from the discussions, including concerns that the world economy may be suffering from a shortage of …Read More

Spence, Michael, (2016), “How to Fight Secular Stagnation”, Project Syndicate, 31 Αυγούστου Much of the world, especially the advanced economies, has been mired in a pattern of slow and declining GDP growth in recent years, causing many to wonder whether this is becoming a semi-permanent condition – so-called “secular stagnation.” The answer is probably yes, but the question lacks precision, and thus has limited utility. There are, after all, different types …Read More

Eijffinger, Sylvester, (2016), “Europe needs its own Alexander Hamilton”, VoxEU, 31 Αυγούστου The ECB is under fire from all sides for its inability to stimulate Europe’s economies. This column puts the case for an informal European ‘praesidium’ within the Eurogroup to coordinate wider stimulus and reform measures. This will inevitably lead to the appointment of a European finance minister – the Eurozone’s equivalent of Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasury Secretary in …Read More

Demary, Markus, (2016), “Why the ECB is not to blame for low interest rates”, LSE Europpblog, 22 Αυγούστου In the latest set of EU stress tests, several German lenders performed poorly. As Markus Demary writes, some of this performance has been blamed on low interest rates squeezing the profitability of lenders. He argues that while the ECB has frequently been blamed for this situation, the reality is more complex and instead …Read More

Pisani-Ferry, Jean, Röttgen, Norbert, Sapir, André, Tucker, Paul, Wolff, Guntram B., (2016), “Europe after Brexit: A proposal for a continental partnership”, Bruegel, 29 Αυγούστου This paper leaves aside the issue of EU reform and focuses on the desirable EU-UK relationship after Brexit. The authors argue that none of the existing models of partnership with the EU would be suitable for the UK. They propose a new form of collaboration, a continental partnership, which is considerably less deep than EU …Read More

Ugolini, Stefano, (2016), “The limits to “whatever it takes”: Lessons from the gold standard”, Voxeu, 30 Αυγούστου When Mario Draghi famously declared that the ECB was “ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro”, he also specified “within our mandate”. This column examines the institutional limitations to central bankers’ actions. It argues that institutional constraints are essential in determining the sustainability of monetary policies, and hence central banks’ ability …Read More

Gaspar, Vitor, Escolano, Julio, (2016), “An Argument for Paying Down Public Debt”, iMFdirect, 26 Αυγούστου What should governments do about high public debt-to-GDP ratios?  This question is getting much-deserved attention. Let’s abstract from macroeconomic (business cycle) considerations and look at the issue purely from an optimal tax smoothing perspective—that is, weighing the cost and benefits of raising taxes to pay down debt. By doing so we decidedly do not engage in …Read More

Andor, László, (2016), “Transition To Transfers: Options For EMU Level Unemployment Insurance”, Social Europe, 29 Αυγούστου In his new book on the euro, Joseph Stiglitz mentions unemployment insurance as part of a reform program that could make monetary union sustainable and palatable in Europe. The idea is not entirely new, and recent years have seen a good deal of studies and conferences exploring its costs and benefits. In documents like the …Read More