Bernstein, J., (2013), “Paths to full employment”, The New York Times, Economix Blog, 02 Δεκεμβρίου. Economists like me, who stress the importance of full employment, have a bad habit. We go on and on about the problem of slack labor markets – their negative impact on the living standards of middle- and lower-income families, their persistence in recent decades – and then we stop without saying what might be done …Read More
Βαρουφάκης, Γ., (2013), “Η Πρόταση 4.0”, Protagon.gr, 18 Νοεμβρίου. Τρία χρόνια πέρασαν από την πρώτη εμφάνιση της πρότασής μας για το πώς είναι δυνατόν να επιλυθεί η Κρίση του Ευρώ εδώ στο protagon – υπό τον σύντομο τίτλο «Πρόταση» στα ελληνικά και «Modest Proposal for Resolving the Euro Crisis» στα αγγλικά («Μια Μετριοπαθής Πρόταση για την Επίλυση της Κρίσης του Ευρώ»). Από τότε έχει προσαρμοστεί αρκετές φορές (βλ. π.χ. 2.0 …Read More
Berggruen, N. και Gardels, N., (2013), “Η Επόμενη Ευρώπη: Προς μια ομοσπονδιακή ένωση”, Foreign Affairs, The Hellenic Edition, 18 Νοεμβρίου. Όταν οι επικεφαλής των τριών μεγάλων θεσμικών οργάνων της ΕΕ – της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής, του Ευρωπαϊκού Συμβουλίου και του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου – παρέλαβαν από κοινού το Νόμπελ Ειρήνης στο Όσλο τον περασμένο Δεκέμβριο, έδωσαν έμφαση στον ομιχλώδη σκοπό και στην έλλειψη θεσμικής σαφήνειας που βρίσκονται στο πυρήνα των σημερινών προβλημάτων …Read More
Schnabel, C., (2013), “Trade unions in Europe: Dinosaurs on the verge of extinction?”, VoxEU, 18 Νοεμβρίου. Though trade union density and its trends vary considerably across Western European countries, in most of them the current density has fallen down in comparison to 30 years ago. This column reviews some explanations for the decline of unionisation and discusses some of the challenges unions need to face. Union membership could still be …Read More
Swoboda, Η. and Hughes, S., (2013), “Towards A Progressive Economy For Europe”, Social Europe Journal, 11 Νοεμβρίου. Europe’s current misfortune is not just that it was hit by the most severe financial crisis in decades. It has also come from the fact that this crisis occurred during a time in which economic thinking was, and still remains, dominated by old concepts and neoclassical models. Back in 2008 and 2009, survival …Read More
Smaghi, L.B., (2013), “Austerity and Stupidity”, VoxEU, 06 Νοεμβρίου. Today’s austerity, many argue, is stupid. This column argues that today’s EZ austerity may arise from stupidity before the crisis – specifically lacklustre structural reform. Excess debt arose in nations maintaining unsustainable living standards and welfare systems in the face of poor growth. The Crisis forced radical adjustments such as austerity in a recession. It’s not austerity which caused low growth, …Read More
Hacker, B., (2013), “Breakup Is Not A Solution to the Eurozone Crisis”, Social Europe Journal, 25 Οκτωβρίου. The unexpectedly high level of support for the new party “Alternative für Deutschland” (AFD) in the general elections in Germany puts their central program point back on the agenda of the political debate. Parties proposing a dissolving of the common currency might gain ground prior to the European Elections in 2014. But the …Read More
Schmidt, V. and Thatcher, M., (2003), “Why are Neo-liberal ideas so resilient?”, Policy Network , 24 Οκτωβρίου. Given the abject failure of the Neo-liberal policy offer, why has it persisted as the dominant approach to European policymaking and is there any way out? Despite the economic crisis that hit the US and Europe full force in 2008, political leaders have made little attempt to rethink the neo-liberal ideas that are …Read More
Fouka, V. and Voth, H.J., (2013), “Massacre memories: German car sales and the EZ Crisis in Greece”, VoxEU, 23 Οκτωβρίου. The EZ crisis increased north-south conflicts between bailout providers and recipients – especially between Germany and Greece. This column shows evidence that political conflict directly translated into losses of market share for German car producers in Greece – especially in areas where German armed forces committed massacres during World War …Read More
Vedrine, H., (2013), “Europe’s Flight from Futility”, Project Syndicate, 22 Οκτωβρίου. In the next 25 years, Europe’s share of the world population and global GDP is expected to fall considerably. Does that mean that a weakened Europe will fall prey to the rising powers of 2040? Given that Europe’s prospects are highly dependent on external factors, any speculation about its future must account for global conditions. One thing seems certain: …Read More
