Gechert, S., Hughes Hallett, A. & Rannenberg, A. (2015) “Fiscal multipliers in downturns and the effects of Eurozone consolidation“, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Policy Insight No. 79, 25 Φεβρουαρίου.   The literature on fiscal multipliers has expanded greatly since the outbreak of the Global Crisis. This column introduces CEPR Policy Insight 79, which reports on a meta-regression analysis of fiscal multipliers collected from a broad set of empirical reduced form …Read More

Holter, H., Krueger, D. & Stepanchuk, S. (2015) “Tax progressivity and the government’s ability to collect additional tax revenue“, VoxEU Organisation, 20 Φεβρουαρίου.   Since the Global Crisis, debt sustainability has received increasing attention. This column argues that the maximum sustainable debt level depends negatively on the progressivity of the tax system. The authors estimate that the US is still relatively far from the peak of its Laffer curve and …Read More

Vuillemey, G. (2015) “Do derivatives make the world safer?, VoxEU Organisation, 12 Φεβρουαρίου.   The interest rate derivatives market has grown tenfold over the past 15 years. These contracts are mostly held by commercial banks, raising financial stability concerns. This column discusses how hedging using derivatives affects bank lending and the occurrence of bank defaults. The interest rate derivatives market is the largest market in the world, with an aggregate …Read More

Wren-Lewis, S. (2015) “We already have a simple and conventional story to explain the weak recovery“, VoxEU Organisation, 30 Ιανουαρίου.   The anaemic recovery from the Global Crisis and the downward trend in real interest rates since 1980 have revived interest in the idea of secular stagnation. This column argues that if the US, UK, and Eurozone had not pursued contractionary fiscal policies from 2010 onwards, the recovery would not …Read More

De Grauwe, P. (2015) “Secular stagnation in the Eurozone“, VoxEU Organisation, 30 Ιανουαρίου.   Nowhere in the developed world is the secular stagnation more visible than in the Eurozone. This column explains this phenomenon with asymmetric external balances within the Eurozone. Southern counties had accumulated current-account deficits and became debtors when the Crisis hit, whereas the northern ones became creditors. The burden of the adjustments has been borne almost exclusively …Read More

Gorodnichenko, Υ., Talavera, Ο. & Sheremirov, S. (2015) “Will e-commerce make prices more flexible?, VoxEU Organisation, 21 Ιανουαρίου.   An increasing share of purchases are made online where price changes are very cheap. This column presents new evidence on price dispersions and frictions using novel data from an online shopping platform from the US and the UK. Online prices are more flexible than prices in conventional stores but still sticky. …Read More