Darvas, Zsolt, (2016), “Some are more equal than others: new estimates of global and regional inequality”, Bruegel, 8 Νοεμβρίου Zsolt Darvas compares four methodologies to estimate the global distribution of income and find that many methods work well, but the method based on two-parameter distributions is more accurate than other methods. This method is simpler, easier to implement and relies on a more internationally-comparable dataset of national income distributions than …Read More
Diverging household debt patterns in the Eurozone: The role of institutions
Bover, Olympia, Casado, Jose Maria, Costa, Sónia, Du Caju, Philip, McCarthy, Yvonne, Sierminska, Eva, Tzamourani, Panagiota, Villanueva, Ernesto, Zavadil, Tibor, (2016), “Diverging household debt patterns in the Eurozone: The role of institutions”, VoxEu, 8 Νοεμβρίου Household micro-data reveal striking differences in secured debt holdings across Eurozone countries. This column presents new evidence on the role of household characteristics and country institutions in accounting for the cross-country patterns observed. In countries with …Read More
The Skills Delusion
Turner, Adair, (2016), “ The Skills Delusion”, Social Europe, 7 Νοεμβρίου Everybody agrees that better education and improved skills, for as many people as possible, is crucial to increasing productivity and living standards and to tackling rising inequality. But what if everybody is wrong? Σχετικές Αναρτήσεις Kai Liua, Kjell G. Salvanes, Erik Ø. Sørensen, (2016), “Good skills in bad times: Cyclical skill mismatch and the long-term effects of graduating in …Read More
Big Danger at the Lower Bound
Rogoff, Kenneth, (2016), “Big Danger at the Lower Bound”, Project Syndicate, 2 Νοεμβρίου Markets nowadays are fixated on how high the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the next 12 months. This is dangerously shortsighted: the real concern ought to be how far it could cut rates in the next deep recession. Given that the Fed may struggle just to get its base interest rate up to 2% …Read More
A Perfectly Crazy Idea for the IMF
Panizza, Ugo, (2016), “A Perfectly Crazy Idea for the IMF”, Project Syndicate, 2 Νοεμβρίου Emerging economies inhabit a risky world characterized by volatile capital flows. But, rather than rely on the IMF to fulfill its mandate of protecting them from liquidity crises, they self-insure by accumulating large stockpiles of international reserves. Emerging and developing economies now lend nearly $7.5 trillion to the US Treasury – resources that could be used …Read More
Labour market regulations and capital intensity
Cette, Gilbert, Lopez, Jimmy, Mairesse, Jacques, (2016), “Labour market regulations and capital intensity”, VoxEu, 4 Νοεμβρίου With structural reforms of labour markets currently being considered in several countries, including in southern Europe, assessing their impact is vital. This column investigates the effects of employment protection legislation on a variety of production factors. Structural reforms that increase labour flexibility – that is, which weaken employment protection legislation – could have a favourable …Read More
Correcting The Euro’s Flawed Architecture Demands A Focus On Competitiveness Rather Than Productivity
Skouras, Thanos, (2016), “Correcting The Euro’s Flawed Architecture Demands A Focus On Competitiveness Rather Than Productivity”, Social Europe, 1 Νοεμβρίου On September 20, the European Council adopted a recommendation calling on the Eurozone member states to establish national productivity boards. This was an unfortunate decision. Not only did it kill a good proposal, it replaced it with a potentially harmful one. The useful initial proposal by the Five Presidents Report …Read More
Systemic Implications of Problems at a Major European Bank
R. Cline, William, (2016), “Systemic Implications of Problems at a Major European Bank”, Peterson Institute for International Economics, October Following the financial crisis in the United States and Europe, in the last several years banks on both sides of the Atlantic have been subjected to stronger supervision and regulation as well as tougher requirements on capitalization. Yet recent events suggest that vulnerabilities may remain in some of the largest financial …Read More
The New Fiscal Reality
Pisani-Ferry, Jean, (2016), “The New Fiscal Reality”, Project Syndicate, 1 Νοεμβρίου “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” This, reportedly, is how Keynes replied to the criticism that he had changed his position on the policy response to the Great Depression. Pragmatism of this sort is not that common: policy views are often characterized by considerable inertia. Too frequently, today’s perspectives remain shaped by …Read More
The New View of fiscal policy and its application
Furman, Jason, (2016), “The New View of fiscal policy and its application”, VoxEu, 2 Νοεμβρίου The landscape of the fiscal policy debate has changed over the past decade, with academics and international organisations moving away from an ‘Old View’ of fiscal policy as ineffective. This column uses examples from the US and Europe to highlight the five principles of a ‘New View’ of fiscal policy, which increasingly appreciates that expansionary …Read More