Oulasvirta, Lasse O., Bailey, Stephen J., (2016), “Evolution of EU public sector financial accounting standardisation: critical events that opened the window for attempted policy change”, Journal of European Integration, 11 Μαΐου This paper analyses agenda-setting for EU policy change in respect to public sector accounting harmonisation, adopting the garbage can model for its theoretical framework. It utilises qualitative research methods to determine what caused the window of opportunity to open, why it …Read More
Europe after Brexit: A proposal for a continental partnership
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
The limits to “whatever it takes”: Lessons from the gold standard
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
The IMF’s role in the euro-area crisis: financial sector aspects
Véron, Nicolas, (2016), “The IMF’s role in the euro-area crisis: financial sector aspects”, Bruegel, 29 Αυγούστου Nicolas Véron reviews in-depth the role played by the IMF in understanding the financial-sector dynamics of the euro-area crisis. The IMF was the first public authority to acknowledge the role of the bank-sovereign vicious circle and to articulate a clear vision of banking union as an essential policy response. At national level, the IMF’s approach …Read More
Public Investment Stimulus in Surplus Countries and their Euro Area Spillovers
Veld, Jan in ‘t, (2016), “Public Investment Stimulus in Surplus Countries and their Euro Area Spillovers”, European Commission, Economic Brief 016, Αύγουστος This note describes model simulations that broadly confirm the view that at the current juncture, with monetary policy constrained by the zero interest rate floor, a debt-financed increase in government investment in surplus countries will have positive GDP spillovers to the rest of the euro area. If monetary policy …Read More
An Argument for Paying Down Public Debt
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
Transition To Transfers: Options For EMU Level Unemployment Insurance
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
How can we explain the persistence of the Great Recession? A balanced stability approach
Togati, Teodoro Dario, (2015), “How can we explain the persistence of the Great Recession? A balanced stability approach”, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Σεπτέμβριος The Great Recession (GR) creates a stalemate in macroeconomics. On the one hand, standard approaches fail to account for its persistence in a credible way due to their implicit assumption that the economy is internally stable. On the other, heterodox approaches fail to regain consensus. While often correctly …Read More
Absolute Advantage and International Trade – Evidence from Four Euro-zone Economies
Seretis, Stergios A., Tsaliki, Persefoni V., (2016), “Absolute Advantage and International Trade – Evidence from Four Euro-zone Economies”, Review of Radical Political Economics, Αύγουστος The purpose of this paper is to give empirical content to the approach of international trade based on the principle of absolute advantage and to show that differences in productivity may give rise to transfers of value towards the units of capital with an absolute advantage in production. Our …Read More
Demystifying Monetary Finance
Turner, Adair, (2016), “Demystifying Monetary Finance”, Social Europe, 23 Αυγούστου Eight years after the 2008 crisis governments and central banks – despite a plethora of policies and approaches – have failed to stimulate enough demand to produce sustained and strong growth. In Japan, so-called Abenomics promised 2% inflation by 2015; instead, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) expects it to be close to zero in 2016, with GDP growth below 1%. Eurozone …Read More