Rehn, O., (2013), “Turning Germany’s surplus into a win-win for the Eurozone”, Olli Rehn’s blog, 11 Νοεμβρίου. Germany’s current account surplus has been a subject of heated debate for some time. On the one side, there are regular calls for the country to reduce its surplus through fiscal stimulus, to lift southern Europe from its doldrums. On the other side, in Germany these calls are often regarded as jealous attacks …Read More

Bornhorst, F. and Ruiz Arranz, M., (2013), “The perils of private-sector deleveraging in the Eurozone”, VoxEU, 10 Νοεμβρίου. Private and public debt in the Eurozone increased since the 2000s, and especially so in certain countries. This column presents evidence that high levels of private and public debt, together with deleveraging of all sectors, are especially harmful for economic growth. Private sector debt is more detrimental to growth than public sector …Read More

Wren-Lewis, S., (2013), “The real problem with German macroeconomic policy”, Mainly Macro Blog, 03 Νοεμβρίου. Paul Krugman has been laying into Germany in the past few days . I think it might be interesting to look at two possible defences for the German position. The first is that they are doing what any government would do, which is act in their national interest. The second is that, for from being …Read More

Mortensen, D., (2013), “From Unemployment to Entrepreneurship”, Project Syndicate, 07 Νοεμβρίου. It is well known that manufacturing employment has declined significantly in the United States, owing to the rise of manufacturing in developing countries like Mexico and China. But few recognize similar drops in other sectors, despite such trends’ far-reaching economic, social, and political implications. Since 1972, the number of telephone operators has fallen by 82%, typists by 80%, secretaries …Read More

Pozsar, Z., (2013), “Shadow banking and the global financial ecosystem”, VoxEU, 07 Νοεμβρίου.   Modern banks operate in a complex global financial ecosystem. This column argues that regulating banks properly requires updating our ideas about how they operate. Modern banks finance bond portfolios with uninsured money market instruments, and thus link cash portfolio managers and risk portfolio managers. Gone are the days when banks linked ultimate borrowers with ultimate savers …Read More

Rogoff, K., (2013), “Why Wealth Taxes Are Not Enough”, Project Syndicate, 04 Νοεμβρίου. Should advanced countries implement wealth taxes as a means of stabilizing and reducing public debt over the medium term? The normally conservative International Monetary Fund has given the idea surprisingly emphatic support. The IMF calculates that a one-time 10% wealth levy, if introduced quickly and unexpectedly, could return many European countries to pre-crisis public debt/GDP ratios. It …Read More

Gros, D., (2013), “The European Banking Disunion”, Project Syndicate, 06 Νοεμβρίου. The purpose of the euro was to create fully integrated financial markets; but, since the start of the global financial crisis in 2008, markets have been renationalizing. So the future of the eurozone depends crucially on whether that trend continues or Europe’s financial markets become fully integrated. But either outcome would be preferable to something in between – neither …Read More

De Sousa, C., (2013), “Easing now or later? – That’s the ECB’s question”, Bruegel, 06 Νοεμβρίου. October euro area annual overall inflation is expected to be 0.7% (the lowest in 47 months and down for the fourth consecutive month), while core inflation (excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco) is estimated at 0.8%; down from 1.1% and 1.0% in September respectively, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat This is below …Read More