Amador, João, Di Mauro, Filippo, (2015), “The age of global value chains”, Voxeu, 9 Σεπτεμβρίου There is an urgent need for policymakers to fully acknowledge the extent to which conventional indicators related to gross trade are severely flawed as policy benchmarks because they fail to take into account the existence of global value chains and their increasing role in shaping the global economy. This column, which introduces a new Vox ebook, …Read More
The state of the monetary union
Philippon, Thomas, (2015), “The state of the monetary union”, Voxeu, 31 Αυγούστου The Eurozone crisis continues to take centre stage. This column discusses how deep the EZ crisis is, how long it will last, and what should be the policy priorities. A number of findings emerge. First, the difference in labour market performance between the US and the Eurozone is one of degree but not of kind. Second, the economic consequences …Read More
European Banks’ Sovereign Debt Home Bias: Voluntary or Involuntary?
Horváth, Bálint, Huizinga, Harry, Ioannidou, Vasso, (2015), “European Banks’ Sovereign Debt Home Bias: Voluntary or Involuntary?”, Voxeu, 31 Ιουλίου When banks invest heavily in sovereign debt, and in domestic sovereign debt in particular, the result is a debt home bias. This column presents evidence of a partially voluntary and partially involuntary sovereign debt home bias among large European banks. This bias is stronger if the sovereign is risky and shareholder rights are strong or the …Read More
Why Social Investments Bring Multiple Benefits
Woess, Josef, Buxbaum, Adi, (2015), “Why Social Investments Bring Multiple Benefits”, Social Europe Journal, 28 Ιουλίου Austerity measures put social cohesion at immense risk and restrain the growth dynamic in Europe. Furthermore, these measures have massively damaged the confidence of citizens in European and national institutions. Failing to solve problems such as high unemployment or a lack of social infrastructure is a very expensive option, associated with massive costs for individuals and society. …Read More
Spare tire? Stock markets, banking crises, and economic recoveries
Levine, Ross, Lin, Chen, Xie, Wensi, (2015), “Spare tire? Stock markets, banking crises, and economic recoveries”, Voxeu, 29 Ιουλίου Some have argued that the stock market serves as a ‘spare tire’ during banking crises by providing an alternative corporate financing channel. This column examines the claim using data for 36 countries spanning 20 years. The findings support the three core predictions of the spare tire view, suggesting that countries can insulate parts of their economy …Read More
Innovation, income inequality, and social mobility
Aghion, Philippe, Akcigit, Ufuk, Bergeaud, Antonin, Blundell, Richard, Hemous, David, (2015), “Innovation, income inequality, and social mobility”, Voxeu, 28 Ιουλίου In recent decades, there has been an accelerated increase in top income inequality, particularly in developed countries. This column argues that innovation partly accounts for the surge in top income inequality and fosters social mobility. In particular, the positive effect of innovation on social mobility is due to new innovators. Σχετικές Αναρτήσεις Dabla-Norris, Era, Kochhar, Kalpana, Suphaphiphat, Nujin, Ricka, Frantisek, Tsounta, Evridiki, (2015),“Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality …Read More
Policy consequences of public income volatility
Robinson, James, Torvik, Ragnar, Verdier, Thierry, (2015), “Policy consequences of public income volatility”, Voxeu, 27 Ιουλίου As the Eurozone continues to struggle to recover from the economic fallouts of the 2008 crisis, and with Greece on the edge of exiting the currency union, it hardly needs to be said that politics has played a significant role both in the creation of the original crisis and in impeding an optimal solution to it. Since the 1970s economists have …Read More
Debt miracle: Why the country that borrowed the most industrialised first
Ventura, Jaume, Voth, Hans-Joachim, (2015), “Debt miracle: Why the country that borrowed the most industrialised first”, Voxeu, 27 Ιουλίου Towering debts, rapidly rising taxes, constant and expensive wars, a debt burden surpassing 200% of GDP. What are the chances that a country with such characteristics would grow rapidly? Almost anyone would probably say ‘none’.And yet, these are exactly the conditions under which the Industrial Revolution took place in Britain. Britain’s …Read More
Understanding past and future financial crises
Olivier Gourinchas, Pierre, Obstfeld, Maurice, (2015), “Understanding past and future financial crises”, Voxeu, 21 Ιουλίου What explains the different effects of the crisis around the world? This column compares the 2007–09 crisis to earlier episodes of banking, currency, and sovereign debt distress and identifies domestic-credit booms and real currency appreciation as the most significant predictors of future crises, in both advanced and emerging economies. It argues these results could help policymakers determine the …Read More
From Systemic Banking Crises to Fiscal Costs: Risk Factors
Amaglobeli, David, End, Nicolas, Jarmuzek, Mariusz, Palomba, Geremia, (2015), “From Systemic Banking Crises to Fiscal Costs: Risk Factors”, IMF Working Paper/WP/15/166, Fiscal Affairs Department, Ιούλιος This paper examines the risk factors associated with fiscal costs of systemic banking crises using cross-country data. We differentiate between immediate direct fiscal costs of government intervention (e.g., recapitalization and asset purchases) and overall fiscal costs of banking crises as proxied by changes in the public debt-to-GDP ratio. We find that both …Read More