International Monetary Fund (2014) “Fiscal Policy and Income Inequality“, IMF Policy Paper, 23 Ιανουαρίου. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Fiscal policy is the primary tool for governments to affect income distribution. Rising income inequality in advanced and developing economies has coincided with growing public support for income redistribution. This comes at a time when fiscal restraint is an important priority in many advanced and developing economies. In the context of the Fund’s …Read More
Society at a Glance
OECD (2014) “Society at a Glance: the Crisis and its Aftermath“, OECD Social Indicators, OECD Publishing. The year 2014 is starting, with the perspective of a more widespread and sustainable recovery from the Great Recession. True, risks remain, and the pace of progress still varies widely: in the Eurozone, for instance, a number of economies remain in a fragile state. Nevertheless, the prospects for both the world economy and …Read More
How much is enough? The case of the Resolution Fund in Europe
Huertas, T. & Nieto, J. M. (2014) “How Much is Enough? The Case of the Resolution Fund in Europe“, Vox: Research-Based Policy Analysis & Commentary from Leading Economists, 18 Μαρτίου. The European Resolution Fund is intended to reach €55 billion – much less than the amount of public assistance required by individual institutions during the recent financial crisis. This column argues that the Resolution Fund can nevertheless be large …Read More
EU Launches Long-Awaited Overhaul of Megabank Regulation
Spellman, J. (2014) “EU Launches Long-Awaited Overhaul of Megabank Regulation“, The European Institute, EI Blog, Ιανουάριος. The European Union’s long-delayed overhaul of megabank regulation now proposes curtailing or banning the riskiest financial activities in hopes of avoiding a repeat of the 2007-2009 global financial system meltdown. Until now, the post-crisis EU banking reforms had not acted to rein in “too big to fail” banks, focusing instead on establishing a …Read More
Future of Skills in Europe: Convergence or Polarisation?
Beblavý, M. & Veselkova, Μ. (2014) “Future of Skills in Europe: Convergence or Polarisation?“, Social Welfare Policies, CEPS Working Documents, 27 Φεβρουαρίου. In this Working Paper, based on nearly 20 papers produced by the Centre for European Policy Studies, Slovak Governance Institute and the Conference Board Europe, we examine whether the current trends in the areas of education and skills are pushing the European Union, towards convergence or polarisation. …Read More
Promoting the Social Economy as a Driver for Inclusive Growth and Social Progress
Schneider, E. M. & Laino, E. (2014) “Promoting the Social Economy as a Driver for Inclusive Growth and Social Progress“, SOLIDAR: Together for Social Europe, Briefing 64, Μάρτιος. The social economy is an essential pillar of the European social model and its actors play an important role in maintaining social services and in overcoming economic and social crises; in recent years 3.5 million new jobs have been created in …Read More
Persistent unemployment poses a substantive threat to democracy in Southern European countries
Muro, D. & Vidal Lorda, G. (2014) “Persistent unemployment poses a substantive threat to democracy in Southern European countries“, London School of Economics and Political Science, 13 Μαρτίου 2014. The purpose of competitive elections is to reward good politicians and punish bad ones, but what happens if elections can no longer fulfil this role? Diego Muro and Guillem Vidal write that developments in Southern European countries since the start of …Read More
Latvia and Greece: Less is More
Biggs, M. & Mayer, T. (2014) “Latvia and Greece: Less is More“, Economic Policy, CEPS High-Briefs, 12 Φεβρουαρίου 2014 Key Points: Despite considerable differences, there were also many similarities in economic performance between Latvia and Greece before their respective adjustment crises. After the immediate crisis, however, economic activity rebounded sharply in Latvia but continued to contract in Greece. This paper argues that this difference was due primarily to developments in …Read More
Financing the Real Economy
Canton, E. (2014) “Financing the Real Economy“, ECFIN Economic Brief, Issue 30, Φεβρουάριος 2014. Introduction In the aftermath of the economic and financial crisis, policymaking became more geared towards structural reforms to support the process of economic recovery, steered at the EU level through the reinforced economic govern-ance. While there areencouraging signs that an economic recovery is underway in Europe, growth pro-spects are modest and further re-forms remain necessary …Read More
Why The ECJ Should Reject The German Constitutional Court’s Ruling
De Grauwe, P. (2014) “Why the ECJ Should Reject the German Constitutional Court’s Ruling“, Social Europe Journal, 11 Μαρτίου 2014. Despite having a positive effect on the economic situation within the Eurozone, the European Central Bank’s Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) program has proved controversial, with the German Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe recently deeming it illegal under EU law. Paul De Grauwe argues that the ruling reflects a serious misunderstanding of central banking …Read More