ΕΥ (2014), ΕΥ Eurozone Forecast, EY Outlook for Financial Services, Winter 2013/2014 The run-up to Christmas and the start of 2014 proved to be a busy time for Europe’s financial sector. Sadly, this was less to do with the festivities and more to do with the necessary groundwork to underpin the Eurozone’s new regulatory framework. After lengthy delays, work around Solvency II — recently re-animated by agreement over the Omnibus …Read More
Global Employment Trends 2014: The Risk of a Jobless Recovery
ILO (2014), Global Employment Trends 2014: The Risk of a Jobless Recovery, ILO Publications, Geneva. The Global Employment Trends study offers the latest global and regional information and projections on several indicators of the labour market, including employment, unemployment, working poverty and vulnerable employment. The weak global economic recovery has failed to lead to an improvement in global labour markets, with global unemployment in 2013 reaching almost 202 million. Σχετικές …Read More
Europe’s ‘structural reform’ agenda is little more than a fairytale
Regan, A., (2014), “Europe’s ‘structural reform’ agenda is little more than a fairytale”, LSE Blogs, 21 Ιανουαρίου. The policy response to the Eurozone crisis has incorporated a number of different elements, including the structural reform of European economies. Aidan Regan argues that this ‘structural reform agenda’ has been defined in exceptionally vague terms, and that it is still unclear precisely which reforms would lead to tangible economic improvements in European …Read More
A New Model for New Europe
Baily, M. & Sjåtil, P., (2014), “A New Model for New Europe”, Project Syndicate, 17 Ιανουαρίου Five years ago, Central and Eastern Europe was home to one of the world’s most impressive growth stories. Annual GDP growth was close to 5%, just behind China and India. Foreign direct investment poured into Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia at a rate of more than $40 billion …Read More
How the ECB could be Radical by being Old Fashioned
Wren-Lewis, S., (2014), “How the ECB could be Radical by being Old Fashioned”, Social Europe Journal, 20 Ιανουαρίου. Forward commitment could be sold not as a radical new policy, but a return to a very old one: money targeting. The one major central bank that did maintain a money targeting policy for more than a few years was the Bundesbank. Why is money targeting like a forward commitment policy? Because …Read More
Falling short of expectations? Stress-testing the European banking system
Acharya V., and Steffen S., (2014), “Falling short of expectations? Stress-testing the European banking system”, Voxeu, 17 Ιανουαρίου. The Single Supervisory Mechanism – a key pillar of the Eurozone banking union – will transfer supervision of Europe’s largest banks to the ECB. Before taking over this role, the ECB will conduct an Asset Quality Review to identify these banks’ capital shortfalls. This column discusses recent estimates of these shortfalls based …Read More
‘Structural Reforms’ and Unemployment
Arestis Ph., and M. Sawyer, (2014), “‘Structural Reforms’ and Unemployment”, Triple Crisis, 16 Ιανουαρίου. There is little doubt that the “fiscal compact,” which has replaced the Stability and Growth Pact of the Economic and Monetary Union, reinforces an already-established neoliberal perspective on macroeconomic policy—with the emphasis on balanced budgets and an “independent” central bank only concerned with price stability. There is little doubt that the “fiscal compact,” which has replaced …Read More
A Dutch Cure for the Dutch Disease
Boskin, M., (2014), “A Dutch Cure for the Dutch Disease”, Project Syndicate, 16 Ιανουαρίου. Far too few governments rein in their countries’ bloated welfare states before disaster strikes. As a result, some citizens eventually suffer the economic equivalent of a heart attack: wrenching declines in living standards as they are victimized by unsustainable programs’ endgame. Greece and the city of Detroit are only the most recent grim examples. Σχετικές Αναρτήσεις …Read More
Why has Europe’s economy done worse than the US?
Weisbrot, M., (2014),“Why has Europe’s economy done worse than the US?”, The Guardian, 16 Ιανουαρίου. The eurozone experience shows what can happen when people lose control over their government’s economic policies. Σχετικές Αναρτήσεις De Grauwe, P. and Ji, Y., (2013), “The Legacy of Austerity in the Eurozone”, Centre for European Policy Studies, 04 Οκτωβρίου. Oxfam, (2013), “A Cautionary Tale: The true cost of austerity and inequality in Europe”, Oxfam Briefing …Read More
The roots of shadow banking
Perotti, Enr., (2014), “The roots of shadow banking” , Voxeu, 16 Ιανουαρίου. The ‘shadow banking’ sector is a loose title given to the financial sector that exists outside the regulatory perimeter but mimics some structures and functions of banks. Σχετικές Αναρτήσεις Pozsar, Z., (2013), “Shadow banking and the global financial ecosystem” , VoxEU, 07 Νοεμβρίου. Gros, D., (2013), “The European Banking Disunion”, Project Syndicate, 06 Νοεμβρίου. Den Haan, W. ed., (2013), Forward Guidance: Perspectives …Read More