Beck, Τ., Degryse, H., De Haas, R. & Van Horen, N. (2014) “When arm’s length is too far“, VoxEU Organisation, 25 Ιουλίου.   The small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) were among the most severely affected in the Global Crisis. This column discusses new evidence on how different lending techniques affect lending in bad and good times. Data from 21 countries in central and eastern Europe show that ‘relationship lending’ alleviates …Read More

Meyer, H. (2014) “How Money And Credit Work“, Social Europe Journal, 23 Ιουλίου.   Do you think that in recent years, as a result of the global economic crisis, the whole discussion about public policy has become increasingly focussed on economics? And that much of the policy discussion is based on core concepts that are quite poorly understood, including by many policy-makers? If your answer to these question is yes you are not alone. At …Read More

Tressel, T. & Wang, S. (2014) “Rebalancing in the Euro Area and Cyclicality of Current Account Adjustments“, Working Paper No. 14/130, International Monetary Fund, 22 Ιουλίου.   The paper examines progress with the external rebalancing of euro area deficit countries. Relative prices are adjusting at different pace across countries and with different compositions of wage cuts and labor shedding. There is so far limited evidence of resource re-allocation from non-tradable …Read More

Broner, A. F., Erce, A., Martin, A. & Ventura, J. (2014) “Sovereign debt markets in turbulent times: A view of the European crisis“, VoxEU Organisation, 23 Ιουλίου.   By 2010, Eurozone periphery countries had faced severe debt problems and a falling credit to the private sector. This column proposes a theory to interpret these events. Governments can discriminate in favour of domestic creditors and public debts trade in secondary markets. …Read More

Emerson, M. (2014) “Trade policy issues in the Wider Europe – that led to war and not yet to peace“, EU Foreign Policy, CEPS Working Documents, 16 Ιουλίου.   This paper looks at the trade policy landscape of the EU and the wider Europe, with a focus on issues arising from the signature on 27 June 2014 of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTAs) between the EU and three …Read More

Benkovskis, K. & Woerz, J. (2014) “Lower import prices = 100% welfare gains? Not necessarily: don′t forget the impact of consumer taste and product quality“, VoxEU Organisation, 15 Ιουλίου.   Import price statistics may not be a reliable indicator of welfare gains. They must adequately reflect the fact that consumers value variety, and that consumer tastes and product quality change over time. This column evaluates existing findings, and introduces new …Read More

Janssen, R. (2014) “European Wage Depression Since 1999“, Social Europe Journal, 30 Μαΐου.   Probably one of the most popular slogans of the entire European Semester is the catchphrase that wages should be aligned with productivity. The reason for its popularity is that this phrase can be used with a lot of flexibility. On the one hand, the Commission can make use of it to discipline wages and undermine national …Read More

Sayek, S. & Taskin, F. (2014) “Lessons from history for the European Financial Crisis“, VoxEU Organisation, 05 Ιουλίου.   The European Monetary Union is unprecedented, but the Eurozone Crisis is not. This column draws upon the experiences of previous banking crises, and compares the Eurozone Crisis countries. Like Japan before the 1992 crisis, Spain and Ireland had property bubbles fuelled by domestic credit. The Greek crisis is very distinct from …Read More

Berger, D. & Vavra, J. (2014) “Durable consumption during recessions“, VoxEU Organisation, 03 Ιουλίου.   Various stimulus programmes have been implemented in a response to the decline in consumption of durables since the Recession. This column argues that standard analysis of such programmes could be overstating their effectiveness. Aggregate durable spending is much less responsive to stimulus during recessions. Microeconomic frictions lead households to adjust their durable holdings less frequently. …Read More

Borio, C. & Disyatat, P. (2014) “Low interest rates and secular stagnation: Is debt a missing link?“, VoxEU Organisation, 25 Ιουνίου.   Real interest rates have fallen to historic lows, and some economists are concerned that an era of secular stagnation has begun. This column highlights the role of policy frameworks and financial factors – particularly debt – in linking low real interest rates and sluggish economic growth. Policies that …Read More