Patel, Α., (2014), “Eurozone Crisis: Another Chapter in the Never-Ending Saga of Boom and Bust”, LSE Eurocrisis in the Press, 21 Φεβρουαρίου.
The policy response to the euro crisis since 2008 has been an extremely protracted affair, set against the backdrop not only of containing financial and sovereign debt crises and managing the risks of financial contagion (more normally associated with emerging economies) but also of the possibility of the euro’s extinction – at least until the European Central Bank made assurances in July 2012 that it would do “whatever it took” to save the euro, a declaration that reverberated around global financial markets and acted as a necessary precondition to the effectiveness of a long-term policy response (the jury is still out on the latter, of course).
So even though the policy debates continue, things are now looking up. In those countries most affected by the crisis sovereign borrowing costs are falling, growth is returning tentatively. While it will be some time before the positive impact of these developments are felt by all (unemployment remains high, for example) most are starting to agree that the worst is over.
But for all of the effort that has been applied to tackling the problems of the Eurozone, in the grand scheme of things we have only won a time-limited reprieve. This is not a comment on the efficacy of the policy response, or on whether more (or less) Eurozone reform is needed. The euro crisis is merely the newest version of a tale that has been told repeatedly since the Industrial Revolution. Nothing that has been done now will end this story.
Σχετικές Αναρτήσεις
Granville, Br., (2014), “Poking the Eurozone Bear”, Project Syndicate, 21 Φεβρουαρίου.
Sanchez, J., Varoudakis, Ar., (2014), “Tracking the causes of Eurozone external imbalances: New evidence”, 6 Φεβρουαρίου.
Taylor, A., (2013), “External Imbalances and Financial Crises”, International Monetary Fund, IMF Working Paper No. 13/260, Δεκέμβριος.