Frankel, J. (2014) “Why so many commodity prices are down in the US, yet up in Europe“, VoxEU Organisation, 24 Δεκεμβρίου. Commodity prices have been falling in the US. This column argues that monetary policy has played a determining role in the falling prices trend. Monetary tightening is highly anticipated in the US, which is likely to raise short-term interest rates. At the same time, the ECB and Bank …Read More
Greece – two alternative views
Mitchell, B. (2014) “Greece – two alternative views“, Bill Mitchell Blog, Modern Monetary Theory… Macroeconomic Reality, 24 Δεκεμβρίου. When I was in Europe recently, I had interesting discussions about the future of Italy, Greece and Spain with various people, particularly in relation to trying to understand the apparent dissonance between the strong support for the euro and the devastation that membership of the common currency has created in these …Read More
Christmas economics: Challenging some common beliefs
Birg, L. & Goeddeke, A. (2014) “Christmas economics: Challenging some common beliefs“, VoxEU Organisation, 24 Δεκεμβρίου. Christmas may be not so merry as we hope. Economists have argued that gift giving is an inefficient way to allocate resources, and it is widely suggested that Christmas brings a peak in prices and the number of suicides, or even disrupts the business cycle. This column discusses some conventional wisdom about Christmas …Read More
Lacklustre investment in the Eurozone: The policy response
Buti, M. (2014) “Lacklustre investment in the Eurozone: The policy response“, VoxEU Organisation, 22 Δεκεμβρίου. Weak investment is a key macroeconomic problem in the Eurozone, and the new European Commission has proposed an ‘Investment Plan’ to complement existing policy initiatives. In this column, the Commission’s Chief Economist explains the key rationale behind the Investment Plan. Weak investment has been the main source of weakness in the Eurozone recovery (European …Read More
The sham of central bank independence
Mitchell, B. (2014) “The sham of central bank independence“, Bill Mitchell Blog: Modern Monetary Theory – Macroeconomic Reality, 23 Δεκεμβρίου. Let it be noted that the Japanese government 10-year bond yield hit 0.33 per cent overnight. That tells you that all the scaremongering that has been going on over the last twenty years about hyperinflation, the Japanese government running out of money, the bond markets dumping the yen, and …Read More
How Japan Bankrupted Itself – Lessons For Europe, The story of Japan’s decline — and the lessons for Europe
Stelter, D. (2014) “How Japan Bankrupted Itself – Lessons For Europe, The story of Japan’s decline — and the lessons for Europe“, The Globalist, 19 Δεκεμβρίου. Following the start of Abenomics in 2012, Japan moved back to the center of attention of global financial markets. After two and a half decades of economic stagnation, hopes were high that Japan would escape its long stagnation and deflation. Plenty of economists …Read More
Η Ελλάδα δεν είναι Αργεντινή του 2005, ούτε Γερμανία του 1953
Αυγουλέας, Α. (2014) “Η Ελλάδα δεν είναι Αργεντινή του 2005, ούτε Γερμανία του 1953“, New Money Newspaper, 05 Δεκεμβρίου. Υπάρχουν πολλές διαφορές ανάμεσα στην ελληνική περίπτωση και τα διεθνή παραδείγματα διαγραφής χρεών, όπως της Αργεντινής ή της Γερμανίας το 1953. Αυτό επισημαίνει ο Αιμίλιος Αυγουλέας, καθηγητής διεθνούς τραπεζικού και χρηματοπιστωτικού δικαίου στο πανεπιστήμιο του Εδιμβούργου σε δηλώσεις του στο newmoney.gr. Όπως εξηγεί ο κ. Αυγουλέας «Υπάρχουν διαφορές. Η πρώτη …Read More
Combatting Eurozone deflation: QE for the people
Muellbauer, J. (2014) “Combatting Eurozone deflation: QE for the people“, VoxEU Organisation, 23 Δεκεμβρίου. Eurozone deflation is likely to become reality when the annual inflation figure for 2014 is announced in January. This column argues that the ECB should develop a strategy that works in the Eurozone’s unique financial setting, instead of following the Fed’s lead. The author proposes that the ECB should pursue ‘quantitative easing for the people’, …Read More
Greece election: opposition party’s main enemy will be time
Mason, P. (2014) “Greece election: opposition party’s main enemy will be time“, Channel 4 News, 21 Δεκεμβρίου. There’s a quiz doing the rounds on Facebook about Greece’s radical left opposition party Syriza, called “Are You Syriza Enough?”. The last question is: “Do you think Syriza will succeed as a government?”. The choice of answers are not flattering to the far left party’s prospects: No, No way, Haha No, or …Read More
Despite a looming political crisis, Greece is no longer the threat to the Eurozone that it was in 2012
Davison, R. (2014) “Despite a looming political crisis, Greece is no longer the threat to the Eurozone that it was in 2012“, LSE EUROPP, 22 Δεκεμβρίου. The Greek parliament is due to hold a second round of voting on 23 December to elect the country’s next president, following an unsuccessful vote last week. Remy Davison writes that while the threat of a political crisis is very real, the situation …Read More