Onaran, O. & Stockhammer, E. (2014) “Raising wages should be a key component of economic growth strategies across the world“, LSE EUROPP, 07 Μαΐου. What impact do wages have on economic growth? Ozlem Onaran and Engelbert Stockhammer write that the size of wages as a percentage of state GDP has been falling across the world. They argue that this poses a problem because the negative impact on aggregate …Read More
The shock routine: economic crisis and the nature of social policy responses
Van Hooren, F., Kaasch, A. & Starke, P. (2014) “The shock routine: economic crisis and the nature of social policy responses“, Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 21 Issue 4, Taylor and Francis Online, 21 Μαρτίου. The idea that moments of crisis form opportunities for fundamental policy change is widespread in political science and public policy. It is usually associated with historical institutionalism and the notion of ‘critical junctures’. …Read More
All on Board, Making Inclusive Growth Happen
OECD (2014) All on Board, Making Inclusive Growth Happen, OECD Inclusive Growth Initiative with support from the Ford Foundation, Μάιος. Inclusive Growth, which is a new approach to economic growth that aims to improve living standards and share the benefits of increased prosperity more evenly across social groups, has become a major challenge for many countries around the world. This objective is particularly relevant in high income countries and …Read More
The European Union: wider and deeper?
Kelemen, R. D., Menon, A. & Slapin, J. (2014) “The European Union: wider and deeper?“, Routledge Publications, Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 21, No. 5, pp. 643-646, 28 Απριλίου. What is the relationship between widening and deepening in the European Union (EU)? Does the addition of new member states affect the process of centralization – that is to say, whether and how member states transfer ever more authority …Read More
The two faces of cross-border banking flows: An investigation into the links between global risk, arms-length funding, and internal capital markets
Reinhardt, D. & Riddiough, S. (2014) “The two faces of cross-border banking flows: An investigation into the links between global risk, arms-length funding, and internal capital markets“, VoxEU Organisation, 07 Μαΐου. Cross-border funding between banks collapsed following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, but the withdrawal of funding was not uniform across countries. This column argues that the composition of cross-border bank-to-bank funding can help to explain why. Interbank funding …Read More
Youth Unemployment in Mediterranean Countries
Eichhorst, W. & Neder, F. (2014) “Youth Unemployment in Mediterranean Countries“, Institute for the Study of Labor, IZA Policy Paper No. 80, Μάρτιος. In all Mediterranean countries youth unemployment has reached alarming record levels. This paper analyses the current situation in France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. In all countries school dropout rates are high, returns to education are low and the transition from education to work is problematic …Read More
Globalisation and the Future of the Welfare State
Chen et al. (2014) “Globalisation and the Future of the Welfare State“, Institute for the Study of Labor, IZA Policy Paper No. 81, Μάρτιος. This paper reconsiders the link between welfare state provision, globalisation and competitiveness empirically. We challenge the conventional wisdom that welfare states, large-scale public provision of social insurance and progressive systems of redistributive taxation are incompatible with economic globalisation. Our empirical analysis is motivated by recent …Read More
Central bank advice on austerity
Wren-Lewis, S. (2014) “Central bank advice on austerity“, Mainly Macro Blog, 05 Μαΐου. As I wrote recently, the economic debate on the impact on austerity is over bar the details. Fiscal contraction when interest rates are at their zero lower bound is likely to have a significant negative impact on output. Of course the popular debate goes on, because of absurd claims that recovering from austerity somehow validates it. …Read More
European Economic Forecast, Spring 2014
European Commission (2014) “European Economic Forecast, Spring 2014“, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, Μάιος: Βρυξέλλες. The EU economic outlook is strengthening. While leading indicators point to GDP growth gaining momentum in the near term, the conditions for a sustained recovery in the medium term are also improving. In view of the crisis legacy, growth is still set to remain moderate, but a gradual easing of the drag related …Read More
Portugal and Greece: the odd return to markets
Steinbock, D. (2014) “Portugal and Greece: the odd return to markets“, Opinion Article, EU Observer, 05 Μαΐου. BRUSSELS – In the past few weeks, Portugal and Greece have returned to the markets in moves seen in Brussels as heralding a rebound in Southern Europe. In reality, a fragile recovery has barely begun and will take years. On Sunday (4 May), Portugal’s Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho announced that his …Read More