Aidt, S. T., Leon, G., Franck, R. & Jensen, S. P. (2015) “Democracy and the threat of revolution: New evidence“, VoxEU Organisation, 08 Ιανουαρίου. Some theories suggest that the threat of revolution plays a pivotal role in democratisation. This column provides new evidence in support of this hypothesis. The authors use democratic transitions from Europe in the 19th century, Africa at the turn at the 20th century, and the …Read More
Uncertain Silver Linings
Mendelsohn, J. (2015) “Uncertain Silver Linings, The European Magazine, Why Greece Should Not Leave the Euro Column, 07 Ιανουαρίου. Unlike other European politicians, Alexis Tspiras may not be making empty promises. He may actually present a chance for real change. Radical change. In light of the Greek elections and a possible Syrizian win, Europe, and Europe’s North in particular, has a lot to fear. Let’s not kid ourselves, Tspiras …Read More
Welcome to the Hunger Games, Brought to You by Mainstream Economics
Parramore, Lynn (2015) “Welcome to the Hunger Games, Brought to You by Mainstream Economics“, Institute for New Economic Thinking, 05 Ιανουαρίου. As a virulent strain of austerity capitalism takes over Europe, leaving shattered lives in its shadow, researchers Servaas Storm and C.W.M. Naastepad, Senior Lecturers in Economics at Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, consider how things got so bad, what role economists and misguided policy-makers have played, …Read More
The convergence dream 25 years on – half of the former communist countries did not converge to advanced EU countries from 1989-2014
Darvas, Ζ. (2015) “The convergence dream 25 years on – half of the former communist countries did not converge to advanced EU countries from 1989-2014“, Bruegel Institute, 06 Ιανουαρίου. The 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall was widely celebrated – rightly so. The fall of communism opened the way for democracy, personal freedoms, security, lawfulness, fairness and economic efficiency, among others. The transition also raised hopes that …Read More
The Crisis and the renminbi’s international role
Cukierman, Α. (2015) “The Crisis and the renminbi’s international role“, VoxEU Organisation, 07 Ιανουαρίου. The Global Financial Crisis has increased the importance of the renminbi as an international currency. This column describes how the status of the remnibi has changed relative to that of the dollar and the euro. It also discusses what their future as future currencies would be. The author suggests that within 10 years, the renminbi …Read More
Why Grexit would not help Greece – debunking the myth of exports
Wolff, Β. G. (2015) “Why Grexit would not help Greece – debunking the myth of exports“, Bruegel Institute, 06 Ιανουαρίου. The genie is out of the bottle: Europe is again discussing the possibility of Greece leaving the euro. With it, the debate has re-emerged whether this would be helpful or not for Greece and whether there would be contagion to other euro area countries. A big question is, of …Read More
Σταθερότητα και ευημερία στη Νομισματική Ένωση
Ντράγκι, Μάριο (2015) “Σταθερότητα και ευημερία στη Νομισματική Ένωση“, Αθηναϊκή Επιθεώρηση Βιβλίου, Τεύχος 58, 05 Ιανουαρίου. 1. Συχνά θεωρούμε λανθασμένα ότι η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση –και η ζώνη του ευρώ– είναι οικονομικές ενώσεις που δεν στηρίζονται σε πολιτική ένωση. Αυτό αντανακλά μια βαθιά παρανόηση για το τι σημαίνει οικονομική ένωση: είναι από τη φύση της πολιτική. Η Ενιαία Αγορά είναι η ίδια ένα πολιτικό κατασκεύασμα που δεν θα μπορούσε να …Read More
A common sense guide to EU reform
Corbett, R. (2014) “A common sense guide to EU reform“, Future Europe – Signposts from the European Elections, Europe’s World Journal, 09 Οκτωβρίου. It is hard to find a politician in any EU country these days who doesn’t call for ‘reform’. But as to what those reforms should be, opinions differ widely. And while the anti-system parties, wanting either to leave or destroy the Union are the loudest, it …Read More
Closing the soft skills gap: Never too early to teach entrepreneurship
Rosen, Α. (2014) “Closing the soft skills gap: Never too early to teach entrepreneurship“, Europe’s World Journal, 22 Δεκεμβρίου. Here’s a wake-up call: Entrepreneurship is actually falling in the U.S. Shocked? Entrepreneurship and innovation, however, aren’t the same thing – it’s very possible to have innovation without starting your own venture. And the converse is also true; someone can start a new enterprise without a single innovation. But …Read More
Incomplete information and bargaining in the EU: An explanation of first-reading non-agreements
Vibeke Wøien Hansen (2014) “Incomplete information and bargaining in the EU: An explanation of first-reading non-agreements“, European Union Politics Journal, Δεκέμβριος. According to the logic of standard veto bargaining models with complete information, bargaining in the European Union should never reach the second reading of the ordinary legislative procedure (co-decision). Even so, non-agreement at the first reading occurs frequently in European Union decision making. How can this be explained? …Read More