Perkowski, N. (2014) “Strengthening EU border security won’t stop the deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean“, LSE EUROPP, 01 Ιουλίου. On 30 June, a fishing boat containing the bodies of thirty people was found heading for Italy, once again highlighting the problem of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean. As Nina Perkowski writes, the incident came at a time when Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi had been pushing for the …Read More
Euroscepticism vs. political pragmatism: The Finns Party tones down its criticism of the EU
Iso-Markku, Τ. (2014) “Euroscepticism vs. political pragmatism: The Finns Party tones down its criticism of the EU“, Politics and Institutions, EPIN Commentaries, 26 Ιουνίου. While many Eurosceptic parties in Europe achieved historical successes in this year’s EP elections, Finland’s populist Finns Party was unable to fulfil its own high expectations. With the eurozone crisis at least temporarily subsiding and Finland’s own economy struggling, the party has been unable to …Read More
The Great Recession’s long-term damage
Ball, L. (2014) “The Great Recession’s long-term damage“, VoxEU Organisation, 01 Ιουλίου. Whereas textbook macroeconomic theory suggests that output should return to potential after a recession, there is mounting evidence that deep recessions have highly persistent effects on output. This column reports estimates of the long-term damage caused by the Great Recession. In most countries in the sample, the loss of potential output – 8.4% on average – has …Read More
Europe Is Closely Studying Lessons from Japan – They Fear Euro Zone Is Falling Into Similar Lethargy
Walker, M. (2014) “Europe Is Closely Studying Lessons from Japan – They Fear Euro Zone Is Falling Into Similar Lethargy”, The Wall Street Journal, 29 Ιουνίου. If Europe is tilting toward becoming the next Japan, does that mean it needs its own version of Abenomics? Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s announcement last week of fresh measures to improve sluggish growth coincides with an intensified debate in Europe about whether the …Read More
Relative direct democratic legitimacy
Gros, D. (2014) “Relative direct democratic legitimacy“, Economic Policy, CEPS Commentaries, 26 Ιουνίου. As the European Council convenes today and tomorrow (June 26-27th) to confirm Jean-Claude Juncker as the candidate for President of the European Commission, CEPS Director Daniel Gros shows in this Commentary that the Council should de facto also be considered more a ‘mini parliament’ than an assembly of states and that the European Parliament cannot claim …Read More
SME Market Report 2014 H1
The Central Bank of Ireland (2014) “SME Market Report 2014 H1“, Eurosystem, Ιούνιος. The Central Bank of Ireland’s SME Market Report is compiled by economists in the Financial Stability Division and aims to collate information from a wide range of internal and external sources to give an up-to-date picture of developments in the Irish Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) credit market. The Report will provide information on credit demand, …Read More
Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine’s signing of EU co-operation agreements marks their transition from ‘post-Soviet’ to ‘European’ states
Knott, E. (2014) “Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine’s signing of EU co-operation agreements marks their transition from ‘post-Soviet’ to ‘European’ states“, LSE EUROPP, 30 Ιουνίου. On 27 June, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine signed co-operation agreements with the EU. Ellie Knott assesses what the agreements mean for each state and how they might influence future EU-Russia relations. She writes that while the agreements are largely technical in nature, their real value …Read More
The case against maxing out monetary policy
P.W. (2014) “The case against maxing out monetary policy“, Free Exchange–Economics, The Economist, 29 Ιουνίου. CENTRAL banks in the developed world continue to keep monetary policy as loose as possible for as long as possible in order to facilitate a stronger recovery from the painfully weak upturn after the financial crisis and the “great recession”. America’s Federal Reserve may be phasing out its programme of asset purchases but it …Read More
Euro crisis turning point: Two years of Banking Union – Europe’s leaders avoided their usual muddling-through complacency to do something radical—and it worked!
Véron, Ν. (2014) “Euro crisis turning point: Two years of Banking Union – Europe’s leaders avoided their usual muddling-through complacency to do something radical—and it worked!“, Bruegel Institute, 30 Ιουνίου. Europe’s banking union, constituting a supranational pooling of most instruments of banking policy, was established two years ago, in the early hours of June 29, 2012. To a greater extent than was initially realized by most observers, this step …Read More
EU firms’ access to external financing
O’Toole, C., Kay, N., Murphy, G. & Siedschlag, I. (2014) “EU firms’ access to external financing“, VoxEU Organisation, 29 Ιουνίου. Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) often report difficulties in obtaining external finance. Based on new research, this column argues that these difficulties are not due to greater financial risks associated with SMEs. Instead, they are the result of imperfections in the market for external finance that negatively affect smaller …Read More