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
Europe’s Underappreciated Success: 10 Years Of Post-Enlargement Convergence
Watt, A. (2014) “Europe’s Underappreciated Success: 10 Years Of Post-Enlargement Convergence“, Social Europe Journal, 05 Μαΐου. On May 1st 2004 ten countries joined the EU in the biggest enlargement of the Union to date. Moreover it was a step heavy with symbolism. Eight of the ten – the exceptions being the two Mediterranean island economies Cyprus and Malta – had until just over a decade earlier been part of …Read More
Party Attitudes towards the EU in Greece
Verney, S. & Michalaki, S., “Greece”, στο Conti, N. (ed.) (2014) “Party Attitudes towards the EU in the Member States – Parties for Europe, Parties against Europe“, Routledge Advances in European Politics, Routledge Publications: United Kingdom. Between the Maastricht Treaty and the eurozone crisis, the central question in the Greek European debate was no longer ‘to be or not to be in the EU’ but ‘what kind of Europe’. The analysis of …Read More
Party Attitudes towards the EU in the Member States – Parties for Europe, Parties against Europe
Conti, N. (ed.) (2014) “Party Attitudes towards the EU in the Member States – Parties for Europe, Parties against Europe“, Routledge Advances in European Politics, Routledge Publications: United Kingdom. In a moment where the EU is facing an important number of challenges, there is growing interest in understanding how parties influence the way Europe evolves as a political issue, notably how parties structure domestic competition over European issues and …Read More