Rinaldi, David, Núñez Ferrer, Jorge, (2017), “The European Fund for Strategic Investments as a New Type of Budgetary Instrument”, CEPS Research Report No 2017/07, 5 April This paper provides an overview of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) as a budgetary instrument. A preliminary analysis of the quantitative impact of its first year and a half of activity is complemented by an outline of the corollary policies that can …Read More
Latest Turn in Greek Debt Crisis Is Kafkaesque: QuickTake Q&A
Dendrinou, Viktoria, Nikas, Sotiris, (2017), “Latest Turn in Greek Debt Crisis Is Kafkaesque: QuickTake Q&A”, Bloomberg, 25 April Greece’s next dollop of bailout money is caught in an international dispute with no clear resolution. The heavily indebted Mediterranean nation needs the next installment of about 7 billion euros ($7.6 billion) to repay lenders in a few months, but some euro-area governments, notably Germany, refuse to supply more money until the International Monetary …Read More
Chart of the Week: Sharing the Fruits of Growth
IMF Blog, (2017), “Chart of the Week: Sharing the Fruits of Growth”, 24 April 2017 At last week’s Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, economists and policymakers discussed ways to maintain the momentum of the global economic expansion—while also ensuring that the fruits of growth are shared more widely within their countries. Fiscal policy—government’s ability to tax and spend—has an important role to play. The effectiveness of fiscal …Read More
Draghi’s Stimulus Could Blunt Populism as Unemployment Falls
Speciale, Alessandro, (2017), “Draghi’s Stimulus Could Blunt Populism as Unemployment Falls”, Bloomberg Markets, 25 April Mario Draghi’s stimulus didn’t prevent the rise of populists who want to reject the euro, but it might be taking the edge off the economic pain that fueled their support. The European Central Bank president has pushed through measures that have led the currency bloc out of a double-dip recession and cut unemployment, a key source of …Read More
The ECB’s Monetary Dialogue with the European Parliament: Efficiency and Accountability during the Euro Crisis?
Collignon, Stefan, Diessner, Sebastian, (2017), “The ECB’s Monetary Dialogue with the European Parliament: Efficiency and Accountability during the Euro Crisis?”, Journal of Common Market Studies, July The monetary dialogue between the European Parliament and the European Central Bank (ECB) is a key component for the democratic accountability of the independent central bank. We provide new evidence for the efficiency of the dialogue and present the results of a survey conducted amongst the …Read More
Results of the April 2017 euro area bank lending survey
European Central Bank, (2017), “Results of the April 2017 euro area bank lending survey”, ECB, 25 April Credit standards for loans to enterprises eased slightly in net terms in the first quarter of 2017, according to the April 2017 bank lending survey (BLS). The net easing (-2%) of credit standards – i.e. banks’ internal guidelines or loan approval criteria – follows a net tightening of 5% in the previous quarter …Read More
France After the Election: What Next for Economic Policy in Europe?
Kahn, Robert, (2017), “France After the Election: What Next for Economic Policy in Europe?”, CFR, 24 April French election results show Emmanuel Macron in first place with 23.9 percent of the vote and Marine Le Pen in second with 21.4 percent, setting the stage for a run-off election on May 7. Early polls show a comfortable edge for Macron, the pro-E.U. former economy minister who ran on a campaign of …Read More
Mapping the interconnectedness between EU banks and shadow banking entities
Abad, Jorge, D’Errico, Marco, Killeen, Neill, Luz, Vera, Peltonen, Tuomas, Portes, Richard, Urbano, Teresa, (2017), “Mapping the interconnectedness between EU banks and shadow banking entities”, Vox EU, 25 April 2017 The Global Crisis exposed shortcomings in the assessment of cross-sector and cross-border linkages in the financial system. The interaction of banks and insurance corporations with shadow banking entities led to the amplification of risks and spillovers which were transmitted across sectors …Read More
Boomerang Kids in Contemporary Greece: Young People’s Experience of Coming Home Again
Tsekeris, Charalambos, Ntali, Evdokia, Koutrias, Apostolos, Chatzoulis, Athena, (2017), “Boomerang Kids in Contemporary Greece: Young People’s Experience of Coming Home Again”, LSE Hellenic Observatory, April 2017 Under the burden of the severe and protracted Greek crisis, it seems that Greek youngsters face an increasingly precarious situation of suffering and transition. This affects them in multiple ways, concerning both the external socio-economic conditions and their internalised sense of self-biographical continuity. …Read More
Rising Hopes in the European Economy Amidst Global Uncertainties
Benczes, István, Szent-Iványi, Balázs, (2016), “Rising Hopes in the European Economy Amidst Global Uncertainties”, Journal of Common Market Studies, July The aim of this contribution is to analyze Europe’s economic performance, focusing on the developments in 2015, but also placing them in a broader context. Just like our contribution to the previous year’s Annual Review (Benczes and Szent-Iványi, 2015), this piece on the European economy focuses not only on the …Read More