Bonikowski, B., Halikiopoulou, D., Kaufmann, E., & Rooduijn, M. (2018). Populism and nationalism in a comparative perspective: a scholarly exchange. Nations and Nationalism. The purpose of the Exchange feature is to publish discussions that engage, advance and initiate new debates in the study of nations and nationalism. This Exchange article is on the subject of ‘Populism and Nationalism’. Each contributor addresses the following four questions on the subject: (1) What …Read More
How to End Greece’s Banking Nightmare
Ferdinando Giugliano, (2018), “How to End Greece’s Banking Nightmare”, Bloomberg Opinion, 13 December If a country has a problem with its banks, the thing to do is to come up with a strategy and execute it swiftly. The trouble with Greece is that it has too many plans — and is taking too long to choose between them. The Greek banking system is saddled with a very large number of non-performing …Read More
The case for a central fiscal capacity in EMU
Marco Buti, Nicolas Carnot, (2018), “The case for a central fiscal capacity in EMU”, VoxEU.org, 7 December Following the last crisis important governance steps have been taken to bolster the resilience of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The changes include putting in motion a banking union, establishing the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), and strengthening the surveillance framework. However, there is broad acceptance that current set up remains prone to shocks …Read More
Franco-German cooperation and the rescuing of the Eurozone
Hanno Degner and Dirk Leuffen, (2018), “Franco-German cooperation and the rescuing of the Eurozone”, European Union Politics, 6 December 2018 This article analyzes the effect of Franco-German cooperation on Economic and Monetary Union reforms, negotiated between 2010 and 2015. We identify three causal mechanisms theorizing how Franco-German cooperation affected the outcomes of EMU negotiations, namely through (a) the elimination of issues from the negotiation agenda; (b) the identification of compromise solutions or …Read More
The Italian election of 2018 and the first populist government of Western Europe
Diego Garzia, (2018), “The Italian election of 2018 and the first populist government of Western Europe”, West European Politics, Published online, https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2018.1535381, 6 December The 2013 election had heralded an unprecedented tripolar era for Italian politics, with the two traditional forces of the Second Italian Republic (Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right and variously assorted centre-left alliances) eventually matched, in terms of size, by the Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) – to date, the most successful rookie of Italian politics …Read More
ECB’s Nouy Says EU Is Repeating Crisis Mistakes in Capital Rules
Nicholas Comfort, (2018), “ECB’s Nouy Says EU Is Repeating Crisis Mistakes in Capital Rules”, Bloomberg, 5 December The European Union’s overhaul of bank capital rules show it’s forgetting some of the lessons of the financial crisis, according to Daniele Nouy, head of the European Central Bank’s supervisory arm. Nouy pointed to a provision in the draft legislation that would stop the ECB requiring banks to meet firm-specific capital requirements using only …Read More
Quantitative easing draws to a close, despite a faltering economy
The Economist, (2018), “Quantitative easing draws to a close, despite a faltering economy”, The Economist (print edition), 6 December Central banking can be agonising. The effect of monetary policy on the economy is not immediate, so decisions must be based on expectations for two years’ time. That means putting faith in forecasts that could well turn out to be wrong. Some soul-searching might be expected at the monetary-policy meeting of the …Read More
Greece Drags Itself Back Toward Normality
Ferdinando Giugliano, (2018), “Greece Drags Itself Back Toward Normality”, Bloomberg Opinion, 7 December As the cradle of democracy, Greece knows better than most countries what politics is all about. Yet, for the last eight years, any discussions between lawmakers from the left and right there have been overshadowed by the country’s economic collapse, and the string of rescue programs put together by the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Athens has …Read More
Euro area annual inflation down to 2.0%
Eurostat/Euro area annual inflation down to 2.0%/30 November 2018 Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 2.0% in November 2018, down from 2.2% in October 2018, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Relevant Posts Eurostat/Annual inflation up to 2.2% in the euro area/16 November 2018 Eurostat/Euro area annual inflation up to 2.2%/31 October 2018
The French “Yellow Vest” Movement and the (Current) Failure of Representative Democracy
Olivier Blanchard, “The French “Yellow Vest” Movement and the (Current) Failure of Representative Democracy”, Peterson Institute for International Economics, 3 December Images of gilets jaunes in France—so named for the yellow vests they wear—have flooded news broadcasts in recent weeks. To trace the deep roots of their protests, one has to go back to the end of communism and the failure of central planning as an alternative to the market …Read More