Bini-Smaghi L., M. Marcussen, (2018), “Delivering a safe asset for the euro area: A proposal for a Purple bond transition”, Vox EU, 20 July Eurobonds are today politically unfeasible… Genuine Eurobonds with joint and several liability would bring significant benefits and stability to the euro area. Top of this list is credibility, further cementing that the euro is here to stay. Such an instrument would also price counter-cyclically as investors …Read More
Monetary policy and household inequality
ECB (2018), “Monetary policy and household inequality”, working paper series no. 2170, July The impact of monetary policy, and specifically quantitative easing, on inequality has recently come to public attention. For example, commentators have pointed out that a prolonged reduction in policy interest rates can generate an income loss for savers holding interest-bearing assets, or that expansionary measures supporting financial asset prices are especially beneficial for the savers holding those …Read More
“Structural Reforms in Greece during the Crisis: 2010-2014. Overview, Evaluation and Policy Proposals”
A new report entitled “Structural Reforms in Greece during the Crisis: 2010-2014. Overview, Evaluation and Policy Proposals”, has been published by the Crisis Observatory. The report is the outcome of the research programme “The Political Economy of Structural Reforms in Greece”, which was assigned to the Crisis Observatory by the Bank of Greece. The report was coordinated and edited by Dimitris Katsikas (Head of the Crisis Observatory). The researchers that …Read More
The roles of economic integration and monetary policy in currency unions
A. Bertasiute, D. Massaro, M. Weber, (2018), “The roles of economic integration and monetary policy in currency unions”, VoxEU, 7 July Macroeconomics has often been criticised for assuming rational expectations. Indeed, the assumption that all firms and consumers in an economy form their expectations in full awareness of all information and all underlying relationships in the economy is extremely unrealistic. Therefore, economists have started building macroeconomic models that are based …Read More
Currency unions mean more trade, but not for everyone
Natalie Chen, Dennis Novy, (2018), “Currency unions mean more trade, but not for everyone”, VoxEU, 9 July Currency unions are an important institutional arrangement to facilitate international trade and reduce trade costs. In the period since WWII, a total of 123 countries have been involved in a currency union at some point. By the year 2015, 83 countries continued to be involved in one. In addition, various countries are considering …Read More
Financial protection of households against health shocks in Greece during the economic crisis
Chantzaras, A. E., & Yfantopoulos, J. N. (2018). Financial protection of households against health shocks in Greece during the economic crisis. Social Science & Medicine. Background Harsh funding cutbacks along with measures shifting cost to patients have been implemented in the Greek health system in recent years. Our objective was to investigate the evolution of financial protection of Greek households against out-of-pocket payments (OOPP) during the economic crisis. Methods National …Read More
Assessing the macroeconomic impact of the EIB Group
European Investment Bank, (2018), “Assessing the macroeconomic impact of the EIB Group”, June RHOMOLO is a recursively dynamic spatial computable general equilibrium model. It has been developed and maintained by the regional economic modelling team at the European Commission’s Directorate-General Joint Research Centre (DG JRC) in cooperation with the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). It is used for policy impact assessment and provides sector-, region- and time-specific …Read More
Cryptocurrencies and monetary policy
G. Claeys, M. Demertzis & K. Efstathiou, (2018), “Cryptocurrencies and monetary policy”, Bruegel, 28 June This Policy Contribution tries to answer two main questions: can cryptocurrencies acquire the role of money? And what are the implications for central banks and monetary policy? Money is a social institution that serves as a unit of account, a medium of exchange and a store of value. With the emergence of decentralised ledger technology …Read More
Intergenerational mobility across the world: Where socioeconomic status of parents matters the most (and least)
Ambar Narayan, Roy Van der Weide, (2018) “Intergenerational mobility across the world: Where socioeconomic status of parents matters the most (and least)”, VoxEU, 2 July A society with high (relative) intergenerational mobility is one where an individual’s wellbeing, relative to others of his or her generation, is less dependent on the socioeconomic status of his or her parents. Arguably, there are two main reasons why higher relative mobility in a …Read More
Eurogroup statement on Greece of 22 June 2018
europa.eu/Eurogroup statement on Greece of 22 June 2018 Completion of the fourth and final review and growth strategy The Eurogroup commends the Greek authorities for the completion of all the agreed prior actions of the final review of the ESM programme. We congratulate the Greek authorities and Greek people for the successful conclusion of the ESM programme. The Eurogroup acknowledges the significant efforts made by the Greek citizens over the …Read More