Mody, Ashoka, (2012), ‘Greece’s Bogus Debt Deal’, www.project-syndicate.org, 14 December. The process of official forgiveness of Greek debt has begun. Referred to as “official sector involvement” (OSI), it includes several initiatives aimed at reducing Greece’s debt/GDP ratio to 124% in 2020, from roughly 200% today. Even as the deal was announced, however, newspaper reports suggested that officials recognized that the measures would be insufficient to meet the target; further negotiations …Read More
The Greek Crisis and the Search for Political Leadership
Katsikas, Dimitris, (2012), ‘The Greek Crisis and the Search for Political Leadership’, The International Spectator: Italian Journal of International Affairs, Volume 47, Issue 4, pp. 49-56. Despite two bailout agreements of unprecedented size and the implementation of a harsh austerity programme, no solution to the Greek crisis is in sight. As a result, Greece continues to be a hotspot, sending sporadic tremors to a fragile eurozone. The outcome so far …Read More
Monetary Policy and Banking Supervision: Coordination instead of separation
Thorsten, Beck, Gros, Daniel, (2012), ‘Monetary Policy and Banking Supervision: Coordination instead of separation’, www.ceps.be, 12 December. Following the June 2012 European Council decision to place the ‘Single Supervisory Mechanism’ (SSM) within the European Central Bank, the general presumption in the policy discussions has been that there should be ‘Chinese walls’ between the supervisory and monetary policy arms of the ECB. The current legislative proposal, in fact, is explicit on this …Read More
National Expenditure Rules – Why, How and When
Ayuso i Casals, Joaquim, (2012), ‘National Expenditure Rules – Why, How and When’, European Economy Economic Papers, N. 473. Expenditure rules present a number of features in terms of simplicity, transparency, monitoring and accountability that make them particularly appealing relative to other types of rules and may substantially contribute to an improved fiscal policy making. They also show an appropriate balance between budgetary discipline and macroeconomic stabilization. In turn, they …Read More
The Quality of Public Expenditure in the EU
European Commission, (2012), ‘The Quality of Public Expenditure in the EU’, European Economy Occasional Papers, N. 125. This report was requested by the Heads of State or Government on 28-29 June 2012 to monitor the impact of budget constraints on growth enhancing public expenditure and on public investments. The report (i) reviews trends in the composition of public expenditure in the EU amid the recent economic and financial crisis and …Read More
A budget for Europe’s monetary union
Wolff, Guntram B., (2012), ‘A budget for Europe’s monetary union’, Bruegel Policy Contribution, Issue 2012/22. In a monetary union, national fiscal deficits are of limited help to counteract deep recessions; union-wide support is needed. A common euro-area budget (1) should provide a temporary but significant transfer of resources in case of large regional shocks, (2) would be an instrument to counteract severe recessions in the area as a whole, and …Read More
European labour market policies in (the) crisis
Clasen, Jochen, Clegg, Daniel, Kvist Jon, (2012), ‘European labour market policies in (the) crisis’, The European Trade Union Institute Working Paper, 2012/12. Before the onset of the global economic crisis in 2008, the new millennium had been characterised by the gradual emergence of a new consensus around labour market policy reform in Europe. While in earlier decades labour market policy debates often opposed supporters and opponents of all forms of …Read More
The Eurozone’s Arrested Adolescence: Sketching a Way Out of the Crisis
Erixon, Fredrik, (2012), “The Eurozone’s Arrested Adolescence: Sketching a Way Out of the Crisis”, The European Centre for International Political Economy Policy Brief, Ν. 06/2012. The Eurozone crisis has been reinforced and prolonged by leaders’ inability to agree on robust and credible crisis responses. Individual governments are experiencing sovereign deficit and debt crises, but not the Eurozone at large. Its fiscal position is manageable. The Eurozone is rather going through …Read More
What is political union?
Dullien, Sebastian, Torreblanca Ignacio, Jose,(2012), ‘What is political union?’, The European Council on Foreign Relations. “The euro crisis has led to a massive transfer of power to the EU level, and made political union a genuine possibility. But although pro-Europeans now agree that political union is necessary to save the euro, they often have in mind very different things. A new ECFR paper by Sebastian Dullien and José Ignacio Torreblanca …Read More
Returning Home at Times of Trouble? Return Migration of EU Enlargement Migrants during the Crisis
Zaiceva, Anzelika, Zimmermann, Klaus F., (2012), ‘Returning Home at Times of Trouble? Return Migration of EU Enlargement Migrants during the Crisis’, IZA Discussion Paper, N.7111. The eastern enlargements of the EU in 2004 and 2007 have stimulated the mobility of workers from the new EU8 and EU2 countries. A significant proportion of these migrants stayed abroad only temporarily, and the Great recession may have triggered return intentions. However, a return …Read More