El-Erian, Mohamed, (2012), ‘Who is Responsible for the Greek Tragedy?’, www.project-syndicate.org, 19 May. Greece is following the road taken by several other crisis-ridden emerging economies over the past 30 years. Indeed, as I argued earlier this year, there are stunning similarities between this once-proud eurozone member and Argentina prior to its default in 2001. With an equally traumatic implosion – economic, financial, political, and social – now taking place, we …Read More
Benchmarking Unemployment Benefit Systems
Stovicek, Klara, Turrini, Alessandro ‘Benchmarking Unemployment Benefit Systems’, European Economy Economic Papers, N. 454. This paper proposes a methodology for benchmarking unemployment benefits systems, with a view to assess reform needs and priorities. The methodology permits to assess different dimensions of unemployment benefit systems and to consider alternative relevant benchmarks. Looking at all relevant dimensions allows to better gauge how unemployment benefit systems perform in terms of their multi-faceted objectives (such as income …Read More
Labour market developments in Europe 2012
Eurostat (2012), Labour market developments in Europe 2012, European Economy Series, Brussels.
The Political Economy of the Crisis:The End of an Era?
Tsoukalis, Loukas, (2012), ‘The Political Economy of the Crisis:The End of an Era?’, Dahrendord Symposia Series Working Paper 2012-04. Τhe crisis we are going through will shape Europe and European integration for years to come; it also risks leading Europe down the road to disintegration. The crisis of the euro is part and parcel of a much broader crisis that has resulted from the bursting of the biggest bubble in …Read More
The Euro-Exit Taboo
Dadush, Uri, (2012), ‘The Euro-Exit Taboo’, nationalinterest.org, 1 May. Stay or leave? Should Greece persist with its extreme austerity plan, or should it abandon the euro? What about Portugal? Spain? In mainstream political discourse, posing the question of euro exit is taboo. When Prime Minister Papandreou of Greece, an ardent European, unexpectedly proposed a national referendum on the matter (one he expected adherents to the euro to win) he was …Read More
Dimitris A. Sotiropoulos: The paradox of non-reform in a reform-ripe environment: lessons from post-authoritarian Greece
Sotiropoulos, A., Dimitris, (2012), “The paradox of non-reform in a reform-ripe environment: lessons from post-authoritarian Greece”, Kalyvas, St., Pagoulatos, G., and Tsoukas, H., (eds), From Stagnation to Forced Adjustment: Reforms in Greece, 1974-2010, London and New York: Hurst Co. and Columbia University Press. In May 2010, following the Memorandum of Understanding between the Greek government and the Troika (IMF, EU and ECB), a rescue package was offered to Greece, in …Read More
Sovereign spreads in the eurozone: which prospects for a Eurobond?
Favero, Carlo, Missale, Alessandro, (2012),‘Sovereign spreads in the eurozone: which prospects for a Eurobond?’, Economic Policy, Vol. 27, Issue 70, p.p. 231 – 273. In this paper, we provide new evidence on the determinants of sovereign yield spreads and ‘market sentiment’ effects in the eurozone in order to evaluate the rationale for a common Eurobond jointly guaranteed by eurozone Member States. We find that default risk is the main driver …Read More
Greece needs plans for growth, not eurozone exit
Katsikas, Dimitris, (2012), ‘Greece needs plans for growth, not eurozone exit’, www.publicserviceeurope.com, 23 March. The second bail-out agreement for Greece has been hailed by the political elites in Europe and the parties of the Greek governing coalition as a historic achievement that paves the way for the country’s return to normalcy. Nonetheless, as soon as it was signed, a number of analysts criticised it as insufficient and predicted that in …Read More
Greece needs plans for growth, not eurozone exit
Katsikas, Dimitris, (2012), “Greece needs plans for growth, not eurozone exit”, www.publicserviceeurope.com, 23 March. The second bail-out agreement for Greece has been hailed by the political elites in Europe and the parties of the Greek governing coalition as a historic achievement that paves the way for the country’s return to normalcy. Nonetheless, as soon as it was signed, a number of analysts criticised it as insufficient and predicted that in …Read More
The Logic and Fairness of Greece’s Program
Blanchard, Olivier, (2012), ‘The Logic and Fairness of Greece’s Program’, blog-imfdirect.imf.org, 20 March. Some countries have been able to work down heavy public debt burdens. Those that were successful did it through sustained high growth. But in Greece’s case, it had become clear that high growth—let alone sustained high growth—was not going to come soon enough.