Andrej Stuchlik, (2017), “Completing EMU And Protecting Public Investment”, Social Europe, 6 December For many today, debating institutional adjustments to the European Monetary Union embodies typical Brussels solipsism. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it seems to be a reasonable point of departure, especially with economic growth slowly but steadily returning to Europe, mainly driven by private consumption. However, it is still broken when it comes to sufficiently high levels …Read More
Almost one-third of EU GDP spent on social protection
Eurostat/Almost one-third of EU GDP spent on social protection/8 December 2017 Since 2010, social protection expenditure in the European Union (EU) has increased slightly, from 28.6% of GDP in 2010 to 29.0% in 2015, according to data from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In 2015, the two main sources of funding of social protection at EU level were social contributions, making up 54% of total receipts, and …Read More
A European Monetary Fund: Why and how?
Daniel Gros, Thomas Mayer, (2017), “A European Monetary Fund: Why and how?”, CEPS Working Paper, 11 December We argued as early as 2010, at the outset of the sovereign debt crisis, that Europe needs a European Monetary Fund (EMF). In the meantime, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) has been created, which performs the function of an EMF. It was critical in containing the cost of the crisis and four of its five country programmes …Read More
Challenges for euro area monetary policy in early 2018
Yves Mersch, (2017), “Challenges for euro area monetary policy in early 2018”, European Central Bank, 6 December Speech by Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the 32nd International ZinsFORUM, Frankfurt am Main, 6 December 2017. Relevant Posts Draghi, Mario, (2017), «Monetary policy and the economic recovery in the euro area», European Central Bank (ECB), 6 Αpril Peter Müller, Christian Reiermann, (2017), «Juncker Seeks Greater Commission Control …Read More
GDP up by 0.6% in both the euro area and the EU28
Eurostat/GDP up by 0.6% in both the euro area and the EU28/7 December 2017 Seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.6% in both the euro area (EA19) and the EU28 during the third quarter of 2017, compared with the previous quarter, according to an estimate published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the second quarter of 2017, GDP grew by 0.7% in both areas. Relevant Posts Eurostat/GDP up by 0.6% …Read More
Zombie firms and weak productivity: what role for policy?
OECD, (2017), “Zombie firms and weak productivity: what role for policy?”, 6 December Weak productivity growth is a major problem afflicting most societies. It curbs growth in incomes and endangers the sustainability of social security systems. An important, but often ignored, source of the productivity slowdown is the increasing prevalence of weakly productive firms and, among them, “zombie firms” – in essence firms that would typically exit or be forced …Read More
The Window for EU Reform Has Closed for Now
Leonid Bershidsky, (2017), “The Window for EU Reform Has Closed for Now”, BloombergView, 7 December Just a couple of months ago, Europhile Emmanuel Macron was settling in as French president and Angela Merkel was victorious from a German election. It looked like Europe had a rare window of opportunity for closer integration. Now the window appears to have shut, with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker mounting a solo effort to crack …Read More
Pensions at a Glance: OECD and G20 Indicators
OECD, (2017), “Pensions at a Glance: OECD and G20 Indicators”, OECD Publishing, Paris The 2017 edition of Pensions at a Glance highlights the pension reforms undertaken by OECD countries over the last two years. Moreover, one special chapter focuses on flexible retirement options in OECD countries and discusses people’s preferences regarding flexible retirement. Relevant Posts Salzano, Giovanni, (2017), «Greece Leads Euro Area in Share Spent on Old-Age Pensions: Chart», Bloomberg …Read More
Should we prosecute political leaders after a crisis? Lessons from Iceland
Ragnar Hjalmarsson, Iosif Kovras, (2017), “Should we prosecute political leaders after a crisis? Lessons from Iceland”, EUROPP LSE, 6 December Prosecuting politicians has become popular in the aftermath of the recent global financial crisis. It has mobilised such diverse groups as the Occupy movement and the Indignados in Southern Europe and inspired Trump’s supporters to ask for Hillary Clinton to be ‘locked up’. Relevant Posts Moury, Catherine, Standring, Adam, (2017), «How Portugal’s leaders …Read More
Juncker Seeks Greater Commission Control over Eurozone
Peter Müller, Christian Reiermann, (2017), “Juncker Seeks Greater Commission Control over Eurozone”, Spiegel Online, 5 December Jean-Claude Juncker never lets others outshine him if he spots an opportunity to give the European project a boost. And that goes for friends and enemies alike.Indeed, the European Commission president has now come up with a project that not only transgressions the mandate given him by the leaders of the European Union member states, …Read More