Andre Sapir, Dirk Schoenmaker, (2017), “The Time is Right for a European Monetary Fund”, Bruegel Policy Brief, Isuue 4, October The creation of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the banking union were instrumental in stemming the euro-area sovereign crisis. However, both remain incomplete. While the ESM reduces the risk of sovereign debt crises, it still lacks an instrument to deal in an orderly way with insolvency crises. This makes …Read More
3rd Economic Adjustment Programme Progress and short-term outlook
Anna Dimitriadou, (2017), “3rd Economic Adjustment Programme Progress and short-term outlook”, Eurobank Research, Global Economic & Market Outlook, 13 October The present report summarises the latest developments in the implementation of the 3rd Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece and provides an overview of the central issues of the upcoming 3rd review, such as key prior actions, privatisations and the position of the IMF as well as a broad timeline for the period ahead. Relevant …Read More
Europe Needs to Face Its Bad-Loan Problem
Bloomberg View, (2017), “Europe Needs to Face Its Bad-Loan Problem”, 30 October Financial regulators in the European Union are grappling on several fronts with problems in their banking system. They’ve made some progress, but there’s a pattern: The proposals fall short. Plans for EU-wide deposit insurance have been watered down. The system for resolving failing banks is underfunded. And now controversy has arisen over new rules for dealing with bad …Read More
The employment and output effects of short-time work in Germany
Russell Cooper, Moritz Meyer, Immo Schot, (2017), “The employment and output effects of short-time work in Germany”, VoxEU, 28 October A major factor behind the ‘German miracle’ – which saw GDP collapse by almost 7% during the Global Crisis but unemployment increase by less than 1% – was a ‘short-time work’ policy that incentivised firms to reduce workers’ hours rather than laying off workers. This column explores the effectiveness of the …Read More
Populism, the state and modernisation in Greece: A historical perspective
Angelos Chryssogelos,(2017), “Populism, the state and modernisation in Greece: A historical perspective”, LSE, 25 October Since the eruption of the Greek crisis in 2010, few concepts have captured the attention of public and academic debates in Greece more than populism. In lay discourse, populism – understood often as irresponsible macroeconomics and demagogy – is commonly seen as the reason behind the advent of the crisis. In academic research, an intense …Read More
European Banking Union as a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Alfio Cerami, (2017), “European Banking Union as a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy”, LSE, 24 OCtober The establishment of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has represented one of the most important steps in the process of European integration. In an article published in Politics & Policy, I have argued that the EMU has not simply been the product of historical legacies, the rational choices of actors, or social construction of new economic …Read More
Phillips vs. Pass-through, or the changing ECB understanding of inflation
Francesco Papadia, Alessandra Marcelletti, (2017), “Phillips vs. Pass-through, or the changing ECB understanding of inflation”, Bruegel, 25 October This blog post looks at how the approach of the ECB to inflation has changed over the years. It shows the ECB has moved, over the years, from a small towards a large country approach, giving more weight to the improving employment conditions than to the appreciating exchange rate in deciding its …Read More
Understanding the Political Economy of the Eurozone Crisis
Frieden, Jeffry, Walterm Stefanie, (2017), “Understanding the Political Economy of the Eurozone Crisis”, Annual Review of Political Science, 20: 371-390, May The Eurozone crisis constitutes a grave challenge to European integration. This article presents an overview of the causes of the crisis and analyzes why it has been so difficult to resolve. We focus on how responses to the crisis were shaped by distributive conflicts both among and within countries. …Read More
The ECB Shows It Has Won the Market’s Trust
Ferdinando Giugliano, (2017), “The ECB Shows It Has Won the Market’s Trust“, Bloomberg, 27 October The European Central Bank’s decision to reduce the pace of quantitative easing as of next year is the story of the dog that didn’t bark. For months, the expectation was that this historic announcement would cause disruption in the financial markets, sending bond yields higher and stock prices lower. What we saw instead was a very orderly and even …Read More
ESM Board of Directors approves €0.8 billion disbursement to Greece for arrears clearance
ESM, (2017), “ESM Board of Directors approves €0.8 billion disbursement to Greece for arrears clearance“, Press Release, 26 October The Board of Directors of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) today authorised the release of €0.8 billion to Greece for the clearance of arrears. This is the remaining amount of the third tranche of ESM financial assistance, approved on 7 July 2017. It will be disbursed to a dedicated account for …Read More