Caruso, Alberto, Hasenzagl, Thomas, Pellegrino, Filippo, Reichlin, Lucrezia, (2016), “The US sneezes and the Eurozone catches a cold: The Eurozone has been infected by the US slowdown”, Voxeu, 22 February Recent data releases related to the Eurozone have been disappointing. This column argues that momentum from the long-delayed 2014-15 recovery is faltering because the Eurozone economy is affected, with a lag, by the US slowdown. The traditional, lagged relationship between the EZ and US business cycles – …Read More

Blanchard, Olivier, Mauro, Paolo, Acalin, Julien, (2016), “The case for growth-indexed bonds in advanced economies today”, Voxeu, 16 February One of the legacies of the Global Crisis is a high ratio of public debt to GDP. While current levels may be sustainable, another series of bad shocks could easily tip the balance and lead to unsustainable debt ratios. This column argues that against this background, growth-indexed bonds can help. By decreasing …Read More

Claeys, Gregory, Leandro, Alvaro, (2016), “The European Central Bank’s quantitative easing programme: limits and risks”, Bruegel publications, 15 February The ECB has made a series of changes to its QE programme in order to expand the universe of purchasable assets and have more flexibility in the execution of the programme. However this might not be enough to sustain QE throughout 2017. The extension of the programme also raises questions about …Read More

Boot, Nuria, Veugelers, Reinhilde, (2016), “Can mass migration boost innovation and productivity?”, Bruegel publications, 10 February The long-term impact of migration on innovation and productivity growth in host countries is a neglected issue in the current debate on refugees. Research shows that these effects can be substantial, but if Europe wants to capitalize on this potential it will need better information systems to match migrants’ skill sets with host environments. …Read More

Huttl, Pia, Schoenmaker, Dirk, (2016), “Should the ‘outs’ join the European banking union?”, Bruegel publications, 4 February This paper analyses the banking linkages between the nine ‘outs’ and 19 ‘ins’ of the banking union. It finds that the out countries could profit from joining banking union, because it would provide a stable arrangement for managing financial stability. Relevant Posts Gros, Daniel, Belke, Ansgar, (2015), “Banking Union as a Shock Absorber: …Read More

Langfield, Sam, Pagano, Marco, (2016), “Financial structure and growth revisited”, Voxeu, 1 February Why is growth in Europe so low? Among the contributing factors, this column highlights the role of financial structure. Intermediation in Europe is heavily bank-based, and the authors’ novel empirical findings indicate that such a structure exerts a negative effect on long-run economic growth and exacerbates its response to sharp drops in real estate prices. The findings support policymakers’ efforts to rebalance …Read More