Arendt, Daphne, (2016), “The Case For Universal Support For European Families”, Social Europe Journal, 1 February Austerity measures introduced during the crisis have disproportionately concerned cuts in the measures that are most vital for reducing child poverty: cash and tax benefits, a new Eurofound report shows. Furthermore, there has been a move away from universal coverage towards more targeted support. Of course, it makes good sense for governments to target …Read More
On the correction of Eurozone external imbalances and the pitfalls of bilateral imbalance measures
Di Mauro, Filippo, Nagengast, Arne, Stehrer, Robert, (2016), “On the correction of Eurozone external imbalances and the pitfalls of bilateral imbalance measures”, Voxeu, 29 January Now the worst of the Eurozone Crisis has passed, one question that emerges is whether improving current account balances should be an objective for policymakers. And if so, what tools are available? This column argues that because of the emergence of global value chains, trade imbalances within the Eurozone …Read More
Labour market reforms, growth and inequality: Evidence from a new dataset
F. Campos, Nauro, B Nugent, Jeffrey, (2016), “Labour market reforms, growth and inequality: Evidence from a new dataset”, Voxeu, 28 January Labour market liberalisation is one of the most important structural reforms, and yet one of the least well understood. The conventional view is that such reforms increase welfare and improve economic performance.For example, changes in employment laws that lower the costs of hiring and firing workers encourage job separations, increase job creation …Read More
Break The Vicious Circle Of Falling Prices And Wages
Janssen, Ronald, (2016), “Break The Vicious Circle Of Falling Prices And Wages”, Social Europe Journal, 27 January The IMF has recently released its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) pointing to persistently weak growth and another downward revision of its projected growth rates for 2016 and 2017 by 0.2 percentage points in each year. Despite this, the IMF’s growth trajectory still sees the world economy recovering slightly from the weakness it …Read More
Flexible Fiscal Rules and Countercyclical Fiscal Policy
Guerguil, Martine, Mandon, Pierre, Tapsoba, Rene, (2016), ” Flexible Fiscal Rules and Countercyclical Fiscal Policy”, IMF Working Paper No. 16/8, 22 January We are very grateful to Jean-Louis Combes and Alexandru Minea for their valuable comments and suggestions. The paper also benefited from useful discussions and comments from Vitor Gaspar, Abdelhak Senhadji, Paulo Medas, Marialuz Moreno Badia, Xavier Debrun, Mousse Sow, Sampawende Tapsoba, Dell’Erba Salvatore, Tigran Poghosyan, Estelle Liu, and participants at the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department …Read More
Bad banks and rude awakenings: Italian banks at a crossroads
Merler, Sylvia, (2016), “Bad banks and rude awakenings: Italian banks at a crossroads”, Bruegel publications, 26 January Taking a step back, it is important to understand what could be behind the sudden change in market sentiment. Borrowing a literary expression, this is to some extent the chronicle of a death foretold. Italian banks have been very resilient to the first wave of financial crisis in 2008, due to the low …Read More
Balance-of-Payments Adjustment in the Eurozone
Micossi, Stefano, (2016), “Balance-of-Payments Adjustment in the Eurozone”, CEPS publications, 22 January This policy contribution describes the unresolved adjustment problems confronting the eurozone, and places them in historical perspective by comparing developments in key real economic variables under EMU with those observed under the Bretton Woods system. The main finding is that the eurozone is afflicted by a strong deflationary bias and that, therefore, under current trends, deep economic and social …Read More
2016 already puts its mark on the economic map of Europe
Emerson, Michael, (2016), “2016 already puts its mark on the economic map of Europe”, Ceps publications, 8 January The start of 2016 brought highly symbolic changes to the trade policy map of Europe between the EU- and Russian-led blocs, as the EU’s Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with Ukraine entered into force provisionally, while Russia moved in precisely the opposite direction by scrapping its free trade agreement with …Read More
A financial side to a macroeconomic story: macro imbalances and financial integration in the euro area
Merler, Sylvia, (2016), “A financial side to a macroeconomic story: macro imbalances and financial integration in the euro area”, Bruegel publications, 18 January In a recent paper, I looked at the evolution of financial cycles in the euro area and at their link with capital flows. Here, I focus on how those findings inform our understanding of euro-area macroeconomic imbalances, revisiting the analysis of national savings and investment correlation. Relevant …Read More
Lost in assumptions: assessing the economic impact of migrants
Boot, Nuria, Huttl, Pia, (2016), “Lost in assumptions: assessing the economic impact of migrants”, Bruegel publications, 18 January What’s at stake: Many research institutes have estimated the economic impact of migrants, in particular regarding fiscal budgets and the labour market. These studies often give contradictory results. This blogs review looks at the different assumptions and approaches behind these results. Relevant Posts Carcea Carpus, Mihaela, Ciriaci, Daria, Lorenzani, Dimitri, Pontuch, Peter, …Read More