Hodgson, Geoffrey, (2015), “Conceptualizing Capitalism-Institutions, Evolution, Future”, Chicago University Press, October A few centuries ago, capitalism set in motion an explosion of economic productivity. Markets and private property had existed for millennia, but what other key institutions fostered capitalism’s relatively recent emergence? Until now, the conceptual toolkit available to answer this question has been inadequate, and economists and other social scientists have been diverted from identifying these key institutions. Relevant …Read More
Monetary Policy: Past, Present and Future
Draghi, Mario, (2015), “Monetary Policy: Past, Present and Future”, Speech at the Frankfurt European Banking Congress, 20 November Τhe ECB’s monetary policy measures have clearly worked, in fact they are probably the dominant force spurring the recovery. They have been instrumental in arresting and reversing the deflationary pressures that hit the euro a year ago. Yet growth momentum remains weak and inflation remains well below our objective of below but …Read More
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A new historical database on economic freedom in OECD countries
Prados de la Escosura, Leandro, (2015), “A new historical database on economic freedom in OECD countries”, Voxeu, 23 November Indices of economic freedom refer mostly to the recent past, making policy prescriptions difficult to draw. This column presents a new historical index of economic liberty covering 21 OECD countries for the period 1850-2007. Over time, progress in economic liberty has derived from different factors, but improvements in legal structures and property …Read More
Library » EU » Economy » Policy Papers
Interconnectedness of the banking sector as a vulnerability to crises
Peltonen, Tuomas A., Rancan, Michela, Sarlin, Peter, (2015), “Interconnectedness of the banking sector as a vulnerability to crises”, ECB Working Paper 1866, November. This paper uses macro-networks to measure the interconnectedness of the banking sector, and relates it to banking crises in Europe. Beyond cross-border financial linkages of the banking sector, macro-networks also account for financial linkages to the other main financial and non-financial sectors within the economy. We enrich conventional earlywarning models using …Read More
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Counting on the EU – public opinion on welfare state reforms
Hüttl, Pia, (2015), “Counting on the EU – public opinion on welfare state reforms”, Bruegel Blog, 19 November. As part of the Vision Europe Summit, a survey was held from July-August 2015, to investigate public opinion on the welfare state after the crisis. This blog post is a follow up to an earlier blog, focusing this time on the role of the EU and the welfare state. Relevant Posts Hüttl, Pia,Wolff, Guntram, (2015), …Read More
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The Effects of Wage Moderation: Can Internal Devaluations Work?
Decressin, Jorg, Loungani, Prakash, (2015), “The Effects of Wage Moderation: Can Internal Devaluations Work?“, IMF Direct, 17 November Devaluation is often part of the remedy for a country in financial trouble. Devaluation boosts the competitiveness of a country’s exports and curtails imports by making them more costly. Together, the higher exports and the reduced imports generate some of the financial resources needed to help the country get out of trouble. Relevant Posts …Read More
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Economics Rules: The Rights and Wrongs of the Dismal Science
Rodrik, Dani, (2015), “Economics Rules: The Rights and Wrongs of the Dismal Science”, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc Publications, October. In the wake of the financial crisis and the Great Recession, economics seems anything but a science. In this sharp, masterfully argued book, Dani Rodrik, a leading critic from within, takes a close look at economics to examine when it falls short and when it works, to give a surprisingly upbeat …Read More
Rebooting the Eurozone: Step 1 – agreeing a crisis narrative
Baldwin, Richard, Beck, Thorsten, Bénassy-Quéré, Agnès, Blanchard, Olivier, Corsetti, Giancarlo, de Grauwe, Paul, den Haan, Wouter Giavazzi, Francesco, Gros, Daniel, Kalemli-Ozcan, Sebnem, Micossi, Stefano, Papaioannou, Elias, Pesenti, Paolo, Pissarides, Christopher, Tabellini, Guido, Weder di Mauro, Beatrice, (2015), “Rebooting the Eurozone: Step 1 – agreeing a crisis narrative”, Centre for Economic Policy Research, 19 November. The Eurozone Crisis, which broke out in May 2010, is a long way from finished. Worse yet, many of the fragilities and imbalances that primed the monetary union for the …Read More
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Tax reforms in EU Member States 2015-Tax policy challenges for economic growth and fiscal sustainability
European Commission, (2015),”Tax reforms in EU Member States 2015-Tax policy challenges for economic growth and fiscal sustainability”, Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECFIN) and Directorate General for Taxation and Customs Union (TAXUD), European Economy/Institutional Paper 008/September 2015, November. The report ‘Tax reforms in EU Member States’ serves four main purposes. Firstly, it reviews the most important tax reforms recently implemented in EU Member States. Secondly, it discusses a number …Read More
Squaring the cycle: capital flows, financial cycles, and macro-prudential policy in the euro area
Merler, Silvia, (2015), ” Squaring the cycle: capital flows, financial cycles, and macro-prudential policy in the euro area”, Bruegel Publications, November. The financial crisis has prompted a renewed interest in macro-prudential policy as a framework to address the stability of the financial system as a whole, rather than only its individual components. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the European macro-prudential discussion by establishing empirically the special challenges that …Read More
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