Jeffrey D. Sachs, (2015), “The ECB’s New Macroeconomic Realism”, Project Syndicate, 23 January. The European Central Bank has finally launched a policy of quantitative easing (QE). The key question at this stage is whether Germany will give the ECB the freedom of maneuver needed to carry out this monetary expansion with sufficient boldness. Though QE cannot produce long-term growth, it can do much to end the ongoing recession that has …Read More
Wolff, Β. G., Fratzscher, M. & Hüther, M. (2015) “The ECB’s bond-purchase dilemma – German opposition to government-bond purchases by the European Central Bank is solidifying ahead of the programme’s likely announcement“, Bruegel Institute, 21 January. German opposition to government-bond purchases by the European Central Bank is solidifying ahead of the programme’s likely announcement on January 22. Elections in Greece that could bring a government that will seek to …Read More
Primeri, Ε. (2015) “Opening of national research programs: different national answers to international pressures?“, Europe of Knowledge Blog, Ideas on Europe, 16 January. In a funding and policy context as deeply changed as the European one, the opening of national research programs has become an important instrument for national governments and funding agencies to increase international collaboration and to improve the quality and efficiency of scientific research. The opening …Read More
Niepelt, D. (2015) “Reserves for everyone – towards a new monetary regime?“, VoxEU Organisation, 21 January. Recent experience with the zero lower bound on nominal interest rates, and the use of high-denomination notes by criminals and tax evaders, have led to revived proposals to phase out cash. This column argues that abolishing cash may be neither necessary nor sufficient to overcome the zero lower bound problem, and would severely …Read More
Gorodnichenko, Υ., Talavera, Ο. & Sheremirov, S. (2015) “Will e-commerce make prices more flexible?, VoxEU Organisation, 21 January. An increasing share of purchases are made online where price changes are very cheap. This column presents new evidence on price dispersions and frictions using novel data from an online shopping platform from the US and the UK. Online prices are more flexible than prices in conventional stores but still sticky. …Read More
Mitchell, B. (2015) “Denmark should abandon its euro peg, Bill Mitchell Blog, 21 January. In my soon-to-be-published book on the Eurozone I examined the case of Denmark in some detail in the context of the evolution of the European Monetary System, the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), and the ratification process of the Treaty of Maastricht. Denmark was a participant in all the attempts to maintain fixed exchange rates …Read More
Crowley, M. (2015) ‘More Europe’ in 2015? For the EU, relevance on the world stage starts with common economic and security policies, US News and World Report, 21 January. The new year brought news that in the third quarter of 2014 the United States experienced its strongest annual growth – five percent – since 2003. Meanwhile, the European Union stagnates, managing only a 0.2 percent growth rate for the …Read More
Scholtens, B. (2015) “Falling oil prices should help Europe’s ailing economies, but the wider implications of the price drop remain to be seen“, LSE EUROPP, 21 January. How will the drop in oil prices affect European economies? As Bert Scholtens writes, the general expectation is that a fall in oil prices should help economic growth across Europe, but there are nevertheless a number of key factors which play an …Read More
Friedman, G. (2015) “The European Union, Nationalism and the Crisis of Europe“, STRATFOR, 20 Ιανουαρίου. Last week, I wrote about the crisis of Islamic radicalism and the problem of European nationalism. This week’s events give me the opportunity to address the question of European nationalism again, this time from the standpoint of the European Union and the European Central Bank, using a term that only an economist could invent: …Read More
Gaillard, E. & Straathof, B. (2015) “Will R&D tax incentives get Europe growing again?“, VoxEU Organisation, 20 January. Tax incentives have become a common policy tool for encouraging firms to spend more on research and development – and the recession has further raised interest in the effectiveness of this policy. This column highlights a new review of the empirical evidence, which suggests that fiscal incentives for R&D only modestly …Read More
