Müller, L. (2014) “The impact of the mass media on the quality of democracy within a state remains a much overlooked area of study“, LSE EUROPP, 05 December. Media organisations are generally assumed to play an important role in democracies, but how effective are they in performing this function within specific states? Lisa Müller outlines results from an analysis of 47 countries, based on a framework which rates two …Read More
Michael Anyadike-Danes, Carl-Magnus Bjuggren, Sandra Gottschalk, Werner Hölzl, Dan Johansson, Mika Maliranta, and Anja Myrann (2014) “An International Cohort Comparison of Size Effects on Job Growth“, Discussion Paper No. 14-102, Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), October. Abstract The contribution of different-sized businesses to job creation continues to attract policymakers’ attention, however, it has recently been recognized that conclusions about size were confounded with the effect of age. We …Read More
Barber, T. (2014) “Economic chill set to make Finland the sick man of Europe“, Financial Times, Comments Blog, 02 December. Which of the eurozone’s 18 member states will be the weakest performing economy in 2015? Italy, which has recorded no economic growth since 1999? Cyprus, which is still reeling from its financial sector collapse in 2012-13? Or some other hard-pressed southern European nation? No. In all probability, the sick …Read More
Europe: When the Unthinkable Becomes Possible, Geopolitical Diary – STRATFOR Global Intelligence, 03 December. Europe’s economic crisis is slowly but steadily eroding the political systems of many countries on the Continent. New actors are emerging and threatening the supremacy of the traditional players. Alliances and events that seemed impossible only a few years ago are now being openly discussed across Europe. On Dec. 3, for example, Sweden announced it …Read More
Brons, Μ., Kalantzis, F., Maincent, E. & Arnoldus, P. (2014) “Infrastructure in the EU: Developments and Impact on Growth“, European Economy – Occasional Papers–No. 203, European Commission Publications, December 2014: Brussels. Today, investment needs are high in areas such as research, innovation and ICT which are important drivers of growth and competitiveness. However, there are also arguments to suggest that Europe should invest in energy and transport infrastructure. Energy …Read More
Gros, D. (2014) “Investment as the key to recovery in the euro area?“, Economic Policy, CEPS Policy Briefs Νο. 34, 18 November. Investment has declined in the euro area since the start of the economic and financial crisis, but this does not mean that there is necessarily an ‘investment gap’, explains Daniel Gros in this CEPS Policy Brief. Investment was probably above a sustainable level due to the credit …Read More
Vogel, L. (2014) “Structural reforms at the zero bound“, European Economy – Economic Papers. Νο. 537, European Commission Publications, November 2014: Brussels. This paper uses the European Commission’s QUEST macroeconomic model to analyse the impact of structural reforms on economic activity in an environment in which the zero bound on monetary policy rates is temporarily binding. The simulations suggest that although such reforms can have a negative impact on …Read More
Rodríguez-Pose, Α. & Hardy, C. D. (2014) “Cultural diversity and entrepreneurship: Evidence from England and Wales“, VoxEU Organisation, 04 December. Cultural diversity is increasing globally. This column examines diversity from the point of view of entrepreneurship. It demonstrates that cultural diversity breeds entrepreneurship – but the nature of the diversity is critical. Recent migrants, rather than the descendants of past migrants, create the conditions for a more dynamic entrepreneurial …Read More
Katz, F. L., Kroft, K., Lange, F. & Notowidigdo, M. (2014) “Addressing long-term unemployment in the aftermath of the Great Recession“, VoxEU Organisation, 03 December. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, there remains a large number of long-term unemployed across countries. This column argues that policies targeting the long-term unemployed, if effective, may have substantial benefits for the aggregate labour markets. However, evidence of the effectiveness of active …Read More
Fatas, A. (2014) “The logic behind the German Euro gamble“, Antonio Fatas on the Global Economy Blog, 02 December. In the current economic policy debate in Europe there seems to be an increasing polarization between the German view and the view of the other countries. How did we end up with such polarized views of the world? What is the basis for the apparent German stubbornness to change their …Read More
