Bindseil, Ulr., Clemens D., and Zeuner, J., (2015), “Critique of accommodating central bank policies and the ‘expropriation of the saver’: A review”, ECB Occasional Paper Series, N.161/May 2015. In parts of the German media, with the support of a number of German economists, the ECB’s low nominal interest rate policy is criticised as unnecessary, ineffective and as expropriating the German saver. This paper provides a review of the relevant arguments. It is …Read More
Financial integration in Europe: 2015
European Central Bank, (2015), Financial integration in Europe: 2015, April. Financial integration in the euro area has improved steadily and has reached a level close to that before the sovereign debt crisis Establishment of Banking Union and unconventional monetary policy actions taken by the ECB are major drivers of the improvement Financial integration is crucial for restoring efficient credit flows to the real economy Overall, financial integration in Europe has …Read More
European Central Bank, Annual Report 2014
European Central Bank, (2015), Annual Report 2014. From a monetary policy perspective, the environment in 2014 was complex. The muted recovery that had begun in 2013 did not accelerate as initially expected. Monetary growth remained subdued and credit continued to contract, albeit at a gradually slower pace. In a context of low domestic inflationary pressures, the considerable fall in oil prices from the middle of 2014 resulted in further significant falls …Read More
Banking Stress Scenarios for Public Debt Projections
Benczur P., Berti K., Cariboni J., Di Girolamo Fr. Er., Langedijk Sv., Pagano Andr., Giudici M., (2015), “Banking Stress Scenarios for Public Debt Projections”, European Commission. The euro area sovereign debt crisis brought to light the potential risks to public finances posed by the banking sector. This paper simulates the potential impact of bank defaults on public finances based on stress test scenarios using an advance analytical methodology. Relevant posts: …Read More
World Economic Outlook (WEO) Uneven Growth: Short- and Long-Term Factors
World Economic Outlook (WEO) Uneven Growth: Short- and Long-Term Factors, International Monetary Fund: World Economic and Financial Surveys, 15 April 2015. Global growth remains moderate, with uneven prospects across the main countries and regions. It is projected to be 3.5 percent in 2015, in line with forecasts in the January 2015 World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update. Relative to last year, the outlook for advanced economies is improving, while growth …Read More
The crisis and its impact on unemployed people in Europe Qualitative survey in seven EU Member States
Paugam, S. (2015) “The crisis and its impact on unemployed people in Europe Qualitative survey in seven EU Member States“, Final report for the European Commission DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, 15 April. As part of the package on “Coping strategies with crisis”, this study analyses experiences of unemployment in a recession and is based on a qualitative survey of a sample of over a hundred unemployed people from …Read More
A New Start for the Eurozone: Dealing with Debt – Monitoring the Eurozone 1
Corsetti, G., Feld, P. L., Lane, R. P., Reichlin, L., Rey, H., Vayanos, D. & Weder di Mauro, B. (2015) “A New Start for the Eurozone: Dealing with Debt – Monitoring the Eurozone 1“, Centre for Economic Policy Research, 15 April. Foreword Recent Eurozone growth has been sporadic and hesitant, and confidence in the recovery is marred by concerns over returning financial instability and long periods of little or …Read More
OECD tax burdens on wages rising without tax rate increases
OECD tax burdens on wages rising without tax rate increases, OECD Publications, April 2015. Taxes on wages have risen by about 1 percentage point for the average worker in OECD countries between 2010 and 2014 even though the majority of governments did not increase statutory income tax rates, according to a new OECD report. Taxing Wages 2015 says the tax burden has increased in 23 OECD countries and fallen …Read More
Quarterly Report on the Euro Area
European Commission, Quarterly Report on the Euro Area, Vol. 14, No. 1(2015), DG for Economic and Financial Affairs, Vol. 14, No. 1, April 2015. Marco Buti: Editorial According to the European Commission’s latest winter forecast published in February, the economies of all euro area Member States are expected to grow again for the first time since 2007. The aggregate real GDP growth rate of the euro area was revised …Read More
Benchmarking Working Europe 2015
European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) Benchmarking Working Europe 2015, ETUI aisbl: Βρυξέλλες, March 2015. Published every year, the report analyses the state of working Europe explaining with the aid of statistics and graphs the main trends in terms of Europe’s macro-economic situation, its labour market development, the situation of wages and collective bargaining, and worker participation. The focus of this year’s Benchmarking report is on the lessons learned – …Read More