Morris , M. (2014) “EU: Reframing Can Go Hand in Hand with Reform“, Eurocrisis in the Press, LSE EUROPP, 20 June.   Last year my colleague Giulio Carini and I wrote an article about ‘reframing’ the EU. We thought that the current frames supporters of the EU were using in the debate were obstructive and we wanted to suggest some alternatives. We were particularly motivated to do so because we …Read More

Fazi, Τ. (2014) “It’s Time To Stand Up To Troika Austerity (Part II)“, Social Europe Journal, 19 June.   In the first part of this article I looked at the mounting evidence against austerity by organisations as varied as Caritas, the ILO, the Council of Europe and the IMF. So why is the European establishment pushing for more of the same? Social and economic misery and despair, growing inequality, dwindling public services, …Read More

Wren-Lewis, S. (2014) “Does Politics Dominate Economics In Eurozone Crisis Management?“, Social Europe Journal, 18 June.   Athanasios Orphanides, leading academic macroeconomist and from 2007-12 Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus, does not hold back in a recent paper. Here is just one quote: “During the crisis, key decision makers exhibited neither political leadership nor political courage. Rather than work towards containing total losses, politics led governments to focus on …Read More

Teulings, C. (2014) “Why does inequality grow? Can we do something about it?“, VoxEU Organisation, 15 June.   The income inequality has increased worldwide in recent years. This column discusses the role of technological progress, globalisation, and the liberalisation of labour-market institutions on the growing inequality. The liberalisation of labour market institutions has made labour markets more flexible and created many jobs. But beyond a certain point, the net effect …Read More

Zielonka, J. (2014) “Mending A Dysfunctional European Union“, Social Europe Journal, 11 June.   The EU is not an end in itself. Europe needs a vision of functional integration orchestrated and managed not just by states, but also major regions, cities, NGOs and firms. Elections create winners and losers; the former suffer from hangover due to the excess of champagne; the latter suffer from hangover caused by depression. These last …Read More

Cooper, R. (2014) “The European Union does not have a democratic deficit – it has a democratic surplus“, LSE EUROPP, 11 June.   The European Union has often been accused of having a ‘democratic deficit’. Sir Robert Cooper writes that what the EU actually suffers from is a ‘democratic surplus’: elections are held, but turnout remains extremely low due to a lack of interest among citizens. As national parliaments appear …Read More

Magnus, G. (2014) “The ECB and Sisyphus: it won’t be finished unless it does QE“, Pieria Online, 09 June.   Mario Draghi, 5th June: “Are we finished? The answer is no… within our mandate, we’re not finished yet.” After the announcements made following the ECB’s June meeting, we hope this wasn’t an idle remark from the President because the ECB will almost certainly have to come back and do more …Read More

Rogoff, K. (2014) “The 4% Non-Solution”, Project Syndicate, 05 June.   PARIS – For some time now, there has been concern that central bankers have “run out of bullets.” Having lowered their policy rates to near zero, they have engaged in increasingly extravagant measures such as “quantitative easing” and “forward guidance.” Given the fog cast over real economic activity by the financial crisis, it is difficult to offer a definitive …Read More

Flesher Fominaya, C. (2014) ““Spain is Different”: Podemos and 15-M“, LSE EUROPP, 04 June.   In a dismal post-European election scenario, in which the extreme right has managed to emerge as the leading political formation in a number of European democracies, Spain has once again lived up to the 1960’s tourist slogan “Spain is different”. While the right-wing party Partido Popular (PP) won the most votes, the real news is …Read More

Merkel, W. (2014) “Failing Union Of Capitalism And Democracy Fuels Rise In Inequality“, Social Europe Journal, 03 June.   Recent weeks have been all about elections and broken promises: from early April to mid-May, half-a-billion Indians went to the polls in what many described an astonishing display of democratic prowess. Later, millions of European citizens elected their representatives to the often-criticised and never much-loved European Union parliament. Meanwhile, Australian prime …Read More