Europe’s Top-Down Myopia

23 January, 2014

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Barysch, K., (2014), “Europe’s Top-Down Myopia”, Project Syndicate, 22 January. The EU is undergoing fundamental changes, many of which have gone largely unnoticed, owing to the overwhelming focus on large-scale top-down reforms. Officials seem not to recognize change unless it takes the form of Eurobonds, new European treaties, or policy reversals by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But the case for small steps guided by market mechanisms is strong. Europe’s obsession with …Read More

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Working for the Few

22 January, 2014

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Oxfam, (2014), “Working for the Few”, 178 Oxfam Briefing Paper, 20 January Economic inequality is rapidly increasing in the majority of countries. The wealth of the world is divided in two: almost half going to the richest one percent; the other half to the remaining 99 percent. The World Economic Forum has identified this as a major risk to human progress. Extreme economic inequality and political capture are too often …Read More

Library » EU » Economy » Society » Reports

Is the Tide Rising?

22 January, 2014

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IMF, (2014), “Is the Tide Rising?”, World Economic Outlook Update, January. Global activity strengthened during the second half of 2013, as anticipated in the October 2013 World Economic Outlook (WEO). Activity is expected to improve further in 2014–15, largely on account of recovery in the advanced economies. Global growth is now projected to be slightly higher in 2014, at around 3.7 percent, rising to 3.9 percent in 2015, a broadly unchanged …Read More

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Employment and Social Developments in Europe 2013

22 January, 2014

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European Commission, (2014), Employment and Social Developments in Europe 2013, Brussels. This year’s report offers an in-depth and wide-ranging review of key labour market and social challenges facing the EU as it slowly emerges from recession. Where will Europe’s new jobs come from in an increasingly competitive global economy? Will active inclusion policies support help address rising levels of poverty among those of working age? Will the improvement in the …Read More

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“Migration as an Adjustment Mechanism in the Crisis? A Comparison of Europe and the United States”

21 January, 2014

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Jauer, J., Liebig, T., Martin, J. and Puhani, P., (2014), “Migration as an Adjustment Mechanism in the Crisis? A Comparison of Europe and the United States”, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 155, OECD Publishing. The question of whether migration can be an equilibrating force in the labour market is an important criterion for an optimal currency area. It is of particular interest currently in the context of high …Read More

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ΕΥ Eurozone Forecast, Outlook for Financial Services

21 January, 2014

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ΕΥ (2014), ΕΥ Eurozone Forecast, EY Outlook for Financial Services, Winter 2013/2014 The run-up to Christmas and the start of 2014 proved to be a busy time for Europe’s financial sector. Sadly, this was less to do with the festivities and more to do with the necessary groundwork to underpin the Eurozone’s new regulatory framework. After lengthy delays, work around Solvency II — recently re-animated by agreement over the Omnibus …Read More

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Global Employment Trends 2014: The Risk of a Jobless Recovery

21 January, 2014

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ILO (2014), Global Employment Trends 2014: The Risk of a Jobless Recovery, ILO Publications, Geneva. The Global Employment Trends study offers the latest global and regional information and projections on several indicators of the labour market, including employment, unemployment, working poverty and vulnerable employment. The weak global economic recovery has failed to lead to an improvement in global labour markets, with global unemployment in 2013 reaching almost 202 million. Relevant …Read More

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Europe’s ‘structural reform’ agenda is little more than a fairytale

21 January, 2014

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Regan, A., (2014), “Europe’s ‘structural reform’ agenda is little more than a fairytale”, LSE Blogs, 21 January. The policy response to the Eurozone crisis has incorporated a number of different elements, including the structural reform of European economies. Aidan Regan argues that this ‘structural reform agenda’ has been defined in exceptionally vague terms, and that it is still unclear precisely which reforms would lead to tangible economic improvements in European …Read More

Library » EU » Economy » Politics » Opinion Articles

A New Model for New Europe

20 January, 2014

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Baily, M. & Sjåtil, P., (2014), “A New Model for New Europe”, Project Syndicate, 17 January Five years ago, Central and Eastern Europe was home to one of the world’s most impressive growth stories. Annual GDP growth was close to 5%, just behind China and India. Foreign direct investment poured into Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia at a rate of more than $40 billion …Read More

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How the ECB could be Radical by being Old Fashioned

20 January, 2014

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Wren-Lewis, S., (2014), “How the ECB could be Radical by being Old Fashioned”, Social Europe Journal, 20 January. Forward commitment could be sold not as a radical new policy, but a return to a very old one: money targeting. The one major central bank that did maintain a money targeting policy for more than a few years was the Bundesbank. Why is money targeting like a forward commitment policy? Because …Read More

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