Papadimitriou, D., Nikiforos, M., Zezza, G., (2013), “The Greek Economic Crisis and the Experience of Austerity”, Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, Strategic Analysis, July 2013. Employment in Greece is in free fall, with more than one million jobs lost since October 2008—a drop of more than 28 percent. In March, the “official” unemployment rate was 27.4 percent, the highest level seen in any industrialized country in the free world …Read More
Schneider, Fr., Williams, C., (2013), “The Shadow Economy”, The Institute of Economic Affairs. To some people, the shadow economy is a great example of free economic activity at work. It is entirely unregulated except by the participants themselves; no tax is paid on shadow economic activity; and it may be possible to pursue activities in the shadow economy which are prohibited by law unjustly. Indeed, the smugglers of Sussex are …Read More
IMF, (2013), “Completes Fourth Review Under Extended Fund Facility Arrangement for Greece, Approves €1.72 Billion Disbursement”, Press Release No. 13/280. The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the fourth review of Greece’s performance under an economic program supported by an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. The completion of this review enables the disbursement of SDR 1.51 billion (about €1.72 billion, or US$2.29 billion), which would bring …Read More
Papadimitriou, D., Zezza, G., Nikiforos, M., (2013), “A Levy Institute Model for Greece”, Levy Institute. In this report, we present the main characteristics of a stock-flow consistent model for Greece, estimated on quarterly data over the last 30 years and built to provide us with a “tool for thinking,” in the words of Wynne Godley (the architect of such models), to explore the implications of alternative policy options for the …Read More
OECD, (2013), Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, 19 July. Taxation is at the core of countries’ sovereignty, but in recent years, multinational companies have avoided taxation in their home countries by pushing activities abroad to low or no tax jurisdictions. The G20 asked OECD to address this growing problem by creating this action plan to address base erosion and profit shifting. This plan identifies a series of domestic and …Read More
OECD, (2013), Employment Outlook, Paris. Concerns are growing in many countries about the strains that persistently high levels of unemployment are placing on the social fabric. Over five years have passed since the onset of the global financial and economic crisis but an uneven and weak recovery has not generated enough jobs to make a serious dent in unemployment in many OECD countries. In April 2013, 8% of the OECD …Read More
IMF, (2013), World Economic Outlook-Update, July. Global growth is projected to remain subdued at slightly above 3 percent in 2013, the same as in 2012. This is less than forecast in the April 2013 World Economic Outlook (WEO), driven to a large extent by appreciably weaker domestic demand and slower growth in several key emerging market economies, as well as a more protracted recession in the euro area. Downside risks …Read More
Howarth, David, Rommerskirchen, Charlotte, (2013), “A Panacea for all Times? The German Stability Culture as Strategic Political Resource”, West European Politics, Vol. 36, Issue 4, August 2013, p.p. 750-770 The German Stability Culture is frequently pointed to in the literature as the source of the country’s low inflation policies and, at the European Union level, the design of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). In Germany, the term was regularly wielded …Read More
Ball, L., Furceri, D., Leigh, D., & Loungani, Pr., (2013), “The Distributional Effects of Fiscal Consolidation”, IMF Working Paper, N.,13/151. This paper examines the distributional effects of fiscal consolidation. Using episodes of fiscal consolidation for a sample of 17 OECD countries over the period 1978–2009, we find that fiscal consolidation has typically had significant distributional effects by raising inequality, decreasing wage income shares and increasing long-term unemployment. The evidence also suggests …Read More
Eichengreen, Barry, (2013), “Lessons of a Greek Tragedy”, www.project-syndicate.org, 16 June. A visit to Greece leaves many vivid impressions. There are, of course, the country’s rich history, abundance of archeological sites, azure skies, and crystalline seas. But there is also the intense pressure under which Greek society is now functioning – and the extraordinary courage with which ordinary citizens are coping with economic disaster.
