European Central Bank, (2013), “The Euro Area Lending Survey-2 nd Quarter 2013”, 24 July. The European Central Bank (ECB) is publishing its report on the results of the July 2013 euro area bank lending survey today. The bank lending survey, which is conducted four times a year, usually at the beginning of each quarter, was developed by the Eurosystem in order to enhance the understanding of bank lending behaviour in …Read More
How Many European Recessions?
Frankel, Jeffrey, (2013), “How Many European Recessions?”, www.project-syndicate.org, 17 July. The release of revised GDP data by the United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics in late June seemed like an occasion for cheer, because growth had not quite been negative for two consecutive quarters in the winter of 2011-12, as previously thought. The point, as it was reported, is that a second UK recession following the global financial crisis in …Read More
Library » EU » Economy » Opinion Articles
A Copernican turn in Banking Union urgently needed
Mayer, Thomas, (2013), “A Copernican turn in Banking Union urgently needed”, CEPS Policy Briefs, N. 297. Despite broad agreement among central bankers, policy-makers and economists that creation of a ‘Banking Union’ is essential for the survival of the euro, progress in building this union has been painfully slow. This is largely due to the protracted fights over which government will be the payer of last resort when banks fail because …Read More
Library » EU » Economy » Policy Papers
Inflation persistence in Central and Eastern European countries
Darvas, Zsolt, Varga, Balázs, (2013), “Inflation persistence in Central and Eastern European countries”, Bruegel Working Paper, N. 2013/04. This paper studies inflation persistence with time-varying coefficient autoregressions for twelve central European countries,in comparison with the United States and the euro area. Inflation persistence tends to be higher in times of high inflation. Since the oil price shocks, inflation persistence has declined both in the US and euro-area. In most central …Read More
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Report on public finances in EMU
European Commission, (2013), “Report on public finances in EMU”, European Economy, 4/2013, July. The Report presents recent budgetary developments, describes advances in budgetary surveillance and proposes a new indicator of fiscal effort based on a narrative approach. It also shows the developments of health expenditures and the possibility of introducing cost-containing reforms that preserve high quality standards in the provision of health services.
Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting
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
Library » EU » Greece » Economy » Policy Papers
German Banks on Top
Zingales, Luigi, (2013), “German Banks on Top”, www.project-syndicate.org, 18 July. Overcoming the European Union’s current economic malaise, as almost everyone acknowledges, requires deeper integration, with the first step taking the form of a banking union supervised by the European Central Bank. But Europe’s banking union also requires uniform rules for winding up insolvent financial institutions – and this has become a sticking point.
Library » EU » Economy » Opinion Articles
The Next Social Contract
Derviş, Kemal, (2013), “The Next Social Contract”, www.project-syndicate.org, 18 July. Around the world nowadays, persistent unemployment, skill mismatches, and retirement frameworks have become central to fiscal policy – and to the often-fierce political debates that surround it. The advanced countries are facing an immediate “aging” problem, but most of the emerging economies are also in the midst of a demographic transition that will result in an age structure similar to …Read More
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Redesigning the ECB with regional rather than national central banks
Burda, Michael, (2013), “Redesigning the ECB with regional rather than national central banks”, www.voxeu.org, 15 July. Eurozone national central banks that take a national perspective risk politicising the ECB’s monetary policy. This column argues that this is a significant risk that should be overcome with a fundamental overhaul of the Eurosystem. A central element would be to take the ‘national’ out of the EZ’s national central banks. Just as US …Read More
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OECD Employment Outlook
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