Dixon, Robert, Lim, Guay, Van Ours, Jan, (2016), “Output gaps and unemployment by age and gender”, Voxeu, 3 Μay Okun’s law describes the positive empirical relationship between unemployment and the output gap. This column explores how this relationship differs depending on age and gender, taking into account different labour market institutions. Using data for 20 OECD countries over three decades, the authors find that the effect of Okun’s relationship decreases with age. Labour market …Read More

Corsetti, Giancarlo, Koijen, Ralph S.J., Reichlin, Lucrezia,  Reis, Ricardo, Rey, Hélène, Weder di Mauro, Beatrice, (2016), “Reinforcing the Eurozone and protecting an open society”, Voxeu, 4 May The sovereign debt and refugee crises prove that Europe has failed to design institutions robust enough to weather difficult times. Coordinated actions are needed, but these are difficult to implement because of the political climate. This column presents the 2nd Monitoring the Eurozone report, in which the authors propose …Read More

Borri, Nicola, Reichlin, Pietro, (2016), “Completing the Eurozone banking union: What must be done”, Voxeu, 4 Μay Most commentators agree that a European banking union would end the ‘deadly embrace’ between creditors and governments. This column argues that a banking union would be welcome, but that current proposals are dogged with problems. To resolve these, we should stop discussing debt restructuring and instead enhance the borrowing capacity of the European Stability Mechanism. A …Read More

Johnson, Simon, (2016),  “The Next Global Boom – and Bust”, Project Syndicate, 29 April The mood at the International Monetary Fund-World Bank spring meetings here earlier this month was grim. The latest IMF forecast for global growth has been revised downward yet again – suggesting the world will grow at an annual rate of just over 3% this year and again in 2017. If realized, this would be a dismal performance. Before …Read More

Koukiadaki, Aristea, Távora, Isabel,  Lucio,Miguel Martínez, (2016), “Structural Labour Market Reforms And The Collective Bargaining Landscape In Europe”, Social Europe, 26 April The sovereign debt crisis continues to have profound consequences on industrial relations systems across the European Union. Most notably, collective bargaining has become much weaker and more fragmented in many countries as a result of both domestic and supranational responses to the crisis. But how exactly are policy …Read More

Merler, Silvia, “Italy’s Atlas bank bailout fund: the shareholder of last resort”, Bruegel, 22 April Italy’s new bank fund Atlas might be what is needed in the short run, but in the longer term the fund will increase systemic risk. What ultimately matters is how this initiative will affect the quality of bank governance, a key issue for the future resilience of the system. In Greek mythology, Atlas the Titan was …Read More

Singh, Anoop, (2016),“Reforming the international monetary system”, Brookings, 19 April It is close to a decade since the start of the global financial crisis that raised many critical questions. Among these are how the international monetary system monitors, regulates, and manages the volatility of global liquidity and the consequent risks for international financial stability. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is also now discussing a road map for strengthening the international monetary system …Read More

Allard, Céline,  Bluedorn,  John C, (2016), “Towards a fiscal union for the Eurozone”, Voxeu, 22 April European fiscal rules were too loosely implemented to ensure that public finances were managed appropriately across the cycle in member states. Weak fiscal policies in some countries before the crisis left them ill prepared when adverse shocks manifested. Windfalls from lower interest and debt payments were not saved, higher revenues generated by unsustainable domestic demand …Read More

Cloyne, James, Ferreira, Clodomiro F.,Surico, Paolo, (2016),  “Household debt and the transmission of monetary policy: New evidence”, Voxeu, 21 April Monetary policy has significantly heterogeneous effects on private consumption, which depend on the household’s debt and balance sheet position. This column suggests that households with mortgage debt behave in a liquidity-constrained manner, while those without are far less sensitive to movements in interest rates. Though the direct channel of monetary transmission – i.e. …Read More

Scarpetta, Stefano, Cazes, Sandrine, Garnero, Andrea, (2016), “Measuring the quality of jobs in OECD countries”, Voxeu, 21 Απριλίου ob quality plays a significant role in individuals’ well-being as well as promoting labour force participation, productivity, and economic performance. But it can be an elusive concept if not grounded in hard data. This column presents a new OECD framework to measure and assess the quality of jobs based on three measurable dimensions – earnings …Read More