Fatas, A. (2014) “The logic behind the German Euro gamble“, Antonio Fatas on the Global Economy Blog, 02 December. In the current economic policy debate in Europe there seems to be an increasing polarization between the German view and the view of the other countries. How did we end up with such polarized views of the world? What is the basis for the apparent German stubbornness to change their …Read More
Mitchell, B. (2014) “The inexact science of calibrating fiscal policy“, Bill Mitchell Blog: Modern Monetary Theory … macroeconomic reality, 02 December. In the showdown between France and the European Commission last week, France clearly is the winner on points, which is not surprising given the impossibility of the task the Commission had set it in meeting the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) rules and the danger to the latter if …Read More
Bauer, W. M. & Becker, S. (2014) “The European Commission’s stronger role in economic governance has made it an unexpected ‘winner’ from the Eurozone crisis“, LSE EUROPP, 02 December. Several commentators have argued that the Eurozone crisis has resulted in more intergovernmental EU decision-making, with the European Commission in particular being weakened by the role taken on by the European Council in the area of economic governance. Michael W. …Read More
Foremny, D. Freier, R., Moessinger, Μ. D. & Yeter, Μ. (2014) “Overlapping Political Budget Cycles in the Legislative and the Executive“, Discussion Paper No. 14-099, Centre for European Economic Research, December. Abstract We advance the literature on political budget cycles by testing separately for cycles in expenditures for elections in the legislative and the executive. Using municipal data, we can separately identify these cycles and account for general year …Read More
Mitchell, B. (2014) “The loaded language of austerity – but all the sinners are saints!“, Bill Mitchell Blog, 27 November. The US National Institute of Justice tells us that – Recidivism is “is one of the most fundamental concepts in criminal justice. It refers to a person’s relapse into criminal behavior, often after the person receives sanctions or undergoes intervention for a previous crime”. You know murder, rape, theft, …Read More
PoliticsatSurrey & Simon Usherwood (2014) “Two speeches on Europe, half an idea“, Politics at Surrey Blog, 27 November. It’s that time of year when people apparently decide they need to talk about ‘Europe’: this week we’ve seen two good examples of why this might not be such a good idea. The first, made by former British agriculture minister, Owen Paterson, to the eurosceptic lobby Business for Britain, came on Monday. …Read More
Amartya Sen (2014) “Social Choice and Social Welfare“, Project Syndicate Organisation, 26 November. Human beings have always lived in groups, and their individual lives have invariably depended on group decisions. But the challenges of group choice can be daunting, particularly given the divergent interests and concerns of the group’s members. So, how should collective decision-making be carried out? A dictator who wants to control every aspect of people’s lives …Read More
Smith, Y. (2014) “Germany and the European Commission’s €315 Billion Infrastructure “New Deal” is Yet More Smoke and Mirrors“, Naked Capitalism Blog, 26 November. I have to confess I had not taken the announcement of a €315 billion infrastructure spending program by the European Commission all that seriously, despite the fact that this on the surface represented a very serious departure from the Troika’s antipathy for anything resembling fiscal …Read More
Gros, D. (2014) “Europe’s German Ball and Chain“, Project Syndicate Organisation, 24 November. A storm-tossed ship near dangerous cliffs needs a strong anchor to avoid finishing on the rocks. In 2012, when a financial storm engulfed the eurozone, it was Germany that kept the European ship off the shoals of financial disaster. But now Europe’s anchor has become a brake, hindering forward movement. Of course, German Chancellor Angela Merkel …Read More
Tenebrarum, P. (2014) “The Consequences of Imposing Negative Interest Rates“, Acting Man Blog, 21 November. Negative Interest Rates and Capital Consumption Ever since the ECB has introduced negative interest rates on its deposit facility, people have been waiting for commercial banks to react. After all, they are effectively losing money as a result of this bizarre directive, on excess reserves the accumulation of which they can do very little …Read More
