Spence, Michael, (2016), “How to Fight Secular Stagnation”, Project Syndicate, 31 Αugust Much of the world, especially the advanced economies, has been mired in a pattern of slow and declining GDP growth in recent years, causing many to wonder whether this is becoming a semi-permanent condition – so-called “secular stagnation.” The answer is probably yes, but the question lacks precision, and thus has limited utility. There are, after all, different types …Read More

Eijffinger, Sylvester, (2016), “Europe needs its own Alexander Hamilton”, VoxEU, 31 Αugust The ECB is under fire from all sides for its inability to stimulate Europe’s economies. This column puts the case for an informal European ‘praesidium’ within the Eurogroup to coordinate wider stimulus and reform measures. This will inevitably lead to the appointment of a European finance minister – the Eurozone’s equivalent of Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasury Secretary in …Read More

Demary, Markus, (2016), “Why the ECB is not to blame for low interest rates”, LSE Europpblog, 22 Αugust In the latest set of EU stress tests, several German lenders performed poorly. As Markus Demary writes, some of this performance has been blamed on low interest rates squeezing the profitability of lenders. He argues that while the ECB has frequently been blamed for this situation, the reality is more complex and instead …Read More

Pisani-Ferry, Jean, Röttgen, Norbert, Sapir, André, Tucker, Paul, Wolff, Guntram B., (2016), “Europe after Brexit: A proposal for a continental partnership”, Bruegel, 29 Αugust This paper leaves aside the issue of EU reform and focuses on the desirable EU-UK relationship after Brexit. The authors argue that none of the existing models of partnership with the EU would be suitable for the UK. They propose a new form of collaboration, a continental partnership, which is considerably less deep than EU …Read More

Ugolini, Stefano, (2016), “The limits to “whatever it takes”: Lessons from the gold standard”, Voxeu, 30 August When Mario Draghi famously declared that the ECB was “ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro”, he also specified “within our mandate”. This column examines the institutional limitations to central bankers’ actions. It argues that institutional constraints are essential in determining the sustainability of monetary policies, and hence central banks’ ability …Read More