Cavallo, Eduardo, Eichengreen, Barry, Panizza, Ugo, (2016), “Can Countries Rely on Foreign Saving for Investment and Economic Development?”, CEPR, Αugust A surprisingly large number of countries have been able to finance a significant fraction of domestic investment using foreign finance for extended periods. While many of these episodes are in low-income countries where official finance is more important than private finance, this paper also identifies a number of episodes where a …Read More

Gylfason, Thorvaldur, (2016), “Economic performance in two dimensions: How Europe beats the US”, Voxeu, 22 August One-dimensional indicators such as GNI per capita are known to be flawed measures of wellbeing. The Human Development Index (HDI) introduced dimensions of health and education alongside income. This column argues that an HDI adjusted for inequality and hours worked gives deeper insight into a country’s economic standing. Using this composite measure, the US falls …Read More

Cziraki, Peter, Laux, Christian, Lóránth, Gyöngyi, (2016), “Understanding Bank Payouts during the Crisis of 2007-2009”, CEPR, Αugust We provide an extensive analysis of the payout policy of U.S. banks in 2007-2008 to identify the main drivers of their payout decisions. We use established models that relate dividends to fundamentals to provide a benchmark for the normal level of payouts. Based on these models, bank dividends appear excessive in 2007, but not …Read More

Cecchetti, Stephen, Schoenholtz, Kim, (2016), “A primer on helicopter money”, Voxeu, 19 Αugust Helicopter money is not just another version of unconventional monetary policy. Using simple central bank and government balance sheets, this column explains how helicopter money today is different from what Milton Friedman imagined back in 1969 – it is expansionary fiscal policy financed by central bank money. Relevant Posts Muellbauer, John, (2016), “Helicopter money and fiscal rules”, Voxeu, 10 …Read More

Bluedorn, John C., Ebeke,  Christian, (2016), “Sluggish Business Investment in the Euro Area: The Roles of Small and Medium Enterprises and Debt”, iMF-direct, 4 Αugust Small businesses could be the lifeblood of Europe’s economy, but their size and high debt are two of the factors holding back the investment recovery in the euro area. The solution partly lies in policies to help firms grow and reduce debt. Our new study, part …Read More

Micossi, Stefano, (2016), “The glass is still half-empty: Eurozone stability under threat of a ‘bad shock’”, Voxeu, 20 Αugust Some economists are approaching a consensus that the Eurozone’s financial architecture is now resilient enough to withstand another shock similar to that of 2010-11. This column argues that such a view may be overly optimistic. Economic and financial instability persists in member states and the banking sector, and institutions to tackle a …Read More

Jobst, Andy, Lin, Huidan, (2016), “The ECB’s Negative Rate Policy Has Been Effective but Faces Limits”, iMF-direct, 10 Αugust More than two years ago, seeking to revive a moribund economy, the European Central Bank (ECB) embarked on a new monetary policy measure: charging interest on excess liquidity that banks held at the central bank. The move complemented a series of other easing measures aimed at bringing inflation back to the ECB’s …Read More