De Molli, V., (2013), “Looking at Europe’s Jobs Challenge: ‘A Way Out Does Exist!’”, EconoMonitor, 24 September. We are in the midst of an extremely delicate and fragile historical nexus. The crisis is worse than ever and is hitting above all those companies that are less-prepared and the weaker strata of society. Young people find themselves in ever-greater difficulty (one out of three in Italy and one out of two …Read More
Sapir, A. and Wolf, G., (2013), “Reshaping Europe’s financial system”, Bruegel, 23 September. With the upcoming Asset Quality Review (AQR) by the European Central Bank, Europe has a chance to fundamentally reshape its financial system to make it both more stable and more efficient. This will require bold action not only to clean up bank balance sheets but also to set a genuine single market for financial services. Prior to …Read More
Fubini, F., (2013), “Europe’s Japan?”, Project Syndicate, 20 September. Since the global economic crisis began in 2008, Italy’s GDP has declined by about 8%, nearly a million workers have lost their jobs, and real wages have come under increasing pressure. In southern Italy today, a young person – especially a woman – on a permanent work contract, being paid on time and in full, is a statistical oddity. And yet, …Read More
Krugman, P., (2013), “The Pain In Spain Is Not Hard To Explain”, The New York Times, The Opinion Pages, 22 September. Via Philip Lane, the WSJ reports that the European Commission is reconsidering its methods for estimating potential output for Spain and other countries. And high time too. Relevant Posts Hugh, E., (2013), “Spain – The Recession May Be Ending But The Crisis Continues”, www.EconoMonitor.com, 9 September. Darvas, Z., (2013), …Read More
Darvas, Z. and Merler, S., (2013), “-15% to +4%: Taylor-rule interest rates for euro area countries”, Bruegel, 18 September. Does one size fit all? Before the crisis, there was a major debate on whether the single interest rate set by the European Central Bank (ECB) would be suitable for all members of the euro area, which have diverse economic conditions. The debate became quieter since the euro-crisis, as there is …Read More
Posner, R., (2013), “Has Capitalism Revived/Survived?”, The Becker-Posner Blog, 16 September. Capitalism is the economic system in which the assets used to produce goods and services are privately owned, and the owners determine the price at which to sell those goods and services. Private markets, because they organize and direct production and consumption, are the basic institutions of a capitalist system. Government regulation of markets is (in capitalist theory) limited …Read More
Schäuble, W., (2013), “Ignore the doomsayers: Europe is being fixed”, Financial Times, 16 September. Τhe world should rejoice at the positive economic signals the eurozone is sending almost continuously these days. While the crisis continues to reverberate, the eurozone is clearly on the mend both structurally and cyclically. What is happening turns out to be pretty much what the proponents of Europe’s cool-headed crisis management predicted. The fiscal and structural …Read More
Admati, A., (2013), “Five years of financial non-reform”, Project Syndicate, 13 September. Five years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered the largest global financial crisis since the Great Depression, outsize banking sectors have left economies shattered in Ireland, Iceland, and Cyprus. Banks in Italy, Spain, and elsewhere are not lending enough. China’s credit binge is turning into a bust. In short, the world’s financial system remains dangerous and dysfunctional. …Read More
Buti, M. and Padoan, P.C., (2013), “How to make Europe’s incipient recovery durable: End policy uncertainty”, www.voxeu.org, 12 September. The Eurozone is recovering but the revival is fragile – ringed by downside risks. This column argues that three steps – reducing policy uncertainty, repairing the financial system, and creating new investment opportunities – are essential. They could switch the negative confidence-growth feedback loop into a positive one, thus paving the …Read More
Hugh, E., (2013), “Spain – The Recession May Be Ending But The Crisis Continues”, www.EconoMonitor.com, 9 September. My feeling is that it’s totally unrealistic to expect a ‘return to the old reality’. We are now in a change of paradigm process. We all need to change our expectations and find ways to live with the new situation, since whether we like it or not we will have to. There is no …Read More
