Hatheway, Larry, (2017), “Europe’s Central Bank Is the World’s Most Important”, Bloomberg View, 7 June Over the next two weeks, investors will focus on monetary policy ahead of the European Central Bank meeting on June 8, which will be followed by the Federal Reserve on June 13-14. After a disappointing U.S. jobs report for May and amid signs of a regulatory crackdown on Chinese credit growth, fissures are appearing in …Read More
Eurostat/GDP up by 0.6% in both the euro area and the EU28/9 June 2017 Seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.6% in both the euro area (EA19) and the EU28 during the first quarter of 2017, compared with the previous quarter, according to an estimate published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the fourth quarter of 2016, GDP grew by 0.5% and 0.6% respectively. Compared with the same …Read More
Blundell, Richard, Cantillon, Estelle, Chizzolini, Barbara, Ivaldi, Marc, Leininger, Wolfgang, Marimon, Ramon, Matyas, Laszlo, Steen, Frode, (2017), “A Manifesto for Economic Research in Europe”, COEURE, June The purpose of the COEURE project has been to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of European research in economics. Based on the outcomes of this project, this Manifesto outlines the present state of European research in economics, identifies promising research avenues and proposes objectives and …Read More
Gros, Daniel, (2017), “The Eurozone’s Hidden Strength”, Project Syndicate, 2 June For years, the eurozone has been perceived as a disaster area, with discussions of the monetary union’s future often centered on a possible breakup. When the British voted to leave the European Union last year, they were driven partly by the perception of the eurozone as a dysfunctional – and perhaps unsalvageable – project. Yet, lately, the eurozone has become …Read More
El Erian, Mohamed A., (2017), “What the ECB Will Do This Week”, Bloomberg View, 7 June The European Central Bank has faced difficult decisions in recent years. It faces another one when its Governing Council meets on Thursday in Estonia. The decision will be a close one, at least it should be. And, once again, the euro zone’s central bank is likely to err on the side of significant prudence by avoiding any notable reduction in monetary stimulus — even …Read More
OECD, (2017), “Greece – Economic forecast summary (June 2017)”, June After a prolonged depression, the economy stabilised in 2016 and GDP is projected to grow by 1.1% in 2017 and 2.5% in 2018. The labour market is improving, supporting private consumption, and higher demand from abroad is boosting exports. Investment has started to recover from very low levels and should gather pace. The consumption tax increase in early 2017 and …Read More
Eurostat/Volume of retail trade up by 0.1% in euro area/7 June 2017 In April 2017 compared with March 2017, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade rose by 0.1% in the euro area (EA19) and by 0.5% in the EU28, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In March the retail trade volume increased by 0.2% in the euro area, while it fell by 0.1% …Read More
Best, Tom, Dielmann, Christopher, Greene, Meghan, Mohd Nor, Tania, (2017), “Simulating the impact of state-contingent debt instruments on sovereign finances: An Excel toolkit”, Vox Eu, 5 June overeign state-contingent debt instruments (SCDIs) are instruments that link the issuer’s contractual debt service obligations to a pre-defined state variable, and are designed to alleviate pressure on sovereign finances in bad states of the world. While several previous studies (e.g. Barr et al. 2014, …Read More
Enderlein, Henrik, Letta, Enrico, De Geus, Aart, (2017), “Seizing the moment for euro area reform: A three-step action plan”, EUROPP, June The election of Emmanuel Macron as French President on 7 May gave renewed hope to proponents of the European integration project after the hammer blow of Brexit and fears about a sustained revival of populism. There is momentum in Berlin and Paris now behind the belief that the euro is incomplete …Read More
Olivetti, Claudia, Petrongolo, Barbara, (2017), “The economic consequences of family policies”, Vox Eu, 3 June All high-income countries, as well as several developing countries, have policies in place to support work–family reconciliation, such as parental leave, childcare support, and flexible work arrangements, to name a few. The impact of these policy provisions on the labour market outcomes of parents, and especially mothers, is actively debated in both policy and academic circles. …Read More
