Kahn, Robert, (2017), “France After the Election: What Next for Economic Policy in Europe?”, CFR, 24 April French election results show Emmanuel Macron in first place with 23.9 percent of the vote and Marine Le Pen in second with 21.4 percent, setting the stage for a run-off election on May 7. Early polls show a comfortable edge for Macron, the pro-E.U. former economy minister who ran on a campaign of …Read More

Abad, Jorge, D’Errico, Marco, Killeen, Neill, Luz, Vera, Peltonen, Tuomas, Portes, Richard, Urbano, Teresa, (2017), “Mapping the interconnectedness between EU banks and shadow banking entities”, Vox EU, 25 April 2017 The Global Crisis exposed shortcomings in the assessment of cross-sector and cross-border linkages in the financial system. The interaction of banks and insurance corporations with shadow banking entities led to the amplification of risks and spillovers which were transmitted across sectors …Read More

Demertzis, Maria , Lehmann, Alexander , (2017), “Tackling Europe’s crisis legacy: a comprehensive strategy for bad loans and debt restructuring”, Bruegel, 24 April At a current value in excess of €1 trillion, non-performing loans (NPLs) have undermined the recovery in credit and economic growth in the EU since the 2009 financial crisis (Figure 1 and European Commission, 2017). In terms of bank regulation and supervision, the response was initially slow, …Read More

Beck, Thorsten, (2017), “An asset management company for the Eurozone: Time to revive an old idea”,  Vox Eu, 24 April The idea of an asset management company for the Eurozone is not new. It is based on the observation that bank fragility across several Eurozone countries, including Ireland, Spain, and Italy, has been at the core of the crisis. In addition, bank fragility has put sovereigns under pressure as well …Read More

Huertas, Thomas, (2017), “Eligibility easing and the lender of last resort” , Vox Eu, 21 April 2017 Few issues are as important or as controversial as the lender of last resort (Bank for International Settlements 2014). Indeed, this function is arguably what makes central banking central to the financial system, and to the economy at large. As is well known, the lender of last resort (LOLR) function played a key role at …Read More

Bloomberg View, (2017), “How to Break Europe’s Financial ‘Doom Loop’”, 21 April The euro-zone economy is looking a lot healthier. After years of stagnation, growth has finally picked up and unemployment is falling. Fears of a paralyzing bout of deflation have receded as well. Yet there’s a risk of relapse — and Europe’s banking “doom loop” is the reason. Relevant Posts Honohan, Patrick, (2017), “Management and Resolution of Banking Crises: …Read More

Gaspar,Vitor, Eyraud, Luc, (2017), “Five Keys to a Smart Fiscal Policy”, IMFBlog, 19 April Today’s conditions require new, more innovative solutions, which the IMF calls smart fiscal policies. By smart policies we mean policies that facilitate change, harness its growth potential, and protect people who are hurt by it. At the same time, excessive borrowing and record levels of public debt have limited the financial resources available to government. So, …Read More

Danthine, J. P., (2017), “Subsidiarity: The forgotten concept at the core of Europe’s existential crisis”, VoxEU, 12 April In this column, Jean-Pierre Danthine, a co-author of “Making Sense of Subsidiarity: How Much Centralization for Europe?”, revisits the report nearly 25 years on from its publication. He examines the main themes of the report and shows how such areas as centralisation/decentralisation, subsidiarity, and macroeconomic stabilisation have played out over the years since the report was published. …Read More

Kowal, Nikolaus, Lindner, Fabian , (2017), “Right Wing Populism And The Social Question”, Social Europe, 11 April Right-wing populism is gaining traction: Donald Trump has won the White House; Austrian far right politician Norbert Hofer barely lost the Austrian presidential election, and France’s Marine Le Pen is likely to win most of the votes in the first round of the French presidential elections. Has the world gone mad? Have racism and …Read More