Skip to content

Social Europe

  • Videos
  • Podcast
  • eBooks
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

Peter Bofinger

Peter Bofinger is professor of economics at Würzburg University and a former member of the German Council of Economic Experts.

Germany’s Misguided War on Baby Boomers

Peter Bofinger

A prominent economist's attack on an entire generation ignores economic facts and threatens social cohesion.

Europe’s Euro Ambition: A Risky Bid for “Exorbitant Privilege”

Peter Bofinger

Christine Lagarde seeks a greater international role for the euro, but Europe's economic realities present a complex challenge.

Germany Ditches Debt Brake—A Fiscal Revolution Begins

Peter Bofinger

Germany scraps its debt brake, unleashing a 500-billion-euro investment plan that could transform infrastructure, defence, and economic growth.

Headline about financial crash of 2008

Capital-markets union: a panacea for Europe?

Peter Bofinger

Financial integration is not the problem, writes Peter Bofinger. It is the still national segmentation of government bonds.

Time for supply-side policy: Thatcher versus Schumpeter

Peter Bofinger

Peter Bofinger explains what lies behind the conflict within Germany’s Ampelkoalition on economic policy.

ECB: now is the time for normalisation

Peter Bofinger

Europe needs massive investment, Peter Bofinger writes. Yet the ECB’s restrictive monetary stance means it is set to fall this year.

Germany,sick man,austerity,Constitutional Court

Germany: the ‘sick man’ of Europe—but ‘dumb’ as well?

Peter Bofinger

The austerity package stemming from an adverse Constitutional Court ruling, Peter Bofinger writes, defies logic.

Germany,sick,economic

Germany’s true economic disease

Peter Bofinger

Germany is indeed ‘sick’, Peter Bofinger writes—but not for the reason most commentators think.

ECB,Lagarde,president

ECB president Lagarde: has she become unstoppable?

Peter Bofinger

Asserting the need for further interest rate rises, Peter Bofinger writes, is not the same as evidencing them.

Credit Suisse,CS,UBS,regulation

The failure of Credit Suisse—not just a one-off

Peter Bofinger

The bank was mismanaged but its collapse, Peter Bofinger writes, reveals a system of regulation with as many holes as a Swiss cheese.

debt,Schumpeter

The role of public debt in the ‘new normal’

Peter Bofinger

A Schumpeterian perspective provides new insights for fiscal policy in Europe, Peter Bofinger writes.

European Central Bank,ECB,digital euro

The digital euro: a flawed concept doomed to flop

Peter Bofinger

Peter Bofinger argues that on the ‘digital euro’ the European Central Bank has dug itself into a hole it would do best to vacate.

A noble award for a ‘popular misconception’

Peter Bofinger

Peter Bofinger questions last week’s award of a prestigious economics prize to an orthodox school which could not anticipate the 2008 crash.

inflation,prices,energy,loan,credit,households

Inflation: saving households from insolvency

Peter Bofinger

Peter Bofinger argues that state guarantees of loans to households could cushion the price shock at negligible cost.

eurozone,euro area,ECB,European Central Bank,inflation,interest rates

Return to positive interest rates requires a safety net

Peter Bofinger

Peter Bofinger explains how inflation in the eurozone can be tempered without jeopardising recovery.

Next

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

Join the conference “Understanding the power of AI over decisions”

Join the conference 'Understanding the power of AI over decisions' on 5 November at the EESC in collaboration with the EESC Workers' Group - Spaces are limited!
Continuing FEPS’ longstanding working relationship with Nordic trade unions, this event will launch the book "Algorithmic rule", on how AI systems already influence public and workplace decisions, ahead of the upcoming legislative proposal on AI in the workplace.
It will also inaugurate the exhibition "My boss, the algorithm"!

REGISTER NOW

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the European Minimum Wage Directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50% of the average wage.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

Cohesion Policy

S&D Position Paper on Cohesion Policy post-2027: a resilient future for European territorial equity

Cohesion Policy seeks to foster balanced development and reduce economic, social, and territorial disparities, focusing on rural areas, regions in industrial transition, and those with severe or permanent natural or demographic disadvantages, including outermost, sparsely populated, island, cross-border, and mountain regions.

READ THE PAPER HERE

ADAPT advertisement

Cohesion Policy


In a context of growing direct employee voice in workplace innovation processes, the BroadVoice project explored how worker representatives and industrial relations can play a role in these dynamics. Based on a two-year study in 24 workplaces across six European countries, this comparative report, edited by Vassil Kirov (IPS-BAS) and Ilaria Armaroli (ADAPT), highlights the evolving contours of workplace democracy shaped by the involvement of worker representation in employee-driven innovation.

READ THE REPORT HERE

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

Back to school with HesaMag 30: the leading European magazine on occupational safety and health explores teachers’ deteriorating working conditions. With field reporting, expert voices and trade union analysis, plus insights into EU policy shifts, discover why teachers’ health is key to our future.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
Is Europe’s mental health still in crisis?

New Eurofound research reveals a complex picture of mental health in Europe post-pandemic. While some factors show improvement, concerning trends persist, including an alarming halt to the decades-long decline in suicide rates. A new episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast explores these issues, highlighting that vulnerable groups are being disproportionately affected. It also discusses how significant barriers to mental healthcare—such as stigma and long waiting lists—are leaving many without vital support.
LISTEN FOR FREE

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

Copyright Social Europe Publishing & Consulting GmbH 2025
  • Videos
  • Podcast
  • eBooks
  • Newsletter
  • Membership