Inflation: saving households from insolvency
Peter Bofinger argues that state guarantees of loans to households could cushion the price shock at negligible cost.
Return to positive interest rates requires a safety net
Peter Bofinger explains how inflation in the eurozone can be tempered without jeopardising recovery.
Taking the heat out of energy prices
Instead of higher interest rates, Peter Bofinger urges lower VAT on energy and temporary suspension of the CO2 trading system.
The ECB needs a better narrative
Giving the public impression that inflation is ‘too low’, Peter Bofinger writes, is not a good look for the bank.
Germany’s traffic-light coalition: green light or stuck on amber?
Peter Bofinger recognises the compromises necessary for a three-party government but regrets the lack of vision to face a decade of huge challenges.
ECB strategy review: the mountain has given birth to a mouse
Peter Bofinger argues that the ECB strategy review represents a missed opportunity.
It’s time to rewrite the macroeconomic rulebook for the euro area
Peter Bofinger contends that the economic impact of the pandemic has rendered obsolete the old eurozone fiscal rules.
How to stimulate the economy after the lockdown
A ‘helicopter money’ stimulus of direct payments to individuals, as in the US, would be neither well targeted nor transformatory in Europe.
Bitcoin lacks a unique selling proposition
Peter Bofinger identifies the cryptocurrency’s Achilles heel.
Easing the EU fiscal straitjacket
Without major reform of the EU fiscal framework, Peter Bofinger argues, public investment will be insufficient in the wake of the pandemic.
Joe Biden should not miss the Bretton Woods moment
Peter Bofinger argues the incoming president must abjure the mercantilist language of his predecessor in favour of a progressive response to globalisation.
The ‘bazooka’: Modern Monetary Theory in action
Peter Bofinger argues that large-scale injections of money to bring economies out of the coronavirus coma have vindicated Modern Monetary Theory.
Minimum wage: a success story with scope for improvement
Peter Bofinger argues that regionally-differentiated minimum wages should be considered for the post-coronavirus period.
The Covid-19 crisis: inflationary or deflationary?
Peter Bofinger warns especially German inflation-phobes that deflation is a greater downside risk in the aftermath of the pandemic.
The ‘frugal four’ should save the European project
Peter Bofinger argues that additional loans of inadequate amount do not add up to a rescue package which can save Europe from the coronavirus crisis.
Coronavirus crisis: now is the hour of Modern Monetary Theory
Peter Bofinger argues MMT provides intellectual justification for a ‘whatever it takes’ fiscal response to potentially the biggest global postwar economic challenge