Peter Bofinger, author at Social Europe

German Wage Moderation And The Eurozone Crisis

by Peter Bofinger on 1st December 2015

The Eurozone (EZ) ‘consensus narrative’ argues the Crisis should not be thought of as a government debt crisis in its origin. Instead it regards large intra-EZ capital flows that emerged in the decade before the Crisis as the real culprit. This column argues that while the narrative is correct, it is also incomplete. With its […]

Why We Need Basket Eurobonds

by Peter Bofinger on 4th February 2014

The Euro area is suffering from insufficient macroeconomic stabilisation At the end of 2009 the unemployment rates of the Euro area and the United States had reached a level of 10%. Since then, unemployment in the US has fallen to 7.3% while in the Euro area it has climbed to 12.0%. This is not surprising […]

The European Union is excellently equipped to pursue the most urgent issues facing the advanced world: combating environmental damage and climate change, coping with the massive aftermath of the coronavirus crisis, reforming globalisation, regulating financialised capitalism, reducing material inequalities and reconciling the future of work in a rapidly changing economy with workers’ needs for secure lives. But, argues Colin Crouch in this manifesto for a return to the ‘social Europe’ agenda, to achieve these goals the EU needs to face the two menaces stalking today’s politics: neoliberalism and xenophobic nationalism. To do so it must confront the weakness of social democracy, historically the main political protagonist of the causes of co-operation and inclusion on which the strategy depends.

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Living and working in Europe 2019

Living and working in Europe, Eurofound’s 2019 yearbook, provides a snapshot of the latest developments in the work and lives of Europeans as explored in the agency’s research activities over the course of 2019. The range of topics as a result is broad, from the growing diversity of employment across EU regions to rising trust in national institutions to developments in minimum wages. This overview also describes how Eurofound's activities connect with the policy priorities of the European Commission.

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Proposals for a reform of the EU's fiscal rules and economic governance

Debt-to-GDP ratios are set to rise significantly all over the world as a result of the coronavirus crisis. This will pose a huge challenge for the EU's member states and in particular the euro area countries, because of the strict fiscal rules. The IMK advocates a reform focused on appropriate fiscal rules that promote short-term macroeconomic stabilisation and long-term modernisation of the public capital stock, while still keeping the sustainability of public debt in mind. We propose an expenditure rule for non-cyclical, non-investment expenditure coupled with a Golden Rule for public investment. As a pragmatic solution, the permissible debt-to-GDP ratio should be increased to 90%, while escape clauses should apply during times of crisis. The Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure should also be reformed. We advocate a Macroeconomic Dialogue to ensure compliance with the reformed rules and consistency of national strategies.

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Counting gigs: how can we measure the scale of online platform work?

The potential transformation of labour markets by the emergence of online labour platforms has triggered intense debate but its scale remains speculative. Adequate policy responses hinge on a good understanding of dynamics that will only grow in importance with the labour market crisis created by the pandemic. With technologically enabled remote work, growing demand for services such as food delivery or care, as well as rising unemployment and the financial strain on many workers, platform work may resume its rapid growth. This working paper provides a critical assessment of different approaches to estimating the scale, illustrated with key research.

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German Wage Moderation And The Eurozone Crisis

Why We Need Basket Eurobonds

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