Berlusconi’s Flat Tax Fallacy
“A flat tax is for a flat earth”: This was my answer to Grzegorz Kolodko, Poland’s Minister of Finance and First Deputy Premier for the
Economy
Analysis and debate on the European economy: growth and investment, fiscal and monetary policy, trade, industry and inequality.
Restoring European Solidarity
Strange to say, but between the international debt crisis of the 1980s and the Great Recession of 2008, Europe has shown an overall GDP growth
Economics For Democratic Societies: Reframing The Free Market Debate
Back in 2006 I tried to start a project titled Economics for Democratic and Open Societies. At that time, I sent proposals to several foundations.
Renewing Franco-German Axis: Challenges For Eurozone Reform
If approved, the results of the agreement in principle (German text here) on the renewal of the Grand Coalition in Germany could be an important
Why EU Should Not Upgrade The Customs Union With Turkey
Recent developments in EU-Turkey relations are revealing. The EU-Turkey high level meeting of May 2015 gave the green light for upgrading bilateral trade. Less than
Iceland Alone and Latvia Captured
Two small countries, Iceland and Latvia, were severely affected during the global crisis in 2008. Iceland was the first to be hit and Latvia the
Why A Rebooted ESM Is Much Better Than An EMF
After the controversial European Monetary Fund (EMF) proposal by the European Commission of December 2017, it’s clear that the debate about the future role and
American Democracy Sold To The Highest Bidder
Aristotle measured the quality of democracy by the extent to which politics constrains the economically powerful, allowing the preferences of the landless to be reflected
Boosting Domestic Demand And Investments Is Good For Germany – And The Eurozone
The outcome of the first negotiation package agreed between CDU/CSU and SPD needs to become more precise before being approved by their congresses. There is
Growth Is Back! So What?
Reports of the death of growth have been greatly exaggerated. As the IMF noted last month, the world enjoyed in 2017 the “broadest cyclical upswing
Why Greece Could Have Returned To Financial Markets Much Earlier
A few weeks ago Athens persuaded private holders of about €30 billion in Greek debt to swap short maturity bonds for five new ones of
Austerity: From Outrage To Progressive Alternatives
Social democracy in Europe is not in good shape. Perhaps the main reason for social democratic parties losing support has been their perceived association with
In Defence Of Economic Populism
Populists abhor restraints on the political executive. Since they claim to represent “the people” writ large, they regard limits on their exercise of power as
Racing The Machine
Dispelling anxiety about robots has become a major preoccupation of business apologetics. The commonsense – and far from foolish – view is that the more
Instability, Not Productivity, Is The Economic Problem
There is currently a big debate about productivity growth. Is it as slow as it has been measured or have changes in the economy led
Economic Austerity And Outward Migration
Since independence in 1991 the Baltic states have implemented neoliberal economic policies with weak social systems and income and wealth distribution that is among the