Financing vs. Spending Unions: How To Remedy The Euro Zone’s Original Sin
In economic policy, timing isn’t everything, it’s the only thing. The euro zone crisis has been evolving for over seven years, making it difficult to
Economy
Analysis and debate on the European economy: growth and investment, fiscal and monetary policy, trade, industry and inequality.
Basic Income Revisited
Britain isn’t the only country holding a referendum this month. On June 5, Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected, by 77% to 23%, the proposition that every
Why Are Voters Ignoring Experts?
By the time British citizens went to the polls on June 23 to decide on their country’s continued membership in the European Union, there had
The EU Should Take The Side Of The Losers Of Globalization
How should the European Union react to the decision of the British people to withdraw from the union? This is the question that is at
What A Wonderful New World: The Sharing Economy
The European Commission has just issued a communication on “A European agenda for the collaborative economy” (02.06.2016). The Commission considers this term ‘collaborative economy’ as
Brexit’s Economic Consequences: Austria And Switzerland As Potential Counterfactuals
In the UK currently there is a heated debate between those who want to stay in the EU and those who want to leave the
Universal Basic Income: a disarmingly simple idea—and fad
Universal basic income is a disarmingly simple idea based on a disarmingly simple premise. The digital revolution threatens massive technological unemployment; ergo, every citizen should
Simple Arithmetic Shows Why Basic Income Schemes Cannot Work
Swiss voters decided in a referendum on June 5 whether to introduce a “basic income”. In proposed reforms to the social welfare system, all residents
The ECB’s Illusory Independence
A commitment to the independence of central banks is a vital part of the creed that “serious” policymakers are expected to uphold (privatization, labor-market “flexibility,”
Helicopter Money: A Disguise For debt Financing Funded By Short-Term Borrowing
The term “helicopter money” is derived from a vivid image created by the US economist Milton Friedman in which a central banker showers notes on
Economic Recovery Of The EU Is Not Beholden To The ECB
Europe is in a Gordian knot of debt, deflation and democratic deficits. A hegemonic Germany that Adenauer, Brandt, Schmidt and Kohl wished to avoid dominates
The IMF On Greek Debt – Redefining Chutzpah?
A definition of chutzpah is murdering your parents and then claiming social benefits as an orphan. It is not widely recognised, but the IMF illustrates
The False Promise Of Negative Interest Rates
As a biographer and aficionado of John Maynard Keynes, I am sometimes asked: “What would Keynes think about negative interest rates?” It’s a good question,
Fighting The Next Global Financial Crisis
What do people mean when they criticize generals for “fighting the last war”? It’s not that generals ever think they will face the same weapon
The Economic Consequences Of Brexit
Those campaigning for Britain to exit the European Union claim that doing so would make their country both freer and richer. They assert that after
The Case For Germany Leaving The Euro #Gexit
The case for or against a British exit from the EU – #Brexit – is headline news. For the moment the earlier quarrel about a