This is Recovery? Germany, ‘Powerhouse’ In Need Of A Jump-Start
The German government has been a strong supporter of austerity programmes, arguing that the associated goals of deficit and debt reduction provide the best, if
Economy
Analysis and debate on the European economy: growth and investment, fiscal and monetary policy, trade, industry and inequality.
Greece Deserves German Support
Yanis Varoufakis, the economics professor and new Greek finance minister, used a press conference with Wolfgang Schäuble last week in Berlin to issue an emotional
The ECB Has Shaken The Eurozone’s Utopian Foundations
The 4th February late-night decision by the European Central Bank to reject Greek bank collateral for monetary policy operations will, I confidently predict, precipitate not
How To Create A Real European Social Market Economy
Europe’s citizens are torn between the European integration project, which requires market liberalization and competition rules promising greater welfare, and national welfare states, which are
How To Improve The ECB’s QE Programme
With up to €60 bn of debt a month being bought for the next 19 months, the ECB’s programme of quantitative easing (QE) is massive.
The Politics Of Economic Stupidity
In 2014, the world economy remained stuck in the same rut that it has been in since emerging from the 2008 global financial crisis. Despite
Can Insecure Workers Be Confident Consumers?
A paradox that lies at the heart of capitalism is that economies need consumers to be confident spenders of money on the one hand, while
Economics Has To Come To Terms With Wealth And Income Inequality
Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz has been writing about America’s economically divided society since the 1960s. His recent book, The Price of Inequality, argues that this
Good And Bad Inequality
In the pantheon of economic theories, the tradeoff between equality and efficiency used to occupy an exalted position. The American economist Arthur Okun, whose classic
Why The Structural Deficit Does Not Exist
A few days ago the Italian government objected to the way that putative technocrats at the European Commission calculated their country’s “structural deficit”. To all
The Global Economy And The Return Of Currency Wars
The recent decision by the Bank of Japan to increase the scope of its quantitative easing is a signal that another round of currency wars
Creativity, Corporatism, And Crowds
Economic growth, as we learned long ago from the works of economists like MIT’s Robert M. Solow, is largely driven by learning and innovation, not
The Single-Engine Global Economy
The global economy is like a jetliner that needs all of its engines operational to take off and steer clear of clouds and storms. Unfortunately,
The Moral Economy Of Debt
Every economic collapse brings a demand for debt forgiveness. The incomes needed to repay loans have evaporated, and assets posted as collateral have lost value.
The EU Recovery That Never Was
Economic recovery in the Eurozone is not delayed. It is non-existent. The Financial Times for the first day of October carried several articles assessing the
The ECB’s Faulty QE Weapon
The discussion has so far followed easily predictable national patterns: Creditor countries do not object to deflation, because it increases the real value of their