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
Policy Priorities For A Social Europe
In 2012, the Four Presidents Report mentioned a European unemployment insurance as a possible mechanism to achieve greater fiscal stability at the EU-level. What do you think about
The Real Social Challenge Is Kickstarting Growth
It is impossible to meaningfully address Europe’s social challenges for the present, medium and longer term without addressing the central challenge of economic growth. We are
Is Financial Reform An Illusion?
The objectives of the planned structural reform of EU banking are ambitious: to prevent systemic risk, avoid misallocation of resources, and facilitate an orderly resolution
From Welfare State To Innovation State
A specter is haunting the world economy – the specter of job-killing technology. How this challenge is met will determine the fate of the world’s
What Will Populism Do To Europe?
There has been much wishful thinking in Europe that populism will vanish once growth rates pick up. Those who have believed in this unlikely miracle
Will Technology Destroy Jobs?
Technology innovators and CEOs seem positively giddy nowadays about what the future will bring. New manufacturing technologies have generated feverish excitement about what some see
The Charlie Hebdo Attack And What It Reveals About Society
You went through the tragedies of the 20th century – two wars, Shoah, Stalinism. What’s the specificity of the islamic extremist threat we’re facing today, in
Why The EU Should Focus On Realistic Social Policy Projects
Inequality is back at the centre of the public discourse. Is this good or bad news for the European Union? Most contributions to this Social
The Issue Is Not Greece: It’s Europe
At long last, the United States is showing signs of recovery from the crisis that erupted at the end of President George W. Bush’s administration,
Stockholm Syndrome Social Democracy
The recent social democratic playbook is depressingly familiar: first, campaign on a demand stimulus and/or an end to austerity. Second, upon winning (usually by the
Greek Elections, Democracy, Political Trilemma, and all that
Two-and-a-half years ago I wrote a short piece titled “The End of the World as We Know It” which began like this: Consider the following scenario. After
Calling The Grexit Bluff
After several years of institutional adaptation triggered by the sovereign debt crisis, and a total amount of disbursement of more than 230bn euro, Greece is
Democracy And The Erosion Of The Centre Ground
According to the simple two-party voting model of Anthony Downs, democracy privileges the centre ground: parties compete to attract the median voter. This is no
What The EU Could Do To Eradicate Ebola
Imagine the first Ebola outbreak in 1976 had been in a rich part of the world. Somewhere near London, Brussels, Osaka, Sydney or Chicago. No
The Greek Election 2015 – Revolt Of The Debtors
The Greek debt crisis that erupted in 2010 is back and again threatens the stability of the Eurozone. That crisis was the result of two
It’s Now Or Never: More Social, Less Europe in 2015!
To put it bluntly: Europe, more precisely, the European Union, has not delivered for decades now. The Union safeguards the interests of the employers and the