Macroeconomics & the euro
Financial regulation: Britain the perennial outlier?
20 June 2011
Back in 2007, when the Labour government had abolished the business cycle and the City of London was booming, British policy-makers liked to vaunt the merits of ‘light touch’ regulation.
Eurozone debt crisis: To restructure or not?
01 June 2011
In March, European leaders agreed a 'grand bargain' that was designed to restore flagging confidence in the eurozone. The deal, they hoped, would return the most troubled countries – Greece, Ireland and Portugal – to debt sustainability and prevent catastrophic contagion to other, larger economies such as Italy and Spain.
Financial regulation: Will British euroscepticism collide with European populism?
21 May 2011
When EU finance ministers met in Brussels on 18 May, many observers expected sparks to fly. The reason? This was the first EU meeting that Britain’s newly-elected government would attend.
Debt restructuring will not end the euro crisis
09 May 2011
Even as the ink is still drying on Portugal’s EU/IMF ‘bail-out’ agreement, it is becoming clear that Greece’s 2010 bail-out has failed to improve the sustainability of its public finances.
The eurozone's grand bargain: Political pain without economic gain?
01 April 2011
Ever since the eurozone crisis broke out in late 2009, European leaders have sought to reconcile two mutually incompatible objectives: the need to restore market confidence in the zone's indebted periphery; and the unbending refusal of creditor countries in the core to turn the zone into a 'transfer union'.
Issue 77 - 2011
25 March 2011
- Europe needs a military avant-garde, Charles Grant
- The eurozone's grand bargain: Political pain without economic gain? , Philip Whyte
- The EU budget: The Union risks having the wrong debate, Stephen Tindale
Is Germany really rebalancing?
01 February 2011
Germany has rightly been criticised for its dependence on exports and its huge trade surpluses. In normal times, when economies are growing healthily, trade imbalances pose less of a problem.
Issue 76 - 2011
28 January 2011
- European political parties are the key to EU legitimacy, Sir Julian Priestley
- A new opportunity for EU foreign policy, Charles Grant, Katinka Barysch, Tomas Valasek
- Is Germany really rebalancing?, Simon Tilford
Can Greece be saved?
20 January 2011
Will Greece have to restructure its debt? Among most West European economists and investors, this now seems to be a foregone conclusion.
Euro crisis: In defence of investors
17 January 2011
The eurozone’s fiscal position is better than the US and UK, and the crisis-hit members of the currency union are doing more to strengthen their public finances than either of these countries.
Reflections on Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa and the euro
13 January 2011
At the end of last year, Europe lost Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, an eminent central banker and economist, and one of the founding fathers of the euro.
Eurozone: Time for damage limitation
09 December 2010
Time is running out to prevent the eurozone crisis from imperilling Europe's banking system and with it the integrity of the currency union. It is beholden on policy-makers to minimise the economic (and hence political costs) to the EU.
The next five years of the euro crisis: Five key questions
01 December 2010
Will the euro break up?
The euro crisis is rooted in structural imbalances that even on an optimistic scenario will endure for years. Germany has a current account surplus and weak domestic demand, while Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain - after years of profligacy - suffer from current account deficits...
The euro crisis is rooted in structural imbalances that even on an optimistic scenario will endure for years. Germany has a current account surplus and weak domestic demand, while Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain - after years of profligacy - suffer from current account deficits...
The eurozone enters a critical phase
01 December 2010
On November 21st Ireland accepted financial support totalling around €90 billion from the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). There was an awful inevitability about this outcome.
Issue 75 - 2010
26 November 2010
- The eurozone enters a critical phase, Simon Tilford
- The next five years of the euro crisis: Five key questions, Charles Grant
- Britain cannot afford to neglect EU defence efforts, Clara Marina O'Donnell
Why Berlin won't back down on euro reform
19 November 2010
The German plan for a eurozone insolvency procedure has spooked the markets and drawn political fire.
Eurozone policy-makers are playing with fire
15 November 2010
There is an awful inevitability about the latest instalment of the eurozone crisis, which looks highly likely to culminate in Ireland being forced to seek a bailout from the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF).
Europe dances to Germany's tune
03 November 2010
For much of this year, the response of European leaders to the eurozone crisis has been hesitant and fractious. But when the European Council met in Brussels on October 28th and 29th, the EU appeared to be acting with greater purpose and sense of direction.
Why Germany is not a model for the eurozone
22 October 2010
Many Europeans believe that confidence in the eurozone is best restored by turning the region into a larger version of present-day Germany. However, Germany is not the world-beating economy of current myth.
What currency wars mean for the eurozone
15 October 2010
The dollar has now fallen to $1.40 against the euro. This is still below the low of almost $1.60 that it reached in the middle in July 2008, but it represents a steep decline from under $1.20 in early June. Moreover, the US currency is likely to weaken further.