Macroeconomics & the euro
European competitiveness, revisited
19 January 2016
European ‘competitiveness’ should be defined as productivity, and the policies to raise it are complex and counter-specific. Raising ‘competitiveness’ also requires more, not less democracy.
Has the euro been a failure?
11 January 2016
The euro has not been a positive economic and political force. But keeping the single currency together could still be less risky than dismantling it.
25 years on: How the euro's architects erred
05 November 2015
The original plans for the euro – conceived 25 years ago – suffered from five major flaws. Only some of these flaws have been fixed.
Gain or more pain in Spain?
19 October 2015
Spain is no poster child for austerity and structural reforms. The recovery is less than it appears and the country faces some formidable challenges.
Issue 104 - 2015
25 September 2015
- Jeremy Corbyn and the rise of groupthink, John Springford
- Eastern mess: The EU's partners need attention, Ian Bond
- Will the eurozone reap what it has sown?, Simon Tilford
Will the eurozone reap what it has sown?
24 September 2015
The slowdown in emerging markets leaves the eurozone even more reliant on exports to the US and UK to compensate for its feeble domestic economy.
Lighten the load
26 August 2015
Greece’s debt burden needs to be reduced, but maturity extensions on existing loans are not enough for Greece to return to the markets.
Could eurozone integration damage the single market?
27 July 2015
Britain fears that the eurozone could caucus and impose rules on the EU single market. So David Cameron is asking for safeguards to protect the market.
Issue 103 - 2015
27 July 2015
- How to keep Greece in, Christian Odendahl
- Could eurozone integration damage the single market?, Charles Grant
- Greek foreign policy: The next ruin?, Ian Bond, Rem Korteweg
How to keep Greece in
27 July 2015
Unless the eurozone invests economically and politically in the future of Greece, the country's future in the single currency remains in doubt.
Offline? How Europe can catch up with US technology
26 July 2015
The EU should not fret about the power of US internet giants. The take-up of digital technology across the services sector is more important than a 'European Google'.
The Greek bailout deal resolves nothing
13 July 2015
Even if the new bailout makes it through the Greek parliament in coming weeks, the programme's economic incoherence will make it fall apart.
Thomas Cromwell or the executioner's axe? Options for a Grexit
10 July 2015
EU lawyers are working to find a creative way to accommodate a Grexit if it becomes inevitable. None of the options are legally watertight or desirable.
The eurozone's 'five presidents' report': An assessment
22 June 2015
The long-awaited report rightly aims to complete a financial union in the eurozone, but over-emphasises structural reforms and underplays the need for stronger counter-cyclical policies.
Greece: After a deal, work on a solution
11 June 2015
A deal between Greece and its creditors is still likely but what the country really needs is a Greece-led, cross-party plan to transform its institutions.
How will the eurozone cope with the next downturn?
27 May 2015
Eurozone policy-makers will have little ammunition to combat the next downturn: interest rates will still be close to zero, public debt and unemployment high.
Issue 102 - 2015
27 May 2015
- Five ways to win a referendum, and five potential pitfalls , Charles Grant
- Don't mention Beijing: The EU and Asia's maritime security, Rem Korteweg
- How will the eurozone cope with the next downturn? , Simon Tilford
Do the UK's European ties damage its prosperity?
30 April 2015
Eurosceptic claims that EU regulation and the protectionism of other member-states are holding back Britain's economy – and that withdrawal would be a liberation – are nonsense.
Vorsprung durch Grexit?
17 April 2015
German officials are sanguine about the consequences of Grexit, and view it as increasingly likely. Merkel would be well-advised to prevent it from happening.
Issue 101 - 2015
08 April 2015
- Security in the age of austerity: You get what you pay for, Ian Bond
- The low-hanging fruit of European capital markets, Christian Odendahl
- A Marxist take on the 'Brexit' general election, John Springford