Macroeconomics & the euro
Eurozone: Trouble in the core?
26 November 2012
Many people lazily assume that the eurozone is now split into a strong, prosperous core and a weak, depressed periphery.
Economic recovery requires a better deal for labour
05 November 2012
Unless labour receives a larger share of the pie, Europe's economic recovery will prove elusive and popular hostility to markets will grow.
Will the euro crisis lead to the break-up of EU member-states?
24 October 2012
The crisis is fuelling separatism in Spain and Belgium. But elsewhere in Europe separatists do poorly. Scotland's example may yet discourage others from following Catalonia and Flanders.
Alice in euroland: What political union for the single currency?
09 October 2012
The eurozone needs to be embedded in a 'political union' if it is to work better. The question is: what sort of political union?
How to build European services markets
28 September 2012
European services markets are still overwhelmingly national. There are big economic gains to be made from opening them up.
Europe’s leaders are casting around for ways to improve the EU’s economic performance. In the long term, a more integrated single market for services could improve Europe’s weak productivity growth. The...
Europe’s leaders are casting around for ways to improve the EU’s economic performance. In the long term, a more integrated single market for services could improve Europe’s weak productivity growth. The...
Eurozone: Are the building blocks falling into place?
26 September 2012
On the face of it, September was a good month for the euro. For once, market expectations were met. The European Central Bank (ECB) belatedly opened the way for action to address the ruinous polarisation of government borrowing costs in the eurozone.
Issue 86 - 2012
26 September 2012
- Eurozone: Are the building blocks falling into place?, Simon Tilford
- What Romney would mean for Europe, Clara Marina O'Donnell
- Cameron's choice: Play to the gallery or keep Britain safe, Hugo Brady
Hollande, the Germans and 'political union'
25 September 2012
François Hollande wants a more equal Franco-German relationship. But tensions over managing the eurozone crisis and reforming EU treaties are straining that relationship.
How seriously can investors take Draghi's assurances?
31 August 2012
The ECB's upcoming programme of government bond purchases will not be big enough to dispel investors' fears that troubled euro members might quit the currency union.
Will a new German constitution save the euro?
29 August 2012
German politicians from government and opposition want a referendum on a new pro-European constitution. But this does not mean that Berlin is preparing for eurobonds.
A banking union – it is necessary, but is it likely?
27 July 2012
Could the EU's summit of June 29 come to be regarded as a watershed? Following umpteen crisis summits that have failed to tackle the root causes of the eurozone crisis, EU leaders finally got to the heart of the matter: the need to break the vicious interaction between weak banks...
Issue 85 - 2012
27 July 2012
- Europe needs a Rooseveltian break with fear, Hugo Brady
- A banking union – it is necessary, but is it likely?, Philip Whyte
- Is the Franco-British defence treaty in trouble?, Tomas Valasek
Britain, Europe and the City of London: Can the triangle be managed?
20 July 2012
The City of London's future will be shaped not just by a tougher regulatory environment, but also by uncertainties about Britain's relations with the EU.
Has the eurozone reached the limits of the politically possible?
12 July 2012
The limited measures agreed at June's summit are unlikely to take effect, suggesting that the eurozone has already reached the limits of the politically possible.
Needed: A Franco-German concordat
27 June 2012
The euro needs a Franco-German bargain: Germany must swallow eurobonds and a banking union, while France must let the EU have a say on its budget.
Germany's own goal: Why Berlin's sense of invulnerability will be its undoing
22 June 2012
Germany’s strategy for dealing with the euro crisis is maximising, not minimising, risks to the country’s economic and political interests.
Some sorts of austerity are better than others
01 June 2012
Governments in the eurozone's periphery are making indiscriminate cuts. Reducing spending that does little to support demand and recycling it into investment would help.
Issue 84 - 2012
25 May 2012
- A Greek exit will not be cathartic, Simon Tilford
- Time for France to take the lead on Syria, Edward Burke
- What Putin's return means for the former Soviet republics, Jana Kobzova, Tomas Valasek
A Greek exit will not be cathartic
25 May 2012
How the eurozone handles Greece will determine whether or not the single currency survives – and hence the future of the EU as a whole.
If a Greek exit from the eurozone is mishandled, contagion to the other struggling member-states could be uncontrollable, leading inexorably to the collapse of the euro....
If a Greek exit from the eurozone is mishandled, contagion to the other struggling member-states could be uncontrollable, leading inexorably to the collapse of the euro....
Ireland's fiscal treaty referendum: (More) fear and loathing in the eurozone?
11 May 2012
Ireland votes on the EU’s new fiscal compact on May 31st. Hugo Brady assesses the chances of a Yes and the consequences of a No.