debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
The world has seen a hundred financial crises in the past three decades. In this column, Nobelist Joe Stiglitz argues that we could have done much more to prevent this crisis and to mitigate its effects. Looking ahead, we can do much more to prevent the next one. This is a chance to revolutionise flawed [...]
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has, for many reasons, always been supportive of the European project, but primarily because this regional integration model aimed not only at economic integration but was also meant to foster social progress and full employment. We have stressed this point on many occasions over the years. The response from [...]
The Fed’s policy of keeping interest rates near zero is another form of trickle-down economics. For evidence, look no further than Apple’s decision to borrow a whopping $17 billion and turn it over to its investors in the form of dividends and stock buy-backs. Apple is already sitting on $145 billion. But with interest rates so low, [...]
France and Germany held largely contradicting hopes and aspirations for Europe’s common currency. To France the key issue in establishing a European monetary union was to end monetary dependence, both from the vagaries of the U.S. dollar and from regional deutschmark hegemony, and to establish a global reserve currency that could actually stand up to [...]
Euro Area economies remain stuck in recession but in the corridors of the European Council, the austerians in charge are congratulating themselves, pretending that their strategies are starting to deliver good results. Falling external deficits: Not a sign of success but of an economy in meltdown A first fairy tale is to claim that wage [...]
Average wages around the world The global financial crisis had significant negative repercussions for labour markets in many parts of the world. The most significant impact has been on employment figures. But the ILO Global Wage Report 2012/13, entitled “Wages and Equitable Growth”, shows that the weakening of the global recovery in the two years after [...]
The biggest economic debate is between Keynesians (who want more government spending and lower interest rates in order to fuel demand) and supply-side “austerics” (who want lower taxes on the wealthy and on corporations to boost incentives to hire and invest, and who see government deficits crowding out private investment). But both approaches have problems. [...]
In the 12 years of the Great Depression – between the stock-market crash of 1929 and America’s mobilization for World War II – production in the United States averaged roughly 15% below the pre-depression trend, implying a total output shortfall equal to 1.8 years of GDP. Today, even if US production returns to its stable-inflation [...]
In an earlier post, I reported some speculation by Coen Teulings on why politicians seem to ignore the majority of economists when it comes to austerity. (On the minority of economists that do support austerity, see here.) Mark Thoma responded that it was because austerity gave politicians the chance to pursue ideological goals, and of [...]
Are we now living in a German Europe? In an interview with EUROPP editors Stuart A Brown and Chris Gilson, Ulrich Beck discusses German dominance of the European Union, the divisive effects of austerity policies, and the relevance of his concept of the ‘risk society’ to the current problems being experienced in the Eurozone. How has Germany [...]
Sometimes economists who support austerity have clear ideological or political motives. However I often come across economists who do not have these motives, and yet are deeply suspicious of the idea of Keynesian stimulus. In other words, they are economists who are quite happy to acknowledge market failure, and embrace the idea that governments have [...]
Angela Merkel’s European policy has so far not succeeded in solving the Eurozone crisis and has been widely criticised across Europe. The recent Italian election has again shown the level of discontent with Europe’s political direction. If you are part of the next German government what would you like to change in the German European policy approach? [...]
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