via Simon Wren-Lewis : "Greece and other benefit scroungers"
www.boeckler.de/pdf/p_imk_pb_1_2015.pdf
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Monday, March 30, 2015
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Friday, March 27, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Satyajit Das : "My Big Fat Greek Crisis"
EconoMonitor : EconoMonitor » My Big Fat Greek Crisis
The Syriza led government claims the moral high ground. ... But this ignores earlier actions at the heart of current problems. Greece has been on a long borrowing binge that fuelled consumption and government spending.
Mohamed El-Erian : "Missteps and miscalculations that could cost Greece the euro" - FT.com
Missteps and miscalculations that could cost Greece the euro - FT.com
Despite having lots of the economic logic on their side, the newly-elected Greek government is slipping further behind in its goal of restoring economic dynamism, jobs and financial viability. As a result, both Greece and its European partners risk losing control of the one thing they seem to unanimously agree on — namely, maintaining the country within the eurozone. Understanding the five main reasons why this is happening also sheds light on what needs to be done.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Jeffry Frieden : “Currency politics: Understanding the euro” | Econbrowser
Guest Contribution: “Currency politics: Understanding the euro” | Econbrowser
"...the gaps in the design of the euro that were pointed to in the 1990s seem to have come together to demonstrate the foolishness of Economic and Monetary Union in Europe... Yet the member states of the Eurozone seem committed to maintaining the monetary union, and in fact countries continue to join..."
A Greek Surprise - WSJ
A Greek Surprise - WSJ
Europe is growing bored with Greece’s economic tragedy and especially its political farce.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Beyond Syriza and Podemos, other radical left parties are threatening to break into the mainstream of European politics
EUROPP – Beyond Syriza and Podemos, other radical left parties are threatening to break into the mainstream of European politics
A closer focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the European radical left shows that Syriza remains exceptional and its success is unlikely to be repeated imminently anywhere else, even if activists draw specific lessons as well as inspiration. Similarly, dramatic ruptures in European politics remain remote possibilities. Nevertheless, the longer-term prospects for the radical left will continue to improve, especially if Syriza’s governing experience offers benefits both to the Greek population and the wider European left alike.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Greece Continues That Slide Towards Grexident - Forbes
Greece Continues That Slide Towards Grexident - Forbes
"...everything being done by the Greeks appears to be making this (ss.a grexit) more likely. At which point one really does have to start wondering, well, is this actually being done by mistake or not? For it’s long been known that various of the Syriza people, the finance minister Varoufakis among them, privately think that they simply will not be able to reform the Greek economy as they wish to while inside the euro system."
Greece financial crisis: EU offers funds in return for urgent reforms | Business | The Guardian
Greece financial crisis: EU offers funds in return for urgent reforms | Business | The Guardian
"... he (Tsipras) started the negotiations by making it clear he expected urgently needed bailout funds released without giving very much in return.
According to the account, he was disabused of that notion within 10 minutes ..."
"...According to senior officials in Brussels... Draghi was said to have read Tsipras the riot act, while the others demanded cooperation with the creditors."
"In their public appearances following the summit on Friday afternoon, Merkel and Tsipras said contrasting things. Tsipras emphasised Merkel had accepted that the old bailout terms were history. The German leader, in turn, stressed a eurozone-conducted audit of Greek reforms, what had been done and what remained to be done to meet the terms of the bailout, remained the basis of the rescue programme."From Reuters Merkel sets strict terms for Greek aid
"The agreement of Feb. 20 is still valid in its entirety. Every paragraph of the agreement counts," Merkel told German journalists who questioned whether she was now offering cash for promises that many of her supporters have stopped believing in.Tsipras appeared to differ. "It is clear that Greece is not obliged to implement recessionary measures," he said. "Greece will submit its own structural reforms which it will implement."
Friday, March 20, 2015
Thursday, March 19, 2015
T.Giannitsis, St.Zografakis : "GREECE: Solidarity and Adjustment in Times of crisis"
www.boeckler.de/pdf/p_imk_study_38_2015.pdf
"Τί πάντως λέει η μελέτη μας" :ΜΕΤΑΡΡΥΘΜΙΣΗ 9/04/15
H Δημοσιονομική "Επιδείνωση" (2006-2009) ωφείλεται στην Αύξηση Δαπανών κατά 77% και στην Μείωση των Εσόδων κατά 20% ! Η Δημ/κή "Διόρθωση" προήλθε από Αύξηση Εσόδων κατά 72% !!!The findings suggest that pauperisation hit large parts of the society, that policies had very differentiated effects on different groups and that, therefore, average values obscure contrasting changes in inequality regarding particular sub-groups, that during the crisis all income classes comprise winners and losers.....
"Τί πάντως λέει η μελέτη μας" :ΜΕΤΑΡΡΥΘΜΙΣΗ 9/04/15
Lambros Fatsis – "Greece must put aside divisive rhetoric if a solution to the country’s crisis is to be found"
EUROPP – Greece must put aside divisive rhetoric if a solution to the country’s crisis is to be found
In tracing the origins of political dispute in Greece however, we discover something more than a conciliatory deficit. We come face to face with a pronounced hostility towards rational argument and critique. Without it we can only speak from encamped positions which forebode, if not forbid, independent judgement while also sabotaging our ability to listen, let alone see, clearly.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Will this time be different for Greece? Miroslav Beblavý CEPS
Will this time be different for Greece? How to assess its ability to deliver on the reform agenda | The Centre for European Policy Studies
...the author presents a simple analytical framework that can be used to assess the likelihood that a government will deliver on its reform agenda. Its purpose is not to allow for a precise probabilistic calculation, but to enable better structuring of the knowledge we have. It emphasises that the change depends NOT only on the capacity of the state to design and deliver policies, but even more crucially on state autonomy from both illegitimate and legitimate interests and cognitive models used by policy-makers to make sense of the world.
Monday, March 16, 2015
"It’s Time for the E.U. to Stop Bullying Greece" - John Cassidy, The New Yorker
It’s Time for the E.U. to Stop Bullying Greece - The New Yorker
SS. ...and, extend all the funds required to end austerity!
SS. ...and, extend all the funds required to end austerity!
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Mark Blyth : "Ending the Creditor’s Paradise" | Jacobin
Ending the Creditor’s Paradise | Jacobin
What would you tell six hundred leading German social democrats about their party’s handling of the Eurocrisis?via Bill Craighead
Friday, March 13, 2015
Frances Coppola : Greece's real problem
Coppola Comment: Greece's real problem
The real problem is competitiveness.
Greece's problem has been competitiveness for a very long time. It has run a large and persistent trade deficit for the last half-century
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Why We Reject Facts & Embrace Conflict | RealClearScience
Why We Reject Facts & Embrace Conflict | RealClearScience
There is a growing body of research suggesting that when beliefs become tied to one’s sense of identity, they are not easily revised. Instead, when these axioms are threatened, people look for ways to outright dismiss inconvenient data. If this cannot be achieved by highlighting logical, methodological or factual errors, the typical response is to leave the empirical sphere altogetherand elevate the discussion into the moral and ideological domain, whose tenets are much more difficult to outright falsify (generally evoking whatever moral framework best suits one’s rhetorical needs).I Don’t Want to Be Right
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Greek Alternative Reality Clashes With Euro Area Losing Patience - Bloomberg Business
Greek Alternative Reality Clashes With Euro Area Losing Patience - Bloomberg Business
“I believe that we are doing our job properly,” Varoufakis said at the conclusion of Monday’s talks. “Our job is to start the process which is necessary for the European Central Bank to have confidence.”...
“If it carries on like this, it’s a road to a car crash,” Andrew Lynch, a money manager at Schroder Investment Management Ltd. in London, told Bloomberg Television. “Both sides need to stop the posturing and get a deal done as quickly as possible because otherwise you just get to a stage where accidents can happen, and accidents at this stage could be very serious.”
Draghi Urged Greece to Allow Officials Back Before It’s Too Late - Bloomberg Business
Draghi Urged Greece to Allow Officials Back Before It’s Too Late - Bloomberg Business
Draghi’s Deal
As Draghi pressed Varoufakis to accept the return of the troika officials, the minister said that the idea that Greece was opposed to such a move was a misunderstanding, according to one of the officials with direct knowledge of the exchange.Can they start soon? Draghi asked.Varoufakis agreed.Wednesday?And the deal was done.
Monday, March 9, 2015
Eight lessons (on negotiations with the EU/EZ) from Syriza | Open Europe
Eight lessons for David Cameron from Syriza | Open Europe
- Mind your language: Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis may be fun, but his controversial running commentary – “fiscal waterboarding”,
- Don’t negotiate via the media: Syriza – like Number 10 up until recently – has a tendency to write the headline first, and the content later
- Beware of shopping lists: At least premature ones. Syriza has been forced to climb down on a series of specific election
- Know the incentives of your partners: Syriza’s gamble on austerity fatigue translating into support from other countries totally mis-judged the politics
- Prepare the ground: In turn, for that to work, as David Frost noted in his pamphlet for Open Europe, the key is to convince others that what you’re asking for is the ‘normal’ – not an eccentric demand
- A marathon, not a sprint: Fundamental change takes time. As Tsipras may have concluded by now, you cannot make 22 EU leaders discard their ties over-night (only five of the 28 are women). Syriza was naïve in believing it could change so much in such a short period of time.
- Noy you or Berlin: If you force others to choose between you and Germany, then, as Gary Lineker may have put it, EU negotiations become a very simple game: in the end, Germany wins. Agree the contours of the deal with Berlin
- Don’t mention the war: Just don’t.
Europe’s QE Quandary - QuickTake - Bloomberg
Europe’s QE Quandary - QuickTake - Bloomberg
SS. Lest we forget: Mario Draghi called on Angela Merkel about a week before announcing QE.
SS. Lest we forget: Mario Draghi called on Angela Merkel about a week before announcing QE.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Dani Rodrik : "The Future of European Democracy"
https://www.sss.ias.edu/files/pdfs/Rodrik/Commentary/Future-of-Democracy-in-Europe.pdf
The members of the euro zone engaged in an unprecedented experiment. They tried to construct a single, unified market – in goods, services, and money – while political authority remained vested in the constituting national units. There would be one market, but many polities.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
The Troubles that Await Europe | RealClearWorld
The Troubles that Await Europe | RealClearWorld
The events of recent weeks have done absolutely nothing to improve the personal ties between the Greek government and its European counterparts. Grandstanding, mutual accusations of bad faith, and needlessly confrontational politics have eroded much political goodwill. This is likely to make the coming talks even thornier than those that recently concluded.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
David Beckworth : The Origins of the Eurozone Monetary Policy Crisis...
Macro and Other Market Musings: The Origins of the Eurozone Monetary Policy Crisis...: I made the case in my last post that the Eurozone crisis was largely a monetary policy crisis. That is, had the ECB lowered interest rates...
All of this points to the Eurozone monetary crisis being the product of a poorly designed currency union. It is, in other words, far from being an optimal currency area. From this perspective, the monetary policy crisis in Europe can be thought as a structural crisis that is not going to go away anytime soon.
Monday, March 2, 2015
To beat austerity, Greece must break free from the euro | Costas Lapavitsas | Comment is free | The Guardian
To beat austerity, Greece must break free from the euro | Costas Lapavitsas | Comment is free | The Guardian
By the evening of Friday 20 February the Syrizagovernment had to accept a deal or face chaotic financial conditions the following week, for which it was not prepared at all.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
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