What should public spending look like?
Here’s what’s clear: public spending is on the rise. Public expenditure ratios have quadrupled since 1870, and increased even more in the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Is that good or bad? What does responsible public spendi...
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EU countries will have to accommdate higher deficits to green their economies
In CNBC Squawk Box Europe...
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EU debt as insurance against catastrophic events in the euro area: the key questions and some answers
European Union debt can provide comprehensive insurance against the COVID-19 pandemic and can enable a macroeconomic response, even though EU debt is a liability for taxpayers in EU countries and therefore indirectly for...
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Did the eurogroup save the day?
After its longest meeting ever, the Eurogroup reached an agreement yesterday evening. What does the agreement say? What does it mean in terms of the emergency reaction to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic? Wh...
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The ECB actions will be enough, but what matters now is the common fiscal policy
My interview in La Stampa is here...
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Providing funding in resolution: Unfinished business even after Eurogroup agreement on EMU reform
The recent Eurogroup agreement on euro-area reform foresees a greater role for the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) as a backstop to the banking union. This is a welcome step forward but important issues remain. We ass...
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Eurozone or EU budget? Confronting a complex political question
This week’s European Commission reflection paper is the latest document to ponder a distinction between EU and euro-area budgets. But do we need to split the two, and what would each budget be used for? In this post, I p...
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What could a euro-area finance minister do?
With the election of Emmanuel Macron as president of France, the idea of a euro-area treasury and finance minister is back in the limelight. The election programme of Emmanuel Macron calls for “a budget for the euro area...
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Mere criticism of the ECB is no solution
This piece was first published by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in a shortened version. It is also published in various national newspapers, including Le Monde. The eurozone remains in a deep, largely...
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