Austerity policies again prevail in Europe as well as in the United States. These economists, based in England and continental Europe, focus on the poorly understood damage that the austerity mania will almost certainly do on their side of the Atlantic. Why is it happening? There is no rational...

A continuation of the current policy of bond purchases known as quantitative easing is highly probable under Janet Yellen, who is likely to be confirmed as the successor to Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke. The authors assess the probable outcomes for interest rates, which they think will not...

The authors believe that a serious move toward a political union is probably necessary to save the euro. However, current arrangements are not yet adequate to get us there.

The euro crisis has highlighted a range of problems with the "euro project." These problems and difficulties are related to fundamental weaknesses of the euro and the lack of a financially unified European Monetary Union. This short article attempts to explain the original shortcomings of the...

It's time to scrap the rules that limit budget deficits and let the national governments control their own fiscal policies in the European Union, say the authors.

The three puzzles these authors address suggest that managing the world economy may become more difficult in the coming year. Low bond yields, the good performance of euro stocks, and the broadening of retail investors into nontraditional assets have raised more questions than answers. These...

Is the current consensus about monetary policy valid? As the authors see it, current monetary policy is designed to use interest rates as a control on longterm inflation. The authors assess the concept, summarize the empirical data, and find that the theory may not work. Supply shocks may cause...

The authors point out a rarely considered fact about monetary policy. Ironically, central banks now tolerate inflation that is faster than the rise in wages. Workers pay the price. In this piece, the authors analyze the new focus on core inflation, and the politics involved, and point out that...

Many observers believe the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates to stem any increase in inflationary expectations. But these economists present a closely argued theoretical case that many of the assumptions underlying current monetary policy may be wrong. They believe the U.S....