Chapter 1: Target: An obscure aspect of the Eurosystem -- Chapter 2: The Target credit -- Chapter 3: Current account, capital movements and Target balances -- Chapter 4: The cash balance -- Chapter 5: How the Target balances came about: the first phase of the crisis -- Chapter 6: The case of...

Target balances are the largest single item in some of the balance sheets of the Eurosystem’s national central banks (NCBs), and yet very little is known about them by the general public and even by economists. This book shows that Target balances measure overdraft credits between the NCBs...

Is secular stagnation a valid concern for Euro Area countries? We tackle this question using the well-established Laubach-Williams model to estimate the unobservable equilibrium real interest rate and compare it to the actual real rate. We apply our approach to twelve Euro Area countries, since...

Is secular stagnation - a period of persistently lower growth such as that seen following the financial crisis of 2008/09 - a valid concern for euro-area countries? We tackle this question using the well-established Laubach-Williams model to estimate the unobservable equilibrium real interest...

The first shall be last -- How German workers lost their competitive edge -- Trade-union capitalism -- Competing against the welfare state -- The withering East -- Taxes and transfers : the endless loop -- The birth dearth -- EU enlargement, migration, and the new EU constitution -- Rethinking...