In this contribution it is argued, first, that the improvement in the eurozone business cycle is the result of the ECB’s announcement of its Outright Monetary Transaction (OMT) programme, and second, that austerity has left a legacy of unsustainable debt levels that will test the political...

We provide evidence indicating that countries with well developed social security systems do not necessarily face a trade-off between social spending and competitiveness. On average, countries that spend a lot on social needs score well in the competitiveness league. We investigate the...