This paper analyzes the causes of the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone and examines the policy alternatives confronting euro area governments. It suggests that pooling fiscal risks, creating an EU Treasury and issuing jointly-backed euro bonds is an optimal solution and the inevitable...

Euro area (EA) accession should mainly depend on the achievement of a critical mass of real and structural convergence, which should diminish the risks to operate in an incomplete monetary union. Accession would also be enhanced by reforms in the functioning of euro area institutions and...

Public debts in the euro area have increased sharply due to the economic crisis, and remain at historically high levels in several countries. In a monetary union, high-debt members represent a permanent threat to financial stability, as they are subject – even if fundamentally solvent – to...

Bereits vor der Corona-Krise zeigte die Europäische Währungsunion (EWU) eine unbefriedigende wirtschaftliche Entwicklung mit niedrigem Wachstum und zu geringer Inflation. Zur Krisenbekämpfung ist die Koordination zwischen Geld- und Fiskalpolitik notwendig. Unzureichende Lohnsteigerungen, die...

Despite the widespread use of the notion of a country's competitiveness in public policy discussion, there is some reluctance among academic economists in accepting the concept. The competitiveness notion can be made theoretically acceptable by distinguishing its useful integral part, which...

Since its establishment in 1998, the European Central Bank (ECB) has come of age. During this period, its legal framework has been put to the test sufficiently to allow for a proper assessment of the working of this system in practice. This article focuses on the relationship between the ECB and...

Central bankers are expected to communicate facts about the economy and shape individuals’ expectations about the economic future. However, credibility in economic affairs is often male-coded, particularly around the anti-inflationary commitments that central banks often need to project. Does...

I employ an unsupervised learning algorithm to investigate the thematic content of a large set of integrated and stand-alone sustainability reports. Subject to a non-financial reporting mandate, companies in the EU can disclose their non-financial performance together in their financial...

Die Eurokrise und die Reaktion der Politik auf sie hat das Vertrauen der Bevölkerung in die gemeinsame Währung erschüttert. Um das Vertrauen in das Eurosystem neu aufzubauen, sind verschiedene Maßnahmen erforderlich: Regeln für Verlässlichkeit und gesellschaftliche Akzeptanz, Aussichten...