This paper explores lock-in and lock-out via economic policy. It argues policy decisions may near-irrevocably change the economy's structure, thereby changing its performance. That causes changed economic outcomes concerning distribution of wealth, income and power, which in turn induces...

This paper uses hysteresis to develop the concept of policy lock-in and lock-out. Policy changes may near-irrevocably change the economy’s structure, thereby changing the distribution of wealth, income and power. That may lock-in policy by changing the political equilibrium. Exit costs that...

Over the past decade, geopolitical developments - and the policy responses to these by major economies around the world - have challenged economic openness and the process of globalisation, with implications for the economic environment in which central banks operate. The return of war to Europe...

In this article we underline the effects of the crisis that erupted in the U.S. in 2008, due to financial hazard, and then spread everywhere, to assess how the euro zone (EMU) and its countries have acted. We will consider two periods that the EMU has passed through, each characterized by a...

This chapter aims at assessing the long-run determinants and the short-run dynamics of inflation in each country belonging to the European Monetary Union (EMU). Our work complements the recent literature on this topic for the Euro Area as a whole. Detecting such determinants can be crucial in...

Current account imbalances have been a decisive feature of the European banking and sovereign debt crisis. This paper investigates the drivers of euro area current accounts, their divergence and subsequent rebalancing, within a structural model accommodating potential regime changes at the...

Research background: The core of coordinating a monetary and fiscal policy (policy mix) is based on combining both policies to achieve goals related to price stability, as well as economic growth and employment. In turn, the decisions of economic authorities in the monetary-fiscal game have a...