We analyse the long-run imbalances of finance-dominated capitalism underlying the present crisis - which began in 2007 - with a focus on developments in the US and Germany. We argue that beyond inefficient regulation of the financial sector, the severeness of the present crisis has been mainly...

The financial and economic crisis in the Euro area has revealed a number of important flaws in the economic policy framework in Europe. On the one hand, the imbalances, which have dominated European development since the introduction of the euro, are not sustainable; and this is more serious in a...

Die Wirtschaftspolitik kann noch nicht aufatmen; zu schwer lasten die Folgeschäden der Krise insbesondere auf der europäischen Wirtschaft. Soll der Euroraum als Ganzes erhalten bleiben, muss die Wirtschaftspolitik ihn auch als eine Einheit verstehen und entsprechend handeln. Die enge nationale...

It is by now widely accepted that the structural characteristics of the countries to become the euro area did not adhere to the conditions of an optimum currency area (OCA) when the euro was introduced in 1999. However, the satisfaction of OCA criteria may not be required for a workable currency...