The ECB's expansionary monetary policy has positive effects on the euro area economy. Interest rates have declined further, bank lending is improving, and the euro is weaker. However, inflation remains much too low and aggregate demand too weak for the output gap to close rapidly. Further...

Governments on both sides of the Atlantic have reacted with a raft of new regulations to the US subprime mortgage crisis. The article argues that while these new rules actually touch many of the incentive and information problems which were instrumental in creating the crisis, they only address...