Available studies on asymmetries in the monetary transmission mechanism within Europe are invariably based on macro-economic evidence: such evidence is abundant but often contradictory. This paper takes a different route by using micro-economic data. We use the information contained in the...

The current account has always been a neglected variable in the management of the Euro area and in the assessment of its members' performance; so has, as a consequence, the savings-investment balance. This paper first reviews the arguments that explain this attitude and justify, under some...

The recent recession has brought fiscal policy back to the forefront, with economists and policy makers struggling to reach a consensus on highly political issues like tax rates and government spending. At the heart of the debate are fiscal multipliers, whose size and sensitivity determine the...

Intro -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1 Europe and the United States: Two Different Social Models -- 2 Handling a Multiethnic Society -- 3 Americans at Work, Europeans on Holiday -- 4 Job Security, Job Regulations, and 14 Million Unemployed -- 5 Technology, Research, and Universities -- 6...

Intro -- Abstracts -- Introduction -- 1 The Source of Historical Economic Fluctuations: An Analysis using Long-Run Restrictions -- Comment Harald Uhlig, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Tilburg University, Bundesbank, and CEPR -- 2 Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy in a Liquidity Trap --...