Specialness - the premium of procuring a specific security in the repo market - increased in the second half of 2011 for Italian government bonds. We assess the impact on specialness of the outright purchase program of the Eurosystem during the same period. Bonds bought by the Eurosystem had...

Structural policies in the euro area are of great interest for the Eurosystem, particularly as they can support the smooth functioning of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the effectiveness of monetary policy. This paper adopts a broad definition of structural policies, analysing not...

Wirtschaftspolitiker verfolgen eine Vielzahl von kurz- und langfristigen Zielen, die einander ergänzen aber auch widersprechen können. Daher müssen wirtschaftspolitische Maßnahmen theoretisch begründet und zielorientiert gestaltet werden. In der vorliegenden Einführung in wichtige...

Is globalization leading us toward a world of fewer and fewer currencies and, consequently, simplified monetary management? Many specialists believe this is the case, as the territorial monopolies national governments have long claimed over money appears to be eroding. In The Future of Money,...

This paper aims to show how, upon the introduction of EMU both structural and ideological factors have concurred to shape ECB's policy stance to envision no need to maintain an active dialogue with national social partners and a blind faith in their capacity/will to constantly pursue wage...

The marked turnaround in Russia's foreign trade in 2023 exerted strong downward pressure on the Russian rouble, which lost around 30% of its value. Global oil prices were declining in the first half of the year, the EU import embargo on Russian oil depressed prices even further; and on top of...