Research in Economics on COVID-19 posits an economy subject to disease dynamics, which are often seriously misspecified in terms of speed and scale. Using a social planner problem, we show that such misspecifications lead to misguided policy. Erroneously characterizing a relatively slow-moving...

Europe 2020 tried to overcome the failures of the Lisbon Strategy. Goals set by the European commission were allowed to be adapted to take account of the starting position and the preferences of member countries ("national ownership"), the monitoring process was improved and the coordination...

The debt crisis has brought to the surface key weaknesses in the institutional structure of the EU. The public securities markets of the individual countries have turned out to be potentially just as vulnerable to speculative attacks as fixed exchange rates. It has emerged as an unmanageable...

Central banks play a crucial role in promoting financial stability. They act as financial system stabilizers through their capacity to create liquidity and channel it to financial institutions and markets in times of stress - a role that has evolved and expanded substantially over the past 15...

This paper surveys the sovereign debt literature and summarizes the political economy trade-offs of seven distinct mechanisms for achieving debt sustainability. Two mechanisms – financial aid and asset exchange – are often underemphasized or entirely overlooked even though they can play an...

This article provides thoughts and guidelines on how a country could exit from the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and its currency the euro. We take the hypothetical exit of Finland as a concrete example. Although there is a way out of the euro for Finland and other member countries, exit...

Die griechische Staatsschuldenkrise hat die inhärenten Probleme in der Konstruktion der Europäischen Währungsunion (EWU) deutlich gemacht. Diese resultieren daraus, dass die Geldpolitik zentralisiert ist, während die Fiskalpolitik noch immer dezentral durchgeführt wird. Hieraus ergibt sich...

The question of how to leave a monetary union has become an important economic issue during the last few years. Uncertainty relating to its costs tends to discourage political leaders from taking decisive steps towards an exit. This article provides thoughts on what the necessary steps are, what...

This perspective provides thoughts on the burgeoning interdisciplinary literature surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on both individuals and firms with a particular focus on the heterogeneity in government responses. In particular, we discuss disparities in vaccine distribution,...