This book analyzes how financial liberalization affected the development of the financial crisis in Europe, with particular attention given to the ways in which power asymmetries within Western Europe facilitated financial liberalization and distributed the costs and gains from it. The author combines institutional narrative analysis with empirical surveys and econometrics, as well as country-level studies of financial liberalization and its consequences before and after the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.
Addresses the need for the United States to restructure the banking and financial system, anticipates the globalization of the crisis, and calls for international action.
“An insider of the European Commission since the late 1980s, Marco Buti is a unique guide through the two crises of the 21st century.” - Giuliano Amato, former Prime Minister of Italy “Marco Buti and I have not always agreed on issues of economic policy. But I cannot think of somebody more qualified to tell us about the travails of Europe since the Great Financial Crisis. He was there all along.” - Olivier Blanchard, Senior Fellow at Peterson Institute for International Economics “This collection of VoXEU contributions shows how history is made. Marco Buti, a man inside the vortex of the making of European monetary history, produced and published a steady stream of reflections, analysis and reform proposals on VoxEU." - Beatrice Weder Di Mauro, President of the Centre for Economic Policy Research “To go from point A to point B in Europe is rarely a straight line. Actually, trying to take a straight line is often the best way not to get to destination.” This is one of the lessons drawn by Marco Buti, one of the very few top policy makers who went through the fi nancial and the sovereign debt crises and, lately, the pandemic crisis, which plagued the European Union over the past twelve years. This book, which brings together his real time input to the economic and policy debate, traces the intellectual journey leading to the design and implementation under duress of diffi cult policies and controversial reforms. His contribution is the graphic demonstration of Jean Monnet’s dictum that Europe will be forged in crises and will be the outcome of the responses to those crises. The book explains the analytical and empirical foundations of European policy choices that involved a delicate balance between economic, institutional and political considerations. What emerges is a new compass that helps understand the policy strategy the EU has adopted to fi ght the economic fallout of the pandemic.
The SDN elaborates the case for, and the design of, a banking union for the euro area. It discusses the benefits and costs of a banking union, presents a steady state view of the banking union, elaborates difficult transition issues, and briefly discusses broader EU issues. As such, it assesses current plans and provides advice. It is accompanied by three background technical notes that analyze in depth the various elements of the banking union: a single supervisory framework; a single resolution and common safety net; and urgent issues related to repair of weak banks in Europe.
How does one distinguish between European Union investments that improve welfare and those that create economic malaise? Funding the Greek Crisis: The European Union, Cohesion Policies, and the Great Recession explores the sources of the Greek Crisis that lie primarily in EU policies that appeared to have worked better for other countries but not for Greece. Without overly simplifying the Greek condition, it provides insights into policies the countries of the euro area may need to implement in order to ensure collective cohesion and individual success. Arguing that EU preferences for autonomous investments discouraged organic development with lasting implications, Funding the Greek Crisis sheds new light on the nature of regional competitiveness and public economics. - Encompasses public economics, macroeconomics, international trade, competitiveness, microeconomics and regional development studies - Sheds light on key policies that affect millions of EU citizens - Examines Solow's growth model - Provides a different way of explaining growth from real business cycle theory
ForewordList of AbbreviationsAcknowledgementsCHAPTER 1 General IntroductionCHAPTER 2 Financial Stability in ContextCHAPTER 3 Financial Stability as a New Supranational Foundational Objective in EU Law and PolicyCHAPTER 4 European Economic GovernanceCHAPTER 5 Stability Mechanisms in EuropeCHAPTER 6 EU Banking RegulationCHAPTER 7 EU Banking Supervisory LawCHAPTER 8 EU Banking Recovery and ResolutionCHAPTER 9 General ConclusionsSelected BibliographyTable of CasesIndex.
The European economy is emerging from its deepest recession since the 1930s. This volume, which brings together economic analysis from the European Commission services, explains how swift policy response avoided a financial meltdown. Europe also needs an improved co-ordinated crisis-management framework to help it respond to any similar situations that may arise in the future. Economic Crisis in Europe is a much-anticipated volume which shows that the beginnings of such a crisis-management framework are emerging, building on existing institutions and legislation and complemented by new initiatives.
Contents: (1) Recent Developments and Analysis; (2) The Global Financial Crisis and U.S. Interests: Policy; Four Phases of the Global Financial Crisis; (3) New Challenges and Policy in Managing Financial Risk; (4) Origins, Contagion, and Risk; (5) Effects on Emerging Markets: Latin America; Russia and the Financial Crisis; (6) Effects on Europe and The European Response: The ¿European Framework for Action¿; The British Rescue Plan; Collapse of Iceland¿s Banking Sector; (7) Impact on Asia and the Asian Response: Asian Reserves and Their Impact; National Responses; (8) International Policy Issues: Bretton Woods II; G-20 Meetings; The International Monetary Fund; Changes in U.S. Reg¿s. and Regulatory Structure; (9) Legislation.
How investor expectations move markets and the economy The collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 caught markets and regulators by surprise. Although the government rushed to rescue other financial institutions from a similar fate after Lehman, it could not prevent the deepest recession in postwar history. A Crisis of Beliefs makes us rethink the financial crisis and the nature of economic risk. In this authoritative and comprehensive book, two of today’s most insightful economists reveal how our beliefs shape financial markets, lead to expansions of credit and leverage, and expose the economy to major risks. Nicola Gennaioli and Andrei Shleifer carefully walk readers through the unraveling of Lehman Brothers and the ensuing meltdown of the US financial system, and then present new evidence to illustrate the destabilizing role played by the beliefs of home buyers, investors, and regulators. Using the latest research in psychology and behavioral economics, they present a new theory of belief formation that explains why the financial crisis came as such a shock to so many people—and how financial and economic instability persist. A must-read for anyone seeking insights into financial markets, A Crisis of Beliefs shows how even the smartest market participants and regulators did not fully appreciate the extent of economic risk, and offers a new framework for understanding today’s unpredictable financial waters.
