News Archive

European Central Bank Frankfurt

Covid-19 Throws Us Into an Unprecedented Debt Crisis, But It’s One We Can Rise From

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EconPol Opinion
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The road to recovery is long and winding, says Stefano Schiavo (EconPol Europe, Università di Trento) but it's one we have to take: exceptional measures are needed to exit the economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus, which will see national governments at the forefront of business support and demand stimulation plans.This will lead to a sharp increase in public debt of dimensions never seen in the post-war period, but it's crucial to direct public spending towards initiatives that generate growth and contribute to solving future pr

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Brussels skyline

Policy Research Live - EconPol's New Online Event Series

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Events
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Policy Research Live is our new series of online debates featuring economists from the network and expert guest panelists. In our first event, EconPol speaker and president of the ifo Institute Clemens Fuest is joined by Antonia Díaz (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) to discuss the policy options available for the Eurozone. Together, they will discuss the question: is a European Recovery Fund an effective policy measure to deal with Covid-19 consequences?

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World map made up of people

If the Objective is Herd Immunity, on Whom Should it be Built?

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Policy Brief
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In the absence of a treatment or vaccine, there are two options available for managing Covid-19: long confinement of a large proportion of the population and the associated economic costs (Plan A), or to progressively build herd immunity by exposing the population to the virus (Plan B). But attaining herd immunity requires governments to expose a fraction of the population to the virus, and to recognize that some people in this targeted population will die.

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Bank notes

Covid-19: Has the Time Come for Mainstream Macroeconomics to Rehabilitate Money Printing?

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Policy Brief
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The expenditure necessary to avoid the Covid-19 health crisis turning into a long-lasting deep recession is enormous and raises the issue of how it should be financed: through new debt, or monetization? Monetization - defined as the financing of public expenditure through money creation by the central bank without being reimbursed by the government - has long been rejected by mainstream macroeconomics. Axelle Arquié (EconPol Europe, CEPII), Jérôme Héricourt (EconPol Europe, Université de Lille & CEPII) and Fabien Tripier (EconPol Europe, Université Paris-Sa

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Labor Productivity in State-Owned Enterprises

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Working Paper
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Between 2013 and 2015, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the Portuguese government revoked four holidays for public and private employees - but the revocation seems to have served little economic purpose and been no more than a ceremonial gesture. In this paper, authors António Afonso (EconPol Europe, Universidade de Lisboa; REM/UECE), Maria João Guedes (Universidade de Lisboa; Advance/CSG), Pankaj C.

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