The Political Economy of the Eurozone: The Short-term and the Long-term View

Introduction

The key point of my talk is that EMU has two very different types of problems, depending on whether you think of the short or the long term.

• The short-term one is a combination of excessively low growth, massive sovereign debt because of the links between weak banks and governments, and no way out (weak banks increase sovereign debt, which translates into weak banks).
• The long-term one is that two very different types of economies were integrated into EMU, without a political mechanism that compensates for the negative effects of these differences.

1st Annual GPPF Forum 2012: Executive Summary

“Unfolding the Layers of the Crisis: the Nation-State, Europe, and the World”

1st Annual GPPF Chania Forum, 21-22 September 2012

Executive Summary

The third event organized by the Greek Public Policy Forum took place on September 21 and 22 at the Kiani Beach Resort in Chania, Greece. It was kindly sponsored by Decidendi Consultants, the Economic Chamber of Western Crete, and the Regional Development Fund of Crete. The Chania Forum tried to build upon the foundations laid by the two previous Fora at Oxford (June 2011) and Nottingham (March 2012). The Oxford Forum focused on Greece’s multifaceted crisis (economic, political, and social). The Nottingham Forum tried to examine the Greek crisis in its European context.