Let Greece Go to the IMF
The members of the eurozone and the EU have apparently decided that they must heroically rescue Greece, that this is better than having the IMF do it. Senior figures in Brussels feel that the...
View ArticleThe ECB’s Three Mistakes in the Greek Debt Crisis
By now just about everybody agrees that the European bailout of Greece has failed: The debt will have to be restructured. As has been evident for well over a year, it is not possible to think of a...
View ArticleWho is Screwing Up More: Europe or the US?
US News and World Report asks, “Who is handling its debt crisis better: Europe or the United States?” My answer follows. In both Europe and the United States, the current public debt woes are...
View ArticleThe Hour of the Technocrats
The Hour of the Technocrats has arrived. In desperation from debt crises that their gridlocked political systems have created, Italy and Greece both in November chose new Prime Ministers who are...
View ArticleBias in Government Forecasts
Why do so many countries so often wander far off the path of fiscal responsibility? Concern about budget deficits has become a burning political issue in the United States, has helped persuade the...
View ArticleCould Eurobonds Help Solve the Euro Crisis?
Any solution to the euro crisis must meet two objectives. One is short run and the other is long run. Unfortunately they tend to conflict. The first necessary objective is to put Greece, Portugal,...
View ArticleBlack Swans of August
Throughout history, big economic and political shocks have often occurred in August, when leaders had gone on vacation in the belief that world affairs were quiet. Examples of geopolitical...
View ArticleConsidering QE, Mario? Buy US Bonds, Not Eurozone Bonds
The ECB should further ease monetary policy. Inflation at 0.8% across the eurozone is below the target of “close to 2%.” Unemployment in most countries is still high and their economies...
View ArticleOnly Tsipras Can “Go to China”
Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, has the chance to play a role for his country analogous to the roles played by Korean President Kim Dae Jung in 1997 and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula...
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