Download or read book The End of the Euro written by Johan Van Overtveldt and published by Agate Publishing. This book was released on 2011-11-09 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the acclaimed author of Bernanke’s Test, “an essential title for any reader with investments or interest in financial instruments” (Library Journal). The End of the Euro begins with an overview of the birth of the euro itself. Understanding this history is essential to understand the anomalies built into the project from the beginning. These anomalies form the subject of chapter two, along with how they led to the situation that turned Greece, Portugal, and Spain into euro-destroying economic disaster areas. Chapter three shows how this was not an unforeseeable situation, as Europe’s history is filled with earlier failed attempts to build monetary unions. Chapter four is focused on Germany, by far the most important country within EMU, and why the chances of Germany leaving the union are much higher than is generally assumed. The book concludes with an analysis of what lies in wait for the remains of the monetary union—and for a deeply divided and troubled continent in general. Either the EMU transforms itself fundamentally or it disintegrates. “Johan Van Overtveldt is a consistently insightful and incisive writer and I await each of his books with real anticipation.” —Tyler Cowen, The Marginal Revolution blog “A whole generation of Europeans has found comfort in the idea that economic cooperation has overruled the pull of power politics and even some basic laws of economics. This book forcefully squashes that illusion. A must-read!” —Jonathan Holslag, research fellow at the Brussels Free University

Download or read book The End of Europe written by James Kirchick and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2017-03-07 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Once the world’s bastion of liberal, democratic values, Europe is now having to confront demons it thought it had laid to rest. The old pathologies of anti-Semitism, populist nationalism, and territorial aggression are threatening to tear the European postwar consensus apart. In riveting dispatches from this unfolding tragedy, James Kirchick shows us the shallow disingenuousness of the leaders who pushed for “Brexit;” examines how a vast migrant wave is exacerbating tensions between Europeans and their Muslim minorities; explores the rising anti-Semitism that causes Jewish schools and synagogues in France and Germany to resemble armed bunkers; and describes how Russian imperial ambitions are destabilizing nations from Estonia to Ukraine. With President Trump now threatening to abandon America's traditional role as upholder of the liberal world order and guarantor of the continent's security, Europe may be alone in dealing with these unprecedented challenges. Based on extensive firsthand reporting, this book is a provocative, disturbing look at a continent in unexpected crisis.

Download or read book Euro written by Philip Booth and published by Institute of Economic Affairs. This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining the debate from when the euro was first introduced to the sources of its current problems, this book proposes radical solutions to resolve the long-running crisis of the European Monetary Union. Initially, free-market economists were generally supportive of the euro, believing it would reduce the tendency towards inflation and encourage economic reform. However, in this current analysis, the authors--a group of leading monetary economists--make it perfectly clear that if the members of the eurozone are to prosper in the long term, the status quo cannot continue. These nine essays explore topics that include the UK's decision not to join, the fate of past monetary unions, why the euro is failing, practical exit strategies, and a possible free-banking solution for the eurozone, among many more.

Download or read book Breaking Up the Euro written by D. Chorafas and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-07-31 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The drama of the common currency is a hot topic. The Euro was planned for the European Union's member states, bringing economically strong nations like Germany and Holland and weaker nations like Greece, Spain and Italy under one set of currency rules. A dozen years of its implementation has shown that the planning was incomplete at best. Add to this the weight of a deepening debt crisis among western nations, which continues unabated, and Europe has a very deep financial hole to climb out of. In this work, Dimitris N. Chorafas provides the reader with evidence to poor political judgment, then delves into preparation for the foreseeable Euro breakup and confronts the redenomination risk associated to it.

Download or read book The Strange Death of Europe written by Douglas Murray and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-06-14 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Strange Death of Europe is the internationally bestselling account of a continent and a culture caught in the act of suicide, now updated with new material taking in developments since it was first published to huge acclaim. These include rapid changes in the dynamics of global politics, world leadership and terror attacks across Europe. Douglas Murray travels across Europe to examine first-hand how mass immigration, cultivated self-distrust and delusion have contributed to a continent in the grips of its own demise. From the shores of Lampedusa to migrant camps in Greece, from Cologne to London, he looks critically at the factors that have come together to make Europeans unable to argue for themselves and incapable of resisting their alteration as a society. Murray's "tremendous and shattering" book (The Times) addresses the disappointing failures of multiculturalism, Angela Merkel's U-turn on migration, the lack of repatriation and the Western fixation on guilt, uncovering the malaise at the very heart of the European culture. His conclusion is bleak, but the predictions not irrevocable. As Murray argues, this may be our last chance to change the outcome, before it's too late.

Download or read book The End of the Euro written by Johan Van Overtveldt and published by Agate Publishing. This book was released on 2011-11-08 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Johan Van Overtveldt provides comprehensive documentation showing that the political dithering so apparent in the most recent euro crisis has in fact been the hallmark of the euro project from the start. --Anil Kashyap, Edward Eagle Brown Professor of Economics and Finance, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business From noted economic journalist Johan Van Overtveldt, an up-to-the-minute examination of the fate of the Euro. In a process that began with the Maastricht Treaty of 1991 and concluded on January 1, 1999, 11 Western European countries made the euro the European Union's single currency, and the European Central Bank (ECB) the EU's only policy-making central bank. Bringing together Germany, France, Italy, and other European countries into a monetary union with a single currency and a single monetary policy could only ever result in major imbalances between the member countries, thus threatening the EU itself. This was recognized from the start by many economists and other observers, and the political elite paid elaborate lip service to these warnings. However, no one really followed up on these risks in terms of actions and reforms. Instead, the politicians seemed to indicate, directly and indirectly, that if the EU showed unity, the conditions to turn itself into a well-functioning monetary union would simply come about automatically. Moreover, given the imperative to work together more closely, the monetary-union effort would strengthen the political union among the euro-countries. Thus, in spirit, the process of monetary union was often seen as a means to an end. With that reasoning, the political elite supervising monetary union turned a great idea--the creation of a unified currency for Europe--into a huge gamble. Implicit in their reasoning was the idea that Europe's leading politicians would always be able to come up with an adequate solution to any crisis that might occur. As the former Belgian prime minister and European Union leader Jean-Luc Dehaene repeated relentlessly: "The idea of a unified Europe grows and becomes reality through crises. We need crises to make progress." Dehaene and like-minded European politicians never seriously considered the possibility of an insoluble, catastrophic crisis that could potentially crash the entire EU effort. For ten years, from 1999 to 2008, it seemed that the politicians' claim was vindicated. Although there was little substantial progress toward real political union within the euro area, the euro and the euro countries in general prospered, despite a string of major shocks like the bursting of the dotcom bubble, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But things changed dramatically with the financial crisis of 2007-2008. In January 2009 Barry Eichengreen, professor of economics and political science at Berkeley, wrote that "what started as the Subprime Crisis in 2007 and morphed in the Global Credit Crisis in 2008 has become the Euro Crisis in 2009." After its immediate impact, the crisis caused the financial and capital markets to worry about the so-called sovereign risks, i.e. countries running the risk of becoming insolvent. Although budget deficits in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom were much larger than the aggregate data for the euro area, markets started to home in on the risks posed by countries inside the European monetary union. Markets recognized that the enormous problem facing everyone in the union was the long-term working of the monetary union itself. Eichengreen's "Euro Crisis" is all about the sustainability of EMU and the single currency. By early 2009 the structural imbalances within the euro area and especially the untenable situations building up in Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Ireland were there for everybody to see. The first reaction of the political leadership was denial of any structural problem whatsoever. The second reaction was recognition of the crisis situation, but absolute denial of any link between that crisis and the workings of the monetary union. Eventually, a third phase set in: the search for external villains to blame. Those villains were found in the greed, speculation, and irresponsibility of the financial markets. As the French saying goes: "les excuses sont fait pour s'en server" ("excuses are made to take advantage of"). Fundamentally, however, the gigantic problems facing the EMU, and the euro as a currency, have little to do with either alleged criminal behavior in the financial markets or with the financial crisis of 2007-2009. The crisis of 2009-2010 was an accident waiting to happen. It could have happened earlier, or the clash could have been postponed for several more years; but given the the basic characteristics of the EMU-set-up, a major crisis was simply unavoidable. Untenable imbalances within the monetary union were enshrined in the different treaties, pacts, and political agreements that led to the creation of the euro in the first place, and guided its first ten years. That politicians never acted on this reality to make them the prime culprits of the long and highly painful death agony of the euro. The structure of this book is as follows: Chapter I gives an overview of the birth of the euro. Understanding this history is essential to understand the anomalies built into the project from the beginning. These anomalies form the subject of Chapter II, along with an analysis of how they led to the situation that turned Greece, Portugal, and Spain into euro-destroying economic disaster areas. Chapter III shows how this was not an unforeseeable situation, as Europe's history is filled with earlier failed attempts to build monetary unions. Chapter IV is focused on Germany, by far the most important country within EMU, and why the chances of Germany leaving the union are much higher than is generally assumed. The book concludes with an analysis of what lies in wait for the remains of the monetary union--and for a deeply divided and troubled continent in general. Either the EMU transforms itself fundamentally or it disintegrates, and the likeliest outcome is the latter.

Download or read book Europe s Last Chance written by Guy Verhofstadt and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2017-01-03 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the heart of Europe's current crisis, one of the continent's foremost statesmen issues a clarion call to radically remake the European Union in the mold of the United States' own federal government Europe is caught in its greatest crisis since the Second World War. The catalog of ills seems endless: an economic crisis spread through most of Europe's Mediterranean tier that has crippled Greece and driven a wedge between northern and southern Europe; terrorist attacks in Paris, Cologne, Brussels, and Nice; growing aggression from Russia in Ukraine and the Baltic states; and refugees escaping war-torn neighbors. The European Union's inability to handle any of these disasters was a driving factor in Great Britain voting to leave, and others may soon follow. The result won't just be a continent in turmoil, but also a serious threat to American and British security-the Atlantic, let alone the Channel, simply isn't big enough to keep European troubles in Europe. For everyone's sake, Europe must survive. The question is how. In Europe's Last Chance, Guy Verhofstadt-former prime minister of Belgium and current leader of the liberal faction in the European Parliament-provides the essential framework for understanding Europe today, laying bare the absurdity of a system in which each member state can veto legislation, opt in or out of the Euro, or close borders on a whim. But Verhofstadt does not just indict the European Union, he also offers a powerful vision for how the continent can change for the better. The key, argues Verhofstadt, is to reform the European Union along the lines of America's federal government: a United States of Europe strong enough to stand with the United States of America in making a better, safer world. A visionary book from one of today's luminaries of European leadership, Europe's Last Chance is a clarion call to save the European Union, one of the world's greatest chances for peace and prosperity.

Download or read book The End of the Eurocrats Dream written by Damian Chalmers and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-03-18 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contributions from prominent economists, lawyers, philosophers and political scientists go beyond short-term technical diagnoses in order to analyse the deeper causes of the European crisis and provide readers with a broad understanding of what goes on in the European Union.

Download or read book Making the European Monetary Union written by Harold James and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2012-11-19 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Europe’s financial crisis cannot be blamed on the Euro, Harold James contends in this probing exploration of the whys, whens, whos, and what-ifs of European monetary union. The current crisis goes deeper, to a series of problems that were debated but not resolved at the time of the Euro’s invention. Since the 1960s, Europeans had been looking for a way to address two conundrums simultaneously: the dollar’s privileged position in the international monetary system, and Germany’s persistent current account surpluses in Europe. The Euro was created under a politically independent central bank to meet the primary goal of price stability. But while the monetary side of union was clearly conceived, other prerequisites of stability were beyond the reach of technocratic central bankers. Issues such as fiscal rules and Europe-wide banking supervision and regulation were thoroughly discussed during planning in the late 1980s and 1990s, but remained in the hands of member states. That omission proved to be a cause of crisis decades later. Here is an account that helps readers understand the European monetary crisis in depth, by tracing behind-the-scenes negotiations using an array of sources unavailable until now, notably from the European Community’s Committee of Central Bank Governors and the Delors Committee of 1988–89, which set out the plan for how Europe could reach its goal of monetary union. As this foundational study makes clear, it was the constant friction between politicians and technocrats that shaped the Euro. And, Euro or no Euro, this clash will continue into the future.

Download or read book The End of the West written by David Marquand and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2011-04-10 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Has Europe's extraordinary postwar recovery limped to an end? It would seem so. The United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Italy, and former Soviet Bloc countries have experienced ethnic or religious disturbances, sometimes violent. Greece, Ireland, and Spain are menaced by financial crises. And the euro is in trouble. In The End of the West, David Marquand, a former member of the British Parliament, argues that Europe's problems stem from outdated perceptions of global power, and calls for a drastic change in European governance to halt the continent's slide into irrelevance. Taking a searching look at the continent's governing institutions, history, and current challenges, Marquand offers a disturbing diagnosis of Europe's ills to point the way toward a better future. Exploring the baffling contrast between postwar success and current failures, Marquand examines the rebirth of ethnic communities from Catalonia to Flanders, the rise of xenophobic populism, the democratic deficit that stymies EU governance, and the thorny questions of where Europe's borders end and what it means to be European. Marquand contends that as China, India, and other nations rise, Europe must abandon ancient notions of an enlightened West and a backward East. He calls for Europe's leaders and citizens to confront the painful issues of ethnicity, integration, and economic cohesion, and to build a democratic and federal structure. A wake-up call to those who cling to ideas of a triumphalist Europe, The End of the West shows that the continent must draw on all its reserves of intellectual and political creativity to thrive in an increasingly turbulent world, where the very language of "East" and "West" has been emptied of meaning.

Download or read book Time to Bail Out written by Paul Dixon and published by . This book was released on 2012-07-06 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the euro currency lurches from one crisis to the next, Paul Dixon explains why the concept was doomed to fail from the start and examines whether it will ultimately be the catalyst to the ultimate break-up of the European Union itself.Using historical lessons and remorseless logic Dixon shows how the very principles on which the European Union was built are being seriously undermined. If you live in, or do business with, the EU, or trade in the euro currency then 'Time to Bail Out?' is essential reading.

Download or read book Monetary Policy in Times of Crisis written by Massimo Rostagno and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first twenty years of the European Central Bank offer a unique insight into how a central bank can navigate macroeconomic insecurity and crisis. This volume examines the structures and decision-making processes behind the complex measures taken by the ECB to tackle some of the toughest economic challenges in the history of modern Europe.

Download or read book The End of Europe the Five Dilemmas of the European Union written by Andreas Staab and published by . This book was released on 2020-01-08 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The European Union received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 and was basking in the glory of 70 years of remarkable achievements. But the first dark clouds had begun to appear on the horizon. The rise of populism changed Europe's political landscape. High numbers of migrants and refugees started to have an impact on the political discourse. The single currency, instead of safeguarding prosperity, brought rising poverty levels and growing unemployment in many member states, most notably in Greece. The Brexit referendum of 2016 saw the manifestation of a political movement that regarded the national interest of the United Kingdom as being better served outside the union. The enlargement process to integrate Turkey and the western Balkans had been painstakingly slow, yet if completed, might fundamentally change the configuration of EU politics. These developments are tearing at the seams of the European project and the existing setup of the EU is struggling to provide decisive solutions to serious contemporary problems. But a failure to respond coherently might threaten the very existence of the European Union. We are witnessing a Europe that is at a highly critical juncture. Continuing in a similar vein as before might not offer any cogent remedies. But agreeing on new institutional or policy designs might not be forthcoming either, because of conflicting notions amongst member states over how a future EU ought to look like. A dilemma is a situation, in which a difficult choice must be made between two or more alternatives that might be equally undesirable. This book analyses the causes of 5 dilemmas: populism, migration, the Euro, Brexit and enlargement. It suggests scenarios how these challenges - if at all possible - can be met. While critical of the responses of EU actors in handling these crises, the book also provides suggestions on how a potential collapse of Europe can be avoided.

Download or read book Economy Finance and Business in Southeastern and Central Europe written by Anastasios Karasavvoglou and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-05-02 with total page 903 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume comprises papers presented at the 8th international conference “The Economies of the Balkan and Eastern European Countries in the Changing World” (EBEEC) held in Split, Croatia in 2016. The papers cover a wide range of current issues relevant for the whole of Eastern Europe, such as European integration, economic growth, labour markets, education and tourism. Written by experienced researchers in the field of economic challenges for Eastern Europe, the papers not only analyse recent problems, but also offer policies to resolve them. Furthermore, they offer insights into the theoretical and empirical foundations of the economic processes described. The proceedings of the conference appeals to all those interested in the further economic development of the Balkan and Eastern European countries.

Download or read book Europe and America written by Federiga Bindi and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2019-04-23 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “America First” is “America Alone” Foreign policy is like physics: vacuums quickly fill. As the United States retreats from the international order it helped put in place and maintain since the end of World War II, Russia is rapidly filling the vacuum. Federiga Bindi’s new book assesses the consequences of this retreat for transatlantic relations and Europe, showing how the current path of US foreign policy is leading to isolation and a sharp decrease of US influence in international relations. Transatlantic relations reached a peak under President Barack Obama. But under the Trump administration, withdrawal from the global stage has caused irreparable damage to the transatlantic partnership and has propelled Europeans to act more independently. Europe and America explores this tumultuous path by examining the foreign policy of the United States, Russia, and the major European Union member states. The book highlights the consequences of US retreat for transatlantic relations and Europe, demonstrating that “America first” is becoming “America alone,” perhaps marking the end of transatlantic relations as we know it, with Europe no longer beholden to the US national interest.

Download or read book Postwar written by Tony Judt and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-09-05 with total page 1000 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize • Winner of the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award • One of the New York Times' Ten Best Books of the Year “Impressive . . . Mr. Judt writes with enormous authority.” —The Wall Street Journal “Magisterial . . . It is, without a doubt, the most comprehensive, authoritative, and yes, readable postwar history.” —The Boston Globe Almost a decade in the making, this much-anticipated grand history of postwar Europe from one of the world's most esteemed historians and intellectuals is a singular achievement. Postwar is the first modern history that covers all of Europe, both east and west, drawing on research in six languages to sweep readers through thirty-four nations and sixty years of political and cultural change-all in one integrated, enthralling narrative. Both intellectually ambitious and compelling to read, thrilling in its scope and delightful in its small details, Postwar is a rare joy. Judt's book, Ill Fares the Land, republished in 2021 featuring a new preface by bestselling author of Between the World and Me and The Water Dancer, Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Download or read book The European Economy Since 1945 written by Barry Eichengreen and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2008-07-21 with total page 521 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: However, this inheritance of economic and social institutions that was the solution until around 1973--when Europe had to switch from growth based on brute-force investment and the acquisition of known technologies to growth based on increased efficiency and innovation--then became the problem.