The recent global financial crisis is considered to be the most severe crisis which has led to a synchronised recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Europe is the most affected region in the world as a result of this crisis, and, as such, the sovereign debt crisis remains the most important issue in the Eurozone and threatens the future of the EU. This book provides answers, from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, to the following questions: What caused the global and European debt crises? What are the consequences of these crises? Why, despite the implementation of several policy measures, are these crises still affecting the world economy? What are the solutions to end the on-going crisis situation in the Eurozone? How can future crisis episodes in the world economy be prevented? Eleven quality papers from both academics and professionals are included in this volume, each of which provides a significant source, reference, and teaching supplement for researchers, policymakers and advanced graduate students. In addition, the papers collected here will also provide supplementary readings for advanced courses for graduate students in economics and European studies.

What began as a relatively localized crisis in Greece in early 2010 soon escalated to envelop Ireland and Portugal. By the second half of 2011, the contagion had spread to the far larger economies of Italy and Spain. In mid-September the Peterson Institute and Bruegel hosted a conference designed to contribute to the formulation of policies that could help resolve the euro area debt crisis. This volume presents the conference papers; several are updated through end-2011. European experts examine the political context in Greece (Loukas Tsoukalis), Ireland (Alan Ahearne), Portugal (Pedro Lourtie), Spain (Guillermo de la Dehesa), Italy (Riccardo Perissich), Germany (Daniela Schwarzer), and France (Zaki La�di). Lessons from past debt restructurings are then examined by Jeromin Zettelmeyer (economic) and Lee Buchheit (legal). The two editors separately consider the main current policy issues: debt sustainability by country, private sector involvement and contagion, alternative restructuring approaches, how to assemble a large emergency financing capacity, whether the European Central Bank (ECB) should be a lender of last resort, whether joint-liability "eurobonds" would be feasible and desirable, and the implications of a possible break-up of the euro area. The luncheon address by George Soros and a description (by Steven R. Weisman with Silvia B. Merler) of the policy simulation game played on the second day of the conference complete the volume. Involving market participants and experts representing the roles of euro area governments, the ECB, IMF, G-7, and credit rating agencies, the game led to a proposal for leveraging the capacity of the European Financial Stability Facility through arrangements with the ECB.

During the past four years, the countries of the European periphery – the so-called PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) – have been experiencing an economic-financial crisis that can only be compared to the Great Depression. To solve the crisis, the EU and the IMF instituted bailout programs for the debit countries on conditions of austerity and structural reforms. In this volume 20 social scientists, using both theoretical and empirical tools, delve into the causes and the social impacts of this crisis. The volume also provides an excellent background for a better comprehension of the dynamics of structural and political changes now taking place within the European Union. The social impacts cover a range of consequences, including poverty, unemployment, anti-migrant attitudes, a decline of welfare and health indicators, post-traumatic stress disorders, national humiliation, political alienation and social protest. The authors analyse the “international” and the “domestic” causes of the crisis, while some of them underline the importance of both factors. In the concluding chapter, the editors undertake a synthesis of the previous chapters, and extract a number of policy recommendations that – if adopted – could transform the current financial crisis into a growth-opportunity for the European Union and its member states.

The global financial crisis saw many Eurozone countries bearing excessive public debt. This led the government bond yields of some peripheral countries to rise sharply, resulting in the outbreak of the European sovereign debt crisis. The debt crisis is characterized by its immediate spread from Greece, the country of origin, to its neighbouring countries and the connection between the Eurozone banking sector and the public sector debt. Addressing these interesting features, this book sheds light on the impacts of the crisis on various financial markets in Europe. This book is among the first to conduct a thorough empirical analysis of the European sovereign debt crisis. It analyses, using advanced econometric methodologies, why the crisis escalated so prominently, having significant impacts on a wide range of financial markets, and was not just limited to government bond markets. The book also allows one to understand the consequences and the overall impact of such a debt crisis, enabling investors and policymakers to formulate diversification strategies, and create suitable regulatory frameworks.

For Germany, as a strongly export-oriented economy, competitiveness on the international markets is of critical importance for its wealth and economic growth. A loss of competitive advantages could therefore severely affect the German economy. The aim of this book is to answer the question if and in what way this threat affected Germany’s economic competitiveness during the European debt crisis. The results will then be used to further define the publicly dominant disadvantages as well as possible advantages for Germany as a consequence of the crisis. In the end, the book also has the objective to give policy recommendations for the euro crisis from a German perspective. The results can subsequently contribute to the discussion whether Germany’s current policy is really „without any alternative“. In order to achieve the overall research goal, a combination of literature review and comprehensive data analysis is used. First of all, to provide a first „pillar“ of contextual background for the following analysis, an overview of the development and causes of the European debt crisis is given by referring to existing literature. Also, this section presents the financial and economic consequences of the described events in a graphical manner. Secondly, to construct the second pillar of conceptual framework, the term „economic competitiveness” is defined by a comprehensive literature review. Emphasis is put upon the concept of „ability to sell” and the measurement method of the country rankings while a short overview of other concepts is also provided. Finally, in combining theory and practice, an in-depth data-based analysis of the development of Germany’s economic competitiveness is given. With the help of various publicly available data sources, Germany’s ability to sell and other competitiveness metrics are tracked and elaborated on over the last centuries, with a special emphasis on the timeframe of the European debt crisis. Furthermore, comparisons to other countries are made to emphasize characteristics unique to Germany. Ultimately, the results of the analyses are evaluated and concluded in a short discussion about Germany’s current policy in the euro crisis. In this book: - the European debt crisis; - the role of Germany; - competitiveness; - prosperity; - ability to sell

The latest global financial crisis has troubled the United States and caused very bad debt crises in many Eurozone member nations due to their integration, common currency, and public policies, but with different economic structures among themselves. The European Union and its Debt Crises: The Deception of the Greeks provides readers with in-depth historical, structural, political, and practical knowledge of the European Union, the Eurozone, and how to confront the latest financial, economic, and social problems. The literature has been enormous on this unique debt crisis for the last eight years, but this book goes beyond the theoretical arguments of different outsider technocrats and gives details concerning the role of the EU institutions, the role of the EU member governments (especially of Greece, which has been deceived so much and for so many years by three different political parties in its government), the role of the Troika (Eurogroup, ECB, IMF, and later the Quartet), and the effects of the crises on the poor European citizens. These crises have unfortunately continued and reanimated recently in Italy. This book also discusses the ineffectiveness of the common public policies, the loss of sovereignty, and the challenges for the future of these "structures", the EU and EMU. It also outlines some policy suggestions and recommendations for the European - primarily Greek - citizens in this globalized world, which is becoming more strenuous each day.

Athens, Greece—May Day 2010. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU) were putting together the final details of a $100 billion euro rescue package for the country. The Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, had agreed to a savage package of “austerity measures” involving cuts in public spending and lower salaries and pensions. Outside, riot police were deployed as protestors gathered to fight the austerity program. A country with a history of revolution and dictatorship hovered on the brink of collapse—with the world’s financial markets watching to see if the deal cobbled together would be enough to both calm the markets and rescue the Greek economy, and with it the euro, from oblivion. In Bust: Greece, the Euro, and the Sovereign Debt Crisis, leading market commentator Matthew Lynn blends financial history, politics, and current affairs to tell the story of how one nation rode the wave of economic prosperity and brought a continent, a currency, and, potentially, the global financial system to its knees. Bust is a story of government deceit, unfettered spending, and cheap borrowing: a tale of financial folly to rank alongside the greatest in history. It charts Greece’s rise, and spectacular fall from grace, but it also explores the global repercussions of a financial disaster that has only just begun. It explains how the Greek debt crisis spread like wildfire through the rest of Europe, hitting Ireland, Portugal, Italy, and Spain, and ultimately provoking a crisis that brought the euro to the edge of collapse. And it argues that the Greek crisis is just the start of a decade of financial turmoil that will eventually force the break up of the euro, and a massive retrenchment in the living standards of all the developed economies. Written in a lively and entertaining style, Bust: Greece, the Euro, and the Sovereign Debt Crisis is an engaging and informative account of a country gone wrong and a must-read for anyone interested in world events and global economics.

This book offers a much-needed analysis of how the European Union (EU) has affected welfare state reforms in the Member States most severely hit by the 2008 economic crisis. Bringing together leading European social policy researchers, it shows that the EU’s responses to the sovereign debt crisis have changed the nature of EU intervention into domestic welfare states, with an enhanced focus on fiscal consolidation, increased surveillance and enforcement of EU measures. The authors demonstrate how this represents an unprecedented degree of EU involvement in domestic social and labour market policies. Readers will also discover how greater demands to attain balanced budgets have been institutionalized, leading to tensions with the EU's social investment strategy. This highly informative edited collection will engage students, social policy practitioners and researchers, scholars of the welfare state and political scientists. “/div>div

Academic Paper from the year 2018 in the subject Business economics - Economic Policy, grade: 1, , language: English, abstract: Over the years, fiscal crisis in various regions have led to recession which hurts the economies of the concerned countries. Currently, Europe is battling a detrimental debt crisis that has put economic growth across Europe at stake. In this case, Greece is the most hit country by the current European debt crisis because it has huge debt to settle. Ironically, it is quite difficult to experience any significant growth because its competitiveness within the Eurozone remains low, yet it is expected to recover and settle its debts. Greece has no control over the Euro because it is controlled by the European Central Bank that regulates financial flow and rates within the Eurozone. In general, the European debt crisis has affected European countries in different ways. For instance, Greece owes Germany and France a huge government debt. It is estimated that Greece, Portugal and Italy are the biggest debtors within the Eurozone. By the end of the first quarter of 2015, Greece has a government debt to GDP ratio of 168.8%, followed by Italy with 135.1%, whereas Portugal recorded a ratio of 129.6%. On the other hand, the lowest debtors were Bulgaria with the ratio of 29.6%, Luximbourg with 21.6& and Estonia with 10.5%. As a result, the public debt to GDP ratio for the Eurozone has risen to 92.6 percent in the first quarter of 2015 (RT, 2015). Therefore, this article will give a comprehensive overview of the European debt crisis with focus on Greece.