AUTHOR'S BIO
Francesco Giavazzi
Francesco Giavazzi is Professor of Economics at Bocconi University, Milan.
| RECENT COMMENTARIES | FEATURED COMMENTARIES | MOST READ COMMENTARIES |
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The ECB’s Path Not Taken
Olivier Blanchard and Francesco Giavazzi Series: European Economies 2005-12-01It is now clear that the European Central Bank views higher interest rates as the right response to rising oil prices. As a result, the ECB risks painting itself into a corner, for the logic behind this week’s interest-rate hike implies that more increases will follow – a series of policy mistakes that will cost the Eurozone economies heavily.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 21502 -
The Reform Game
Alberto Alesina and Francesco Giavazzi Series: Transatlantic Perspectives 2004-12-20Reform, when long discussed but never implemented, can do far more harm than good. Anticipation of a reform – say, of pension rules, the health system, or unemployment benefits – worries everyone who might feel the impact. In response, they cut consumption and save more, expecting that sooner or later they will have to start paying for some of the services they had been used to getting free or at subsidized rates. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 18959 -
The American Way of Debt
Alberto Alesina and Francesco Giavazzi Series: Transatlantic Perspectives 2004-11-22After almost 15 years of unprecedented growth - interrupted only by a brief slowdown in 2000-2001 - the United States has accumulated a huge stock of foreign liabilities, equivalent to 25% of its GDP. With the current account deficit now exceeding 5% of GDP, US foreign debt is rising fast. But no country can accumulate debt forever - and what cannot last sooner or later must end. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 16864 -
The Long Decline of Western Europe?
Alberto Alesina and Francesco Giavazzi Series: Transatlantic Perspectives 2004-10-29It's election season in Germany, France and Italy, so the time for structural reforms is over. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 15204 -
Is the European Union imploding?
Alberto Alesina and Francesco Giavazzi Series: Transatlantic Perspectives 2004-09-29The prospect of being accepted into the EU provided the nations of Eastern and Central Europe with a strong incentive to achieve fiscal balance - a process somewhat similar to what happened in Western Europe at the time the euro was launched. In both cases, however, after initial progress, countries have shown clear signs of political "fatigue": in the euro area, the Stability Pact has imploded; throughout Eastern Europe, budget deficits have started to rise. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 16678 -
Politicizing EU Competition Policy
Alberto Alesina and Francesco Giavazzi Series: Transatlantic Perspectives 2004-08-13The new European Commission has been named. What should be its primary goals?... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 16457 -
The Inevitability of Chinese Democracy
Francesco Giavazzi Series: Transatlantic Perspectives 2004-07-21Fifteen years ago, Fang Hongin was protesting in Tienanmen Square. A few years ago, in Beijing, he ran one of China's most popular TV shows, each week testing the limits of the authorities' indulgence. Today, he runs Dragon TV, Shanghai's leading station, and advertisements featuring him hang from the city's skyscrapers. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 16512 -
Melting Pot or Economic Meltdown
Alberto Alesina and Francesco Giavazzi Series: Transatlantic Perspectives 2004-05-20Worried about an invasion of migrant workers from the new member states of Central and Eastern Europe, the old EU members have erected high barriers in order to prevent the flow. Despite the open market rhetoric of the EU, for most citizens of the new member states free labor mobility will not be a reality for the next seven years at least. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 17468 -
Our Unbalanced World
Alberto Alesina and Francesco Giavazzi Series: Transatlantic Perspectives 2004-03-24The search for a new Managing Director of the IMF provides a keen reminder of how unjust today's international institutions are. Created in the postwar world of 1945, they reflect realities that have long ceased to exist.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 16431
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