http://www.project-syndicate.org/series/transatlantic_perspectives <p><em>Will the euro displace the dollar as the world’s principal reserve currency? How should financial markets be re-regulated without stifling innovation? Should the European Central Bank focus on growth, as America’s Fed does? Is Germany’s export-led growth strategy a threat to its trading partners?</em></p> en 2012-02-10T06:00:42+01:00 webmaster@project-syndicate.org Hans-Werner Sinn, Michael Boskin 1994-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 4 hourly http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin19/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin19/English>TA: A Referendum on Obama</a> The 2012 US presidential election will be a referendum on Barack Obama’s policies and performance. A Republican presidential victory, together with Republican control of Congress, would most likely lead to substantial reduction, repeal, and replacement of many Obama initiatives, attempts to reform taxes and entitlements, and greater fiscal discipline. Michael Boskin 2012-01-31T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn41/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn41/English>TA: Two Models for Europe</a> The eurozone's sovereign-debt crisis is eating its way from the periphery to the core, and the exodus of capital is accelerating. If the eurozone does not want to embrace capital controls, it has only two alternatives: stop the local printing of money, or provide investment guarantees in countries that markets view as insecure. Hans-Werner Sinn 2011-12-29T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin18/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin18/English>TA: Europe’s Last Best Chance</a> The social insurance systems in Europe and elsewhere are failing because they have promised too much, to too many, for too long. Greece and Italy, along with the rest of the EU, will demonstrate whether democracies with heavily benefit-dependent populations can rein in the welfare state's excesses. Michael Boskin 2011-11-25T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn40/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn40/English>TA: Italy’s Capital Flight</a> When it comes to refinancing Italy, bond purchases are just the tip of the iceberg: in August alone, Italy’s central bank drew €40 billion in credit from the ECB system, and it probably drew roughly another €50 billion in September. This is not the end of the world – not even for the ECB – but the eurozone has entered dangerous territory. Hans-Werner Sinn 2011-10-25T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin17/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin17/English>TA: Europe’s Triple Threat</a> Europe is suffering from simultaneous sovereign-debt, banking, and currency crises, forcing policymakers to use all vehicles at their disposal – including the ECB, the IMF, and the European Financial Stability Facility – in a desperate attempt to stem the financial panic, contagion, and risk of recession. But are they going about it in the right way? Michael Boskin 2011-09-22T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn39/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn39/English>TA: The Trouble with Eurobonds</a> Europe needs to face reality and initiate the difficult adjustment processes within the real economy that are necessary to rebalance the eurozone. Eurobonds would numb the distressed countries’ current pain, but, by failing to treat the underlying disease, they – and the eurozone as a whole – would end up far sicker than before. Hans-Werner Sinn 2011-08-25T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin16/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin16/English>TA: The Euro-American Debt Dilemma</a> The debt dilemmas in Europe and the US prove yet again that elected officials will ignore long-run costs to achieve short-run benefits, and will act only when forced. And that implies an extended period of episodic economic disruption and political upheaval far beyond this summer’s debates on America’s debt ceiling and Europe’s distressed sovereign debtors. Michael Boskin 2011-07-29T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn38/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn38/English>TA: Farewell to the Euro?</a> It is time to face the fact that Europe’s peripheral countries have to become poorer. The only question is whether they will take the euro down as well. Hans-Werner Sinn 2011-06-30T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin15/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin15/English>TA: Voters vs. the Welfare State</a> Only time will tell if recent elections in the UK, the US, and Canada, together with next year's presidential election in France, signal a retreat from the growth of the welfare state or just a temporary respite. But comparing the four countries economic performance reveals that the stakes are immense. Michael Boskin 2011-05-24T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn37/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn37/English>TA: The ECB’s Secret Bailout Strategy</a> For many, Greece, Ireland, and Portugal had to seek an EU bailout, and Spain is a potential candidate, because international markets no longer wanted to finance their current-account deficits. But international markets have not financed any of them for the past three years; the European Central Bank has. Hans-Werner Sinn 2011-04-29T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin14/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin14/English>TA: The California Syndrome</a> California has long been a harbinger of national and global trends, a birthplace of innovation in everything from technology and entertainment to lifestyles. But then something went radically wrong, and understanding why offers lessons for national and subnational governments everywhere. Michael Boskin 2011-03-23T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn36/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn36/English>TA: Why Europe Needs Automatic Haircuts</a> Having agreed to double the European Financial Stability Facility's capacity to lend to distressed eurozone members, EU countries are now mulling how the EFSF’s funds will be made available. The crucial issue is the extent to which creditors will have to participate in rescue measures by accepting “haircuts” – that is, partial losses on their claims. Hans-Werner Sinn 2011-02-25T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin13/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin13/English>TA: A Tale of Two Currency Areas</a> The US and Europe both operate single-currency areas, but only Europe's faces uncertainty about its survival. Their similarities and differences, particularly with respect to internal labor mobility, productivity, and fiscal policies, suggest why – and provide clues about whether the eurozone can evolve into a stable monetary union. Michael Boskin 2011-01-24T00:00:00+01:00