Brexit shows the primacy of politics and emotion over economic rational calculation. It is very difficult to understand the decision of British people otherwise. Britain, or what would be left of it after potential secession by Scotland and Northern Ireland, is likely to become a less open economy with a long-term decrease in productivity potentially. […]
Why inequality is increasing and what can we do about it?
Janet Yellen, chair of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve, gave a speech in October 2014 in which she said that, “The past several decades have seen the most sustained rise in inequality since the 19th century after more than 40 years of narrowing inequality following the Great Depression. I think it […]
Is Spanish Government reformism delivering?
Does the current economic policy in Spain help or impede the recovery and medium and long-run growth prospects? Together with a group of eight IESE experts and six of some of the most prominent Spanish economists, we have developed the Reform Monitor, an assessment of the performance of the Spanish economy; the adequacy of the […]
The Volcker Rule
Finally the Volker rule is in place. The five U.S. financial regulatory agencies – yes five: the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission – agreed on the rule to […]
The euro under construction
The crisis in the euro area is long and painful, and progress towards its resolution is not proceeding in a linear way. The problem by now has been well-diagnosed. The euro was put in place without the proper institutions to support it. A monetary union needs a fiscal union pillar, a financial stability pillar and […]