Forum: A Fiscal Stabilisation Function for the Eurozone

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Further information about Intereconomics

Intereconomics publishes papers dealing with economic and social policy issues in or affecting Europe. The journal consists of the sections Editorial, Forum, Articles, and Letter from America.

The Editorial contains brief comments on current questions of economic policy.

In the Forum, several authors (researchers, politicians, representatives of trade unions and of employers associations, etc.) voice their opinions on one particular current economic policy problem.

The Articles deal with economic policy issues and trends. They are mostly written by economic researchers.

In the Letter from America, an economist from the US provides analysis of economic issues of transatlantic interest.

Intereconomics has a streamlined editorial process which allows it to quickly publish timely papers while they can still inform and influence policy makers. The editorial board of Intereconomics works in close cooperation with the editorial board of its sister publication Wirtschaftsdienst – Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspolitik, which is published in German.The Five Presidents' Report of 2015 called for a macroeconomic stabiliser that would be capable of dealing with asymmetric shocks. A European unemployment benefits scheme (EUBS) is one potential stabilisation mechanism, although other proposals for devising risk-sharing tools that could be deployed across the eurozone have also been put forward over the years.

The following papers, based on an Intereconomics conference, explore and compare the advantages and disadvantages of the various schemes entertained. Which one holds the greatest promise of reducing the risk of deep recession? Do such schemes inevitably lead to moral hazard or are there practical safeguards that can be built into their provisions to minimise this risk? Are any of these proposals politically feasible in the near term?

This Forum seeks to answer these questions, searching for solutions that can overcome the political resistance to risk sharing in order to secure the economic benefits of risk reduction.

The articles comprise:

+ Reflections on the Euro Area Fiscal Stance (Christophe Kamps, Jacopo Cimadomo, Sebastian Hauptmeier and Nadine Leiner-Killinger)

+ Fiscal Rules and the Scope for Risk Sharing (Iain Begg)

+ The Stabilising Role of US Federal Fiscal Institutions – What Lessons for the Euro Area? (Cinzia Alcidi and Gilles Thirion)

+ What the EU Can Learn from the American Experience with Unemployment Insurance (Suzanne Simonetta)

+ European Fiscal Governance and Cyclical Stabilisation: Searching for a Lasting Arrangement (Nicolas Carnot)

+ Risk Reduction, Risk Sharing and Moral Hazard: A Vaccination Metaphor (Frank Vandenbroucke)

+ Ten Lessons from a Decade of Debating an EUBS: Robust Findings, Popular Myths and Remaining Dilemmas (Sebastian Dullien)

• Primary Source

Intereconomics: Archive http://archive.intereconomics.eu/years/

SpringerLink: Intereconomics http://link.springer.com/journal/10272

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