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Which Fiscal Union for the Euro Area?
Report

Which Fiscal Union for the Euro Area?

Bruegel, 2016

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

The euro zone, once so promising, has become a drag on economic growth. Economists Agnès Bénassy-Quéré, Xavier Ragot and Guntram B. Wolff blame the disconnect between centralized monetary policy and uncoordinated national fiscal policies. They suggest several valid ideas, such as a federal backstop for the banking system and regional unemployment insurance that would take effect only during crises. Their advice focuses on harmonizing policies across the euro zone’s 19 member states, which tend to act in their own narrow interests. getAbstract recommends this instructive, scholarly report to policy makers and investors interested in solutions to Europe’s malaise.

Take-Aways

  • The members of the euro zone share a monetary policy, but each nation makes its own fiscal decisions. European leaders have no way to impose a joint fiscal strategy across 19 national budgets.
  • The euro area should take steps to unite its “fragmented banking system,” including through bank deposit insurance, to which member states’ banks would contribute.
  • The European Fiscal Board (EFB), an advisory group, could act to coordinate fiscal policy among euro-zone members during unusually good and bad times.

About the Authors

Agnès Bénassy-Quéré is a professor at the Paris School of Economics. Xavier Ragot is president of the French Economic Observatory. Guntram B. Wolff is the director of Bruegel.