By Dr. Juan Castañeda and Professor Tim Congdon, courtesy of IEA In 2020 the world economy is likely to experience an output fall and increases in unemployment rates comparable to those in the Great Depression years of the early 1930s. The policy reaction to the pandemic will increase budget deficits massively in all the […]
Tag: spending
Time to start worrying about 2021 deficits
“Don’t worry about today’s borrowing numbers. It’s next year’s that should worry us” By Carl Emmerson, Benjamin Nabarro, and Isabel Stockton, courtesy of the IFS The ONS will release its latest monthly public finance estimates at 7 a.m. on Friday 19 June. They will show that across April and May government borrowing ran […]
Washington Beyond the Headlines: Feds Shouldn’t Cover State Budget Shortfalls
By Andy Blom, TES Washington Editor They say bad things come in threes. Well, we’ve had a pandemic, a wave of protests and riots, so what else does 2020 have in store for us? But no matter the obstacles, free market policy people keep right on working, offering perspective and policy options to lead […]
Euro budget proposals break with longstanding taboo
“The MFF recovery plan breaks with a fundamental taboo” By Jorge Núñez Ferrer, courtesy of CEPS The European Commission has presented a proposal to amend the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-27 of the EU budget – integrating a recovery plan as a post-Covid response. Many elements of the plan are clearly in line with the […]
With emergency measures, European fiscal divide deepens
“ECB calls for European Integration via a Common Fiscal Policy Response” By Gordon Kerr, Cavin O’Driscoll and Enrico Colombatto, courtesy of IREF ECB President Lagarde announced a keenly awaited new policy statement on April 30th. There was to be no increase to the Euros 750 billion Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP), but the economic […]
Emergency COVID-19 Stimulus Programs Are a Short-Term Solution
By Thomas Hoenig, courtesy of the Mercatus Center The federal government and the Federal Reserve have implemented unprecedented spending and monetary policies to combat the economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. These policies, while necessary in the short term, place an ever larger mortgage against the nation’s future income; and extending them […]
Emergency stimulus plan will cost billions
“A response to the Chancellor’s new package of support” By Carl Emmerson, Tom Waters and Xiaowei Xu, courtesy of the Institute of Fiscal Studies The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has today announced a substantial package of support that will incentivise employers to keep hold of their employees over the next few months […]
Facing coronavirus, “EU solidarity must be more than an empty slogan”
“Europe under siege” By Fabian Zuleeg and Janis Emmanouilidis, courtesy of EPC The European Union (EU) and its member states have been hit hard by COVID-19 – but the worst is yet to come. Tragically, more people will lose their lives. Now, the highest priority for Europe’s healthcare systems must be to do what […]
Spain faces tough choices for economic stimulus, qualitative reforms needed
“Will economic measures against the coronavirus be effective?” By Hugo Pereira, courtesy of Civismo We are, without a doubt, facing a historic moment. The coronavirus not only infected people, but practically all of the social spheres: politics, the economy, and even our own psychology. We have come to realize that we are not as […]
Towards a European Defense Union
“Four steps towards a European defence union” By Steven Blockmans and Dylan Macchiarini Crosson, courtesy of CEPS Given that membership of PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation), the central cog in the EU’s emerging EDU, is virtually identical to membership of the European Defence Agency (EDA) and that the first 47 projects have so far […]