The Euro
And its Threat to the Future of Europe
Joseph E. Stiglitz
- From
- Nobel
- Prize-winning
- economist
- and
- best-selling
- author
- Joseph
- Sitglitz,
- author
- of
- Globalization
- and
- Its
- Discontents,
- this
- is
- the
- essential,
- must-read
- guide
- to
- the
- future
- of
- Europe.Solidarity
- and
- prosperity
- fostered
- by
- economic
- integration:
- this
- principle
- has
- underpinned
- the
- European
- project
- from
- the
- start,
- and
- the
- establishment
- of
- a
- common
- currency
- was
- supposed
- to
- be
- its
- most
- audacious
- and
- tangible
- achievement.
- Since
- 2008,
- however,
- the
- European
- Union
- has
- ricocheted
- between
- stagnation
- and
- crisis.
- The
- inability
- of
- the
- eurozone
- to
- match
- the
- recovery
- in
- the
- USA
- and
- UK
- has
- exposed
- its
- governing
- structures,
- institutions
- and
- policies
- as
- dysfunctional
- and
- called
- into
- question
- the
- viability
- of
- a
- common
- currency
- shared
- by
- such
- different
- economies
- as
- Germany
- and
- Greece.Designed
- to
- bring
- the
- European
- Union
- closer
- together,
- the
- euro
- has
- actually
- done
- the
- opposite:
- after
- nearly
- a
- decade
- without
- growth,
- unity
- has
- been
- replaced
- with
- dissent
- and
- enlargements
- with
- prospective
- exits.
- Joseph
- Stiglitz
- argues
- that
- Europe's
- stagnation
- and
- bleak
- outlook
- are
- a
- direct
- result
- of
- the
- fundamental
- flaws
- inherent
- in
- the
- euro
- project
- -
- economic
- integration
- outpacing
- political
- integration
- with
- a
- structure
- that
- promotes
- divergence
- rather
- than
- convergence.
- Money
- relentlessly
- leaves
- the
- weaker
- member
- states
- and
- goes
- to
- the
- strong,
- with
- debt
- accumulating
- in
- a
- few
- ill-favoured
- countries.
- The
- question
- then
- is:
- Can
- the
- euro
- be
- saved?Laying
- bare
- the
- European
- Central
- Bank's
- misguided
- inflation-only
- mandate
- and
- explaining
- why
- austerity
- has
- condemned
- Europe
- to
- unending
- stagnation,
- Stiglitz
- outlines
- the
- fundamental
- reforms
- necessary
- to
- the
- structure
- of
- the
- eurozone
- and
- the
- policies
- imposed
- on
- the
- member
- countries
- suffering
- the
- most.
- But
- the
- same
- lack
- of
- sufficient
- political
- solidarity
- that
- led
- to
- the
- creation
- of
- a
- flawed
- euro
- twenty
- years
- ago
- suggests
- that
- these
- reforms
- are
- unlikely
- to
- be
- adopted.
- Hoping
- to
- avoid
- the
- huge
- costs
- associated
- with
- current
- policies,
- Stiglitz
- proposes
- two
- other
- alternatives:
- a
- well-managed
- end
- to
- the
- common
- currency;
- or
- a
- bold,
- new
- system
- dubbed
- 'the
- flexible
- euro.'
- This
- important
- book,
- by
- one
- of
- the
- world's
- leading
- economists,
- addresses
- the
- euro-crisis
- on
- a
- bigger
- intellectual
- scale
- than
- any predecessor.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
