This paper analyses economic developments in the Eurozone since its inception in 1999. In doing so, we document a process of economic divergence and polarization among those countries that joined the Eurozone during its first two years, which fits a typical 'core - periphery' pattern. We show...

This paper analyses economic developments in the Eurozone over the period 1999-2016 by developing a theoretical framework that traces divergent path developments across Eurozone countries to the times before the financial crisis. We argue that macroeconomic divergence between core and periphery...

This paper proposes a 2-country stock-flow consistent agent-based model of a monetary union and exposes it to three supposed drivers of imbalances in the build-up to the Great Recession: unequal developments in investment, competitiveness and wages. The model has some innovative features: It...

This paper addresses the issue of unanticipated incentives and related unintended consequences of monocular accounting as practiced in the context of the European Union's stability and growth pact. Specifically, the Maastricht treaty establishes criteria and rules to ensure budgetary discipline...

This paper analyzes the performative impact of the European Commission's model for estimating 'potential output', which is used as a yardstick for measuring the 'structural budget balance' of EU countries and, hence, is crucial for coordinating European fiscal policies. In pre-crisis years,...

This study discusses the challenges economic policy-makers in Europe have to cope with in order to ensure an economically prosperous and institutionally stable community of Member States of the European Union (EU). At the analytical level, we not only document a process of multi-dimensional...

This policy study asks to what extent large-scale public investment efforts could be a viable tool to provide the necessary infrastructure to break Europe's dependency on fossil fuel and carbon emissions more broadly. We estimate semi-structural VAR models for the EU27. These are used to study...

This study discusses the challenges that economic policy-makers in Europe have to cope with, in order to ensure an economically prosperous and institutionally stable community of Member States of the European Union (EU). At the analytical level, we not only document a process of...