Does the euro need a state? Not necessarily. EMU could be built along the lines of a gold standard, where • the supply of central bank money by the ECB is inflexible (as a result of a link to gold or a fixed “k-percent-rule” of central bank money expansion); • sight deposits in a certain...

In dem 1968 erschienenen Film von Alexander Kluge ('Die Artisten in der Zirkuskuppel: ratlos'), der mich zu dem Titel für die heutige Vorlesung inspiriert hat, geht es um die Verwirklichung einer noch nie da gewesenen Zirkusnummer gegen alle Widrigkeiten. Als das Projekt schließlich machbar...

A popular view is that the “light” regulation of the financial industry during the 1990s and early 2000s allowed the financial excesses and the rise in indebtedness that eventually caused the financial crisis. Those who hold this view want regulation to be tightened to prevent another crisis...

Financial repression committed by central banks has been put forward as a means to secretly reduce the real burden of high public debts. Financial repression has allegedly played an important role in the impressive reduction of the US debt ratio after World War II. A mix of conventional budget...