“An
array of Nobel economists have launched a blistering attack on the
eurozone’s economic strategy, warning that contractionary policies
risk years of depression and a fresh eruption of the debt crisis.”
“'Historians
are going to tar and feather Europe’s central bankers,' said
Professor Peter Diamond, the world’s leading expert on
unemployment.”
“'Young
people in Spain and Italy who hit the job market in this recession
are going to be affected for decades. It is a terrible outcome, and
it is surprising how little uproar there has been over policies that
are so stunningly destructive,' he told The Telegraph at a gathering
of Nobel laureates at Lake Constance.”
“Professor
Joseph Stiglitz said austerity policies had been a 'disastrous
failure' and are directly responsible for the failed recovery over
the first half of this year, with Italy falling into a triple-dip
recession, France registering zero growth and even Germany
contracting in the second quarter.”
“Mr
Stiglitz said the eurozone authorities had massively underestimated
the contractionary effects of austerity and continue to persist in
error despite claims that the crisis is over. 'I am very concerned
about the future of monetary union, and they haven’t yet felt the
impact of geopolitical tensions.'”
“Professor
Christopher Sims, a U.S. expert on monetary policy, said EMU policy
makers had not sorted out the basic design flaws in monetary union,
and are driving Club Med nations into deeper trouble by imposing
pro-cyclical austerity. 'If I were advising Greece, Portugal or even
Spain, I would tell them to prepare contingency plans to leave the
euro. There is no point being in EMU if all that happens when you are
hit with a shock is that the shock gets worse,' [...] 'It would be
very costly to leave the euro, a form of default, but staying in the
euro is also very costly for these countries. The Europeans have
created a system that is worse than the Gold Standard. Countries are
in the same position as Latin American states that borrowed in
dollars,' he said.”
Comments
Post a Comment