Political Economy

Below is the statement released by euro area governments in support of the policy approach spearheaded by Angela Merkel and Nicholas Sarkozy to deal with the European sovereign debt crisis.

Frederick Sheehan writes that the purpose of this dispatch is to dispel rumors that current front-page treaty talks have any economic meaning. The European and U.S. stock markets react with a 3% or 4% gain after vague announcements, but we…

The following letter from the German Chancellor and the French President was addressed to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy

Here are a few code words that you will often see in economic writing followed by their true meaning. The code word is a dog whistle. It acts like an emotional marker only for those attuned to the underlying 'moral' issues inferred by the…

Michael Hudson was on RT's Capital Account with Lauren Lyster, speaking about the loss of democracy that has accompanied the global financial crisis. The video is below, but recently Michael also wrote two articles for the Frankfurter…

Germany and France are pushing for treaty changes. Under normal conditions treaty changes are a long drawn out process, subject to horse trading and vulnerable to domestic political considerations and the outcome is far from guaranteed.…

This appropriation of the economic surplus to pay bankers is turning the traditional values of most Europeans upside down. Imposition of economic austerity, dismantling social spending, sell-offs of public assets, de-unionization of labor,…

What must the summit produce in order to address these and help solve the Europe crisis once and for all? The answer is very much in keeping with Wolfgang Munchau’s excellent take in his column in yesterday’s FT. Hopes have coalesced around…

Debt and Democracy: Has the Link been Broken?

Italy's government has come forward with an aggressive 30 billion euro austerity package to prevent the country's bankrupcty and pave the way for the fiscal integration that Angela Merkel is pushing as the key to solving the European debt…