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Inside the Euro crisis: an eyewitness account

The problems inherent in the Eurozone formation were foreseen by many economic experts over the years. But when the Eurozone sovereign debt and banking crisis engulfed the region in 2010, the policy response was often chaotic, short-sighted and hampered by political and ideological constraints. By now, the euro area has stabilized, but many of the long-term problems remain. In his book Inside the Euro Crisis: An Eyewitness Account, Simeon Djankov argues that the costs of the crisis were higher than needed, and that the Eurozone is far from out of danger. Inside the Euro Crisis offers suggestions for repairing the damage and minimizing the chances of crises in the future.

Speakers

  • Simeon Djankov, Visiting Fellow at the Peterson and former deputy prime minister and minister of finance of Bulgaria
  • Ashoka Mody, Visiting Professor at the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University and Visiting Fellow at Bruegel
  • Chair: Guntram Wolff, Director of Bruegel

About the speakers

Simeon Djankov, visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, was deputy prime minister and minister of finance of Bulgaria from 2009 to 2013. In this capacity, he represented his country at the Ecofin meetings of finance ministers in Brussels. Prior to his cabinet appointment, Djankov was chief economist of the finance and private sector vice presidency of the World Bank. In his 14 years at the Bank, he worked on regional trade agreements in North Africa, enterprise restructuring and privatization in transition economies, corporate governance in East Asia, and regulatory reforms around the world. He is the founder of the World Bank's Doing Business project. He is the principal author of the World Development Report 2002. Djankov is rector of the New Economic School in Russia and a visiting lecturer at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He was associate editor of the Journal of Comparative Economics from 2004 to 2009 and chairman of the Board of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 2012–13. He is also a member of the Knowledge and Advisory Council at the World Bank. He has published over 70 articles in professional journals. He obtained his doctorate in economics in 1997 from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

Ashoka Mody is Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor in International Economic Policy at the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. Previously, he was Deputy Director in the International Monetary Fund’s Research and European Departments. He was responsible for the IMF’s Article IV consultations with Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, and Hungary, and also for the design of Ireland's financial rescue program. Earlier, at the World Bank, his management positions included those in Project Finance and Guarantees and in the Prospects Group, where he coordinated and was principal author of the Global Development Finance Report of 2001. He has advised governments worldwide on developmental and financial projects and policies, while writing extensively for policy and scholarly audiences. Mody has been a Member of Staff at AT&T’s Bell Laboratories, a Research Associate at the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He is a non-resident fellow at the Center for Financial Studies, Frankfurt and the Center for Global Government, Washington D.C. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Boston University.

Event materials

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Practical details

  • Venue: Bruegel, Rue de la Charité 33, 1210 Brussels
  • Time: Thursday 3 July, 8.30-10.00
  • Contact: Matilda Sevón, Events Manager - [email protected]