Opinion pieces

The IMF's big Greek mistake

The Greek government's mounting financial woes are leading it to contemplate the previously unthinkable: defaulting on a loan from the International M

Ashoka Mody

Pessimistic views of China’s economy are unconvincing

In late 2001, I first used the phrase BRIC to discuss the likely rise of Brazil, Russia, India and China as growing shares of the world economy and ou

Jim O‘Neill

European banking supervisor should limit banks’ exposure to all eurozone governments, not just Greece

The Single Supervisory Mechanism's decision to impose limits on Greek banks’ holdings of government debt has been criticised for putting und

Guntram B. Wolff

European Monetary Union

Guntram Wollf answers the 11 questions submitted by the Commission president to the member states.

Making space for China

Jim O‘Neill

A new start for Greece

Greece's new government under prime minister Alexis Tsipras – in power for not even two weeks – has had a rollercoaster ride. In the face of crisis, i

Guntram B. Wolff

Obama joins the Greek chorus

US President Barack Obama’s recent call to ease the austerity imposed on Greece is remarkable – and not only for his endorsement of the newly elected

Ashoka Mody

Two cheers for the new normal

The conventional wisdom about the state of the world economy goes something like this: Since the start of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the develope

Jim O‘Neill

Greece and the euro area need a deal within days, not months

International press informs us that the Greek government believes it has weeks or perhaps months to negotiate a new deal with its creditors. The basic

Guntram B. Wolff

Retaking the Greek Test

For about five years now, Greece has been giving the euro area authorities a test in economics and politics. The test must be retaken until the author

Ashoka Mody

Die EZB ist verpflichtet, ihr Mandat zu erfüllen

Die Sorgen über die Auswirkungen und die Effektivität des Programms sind groß. Die EZB muss vorsichtig die Kosten und Risiken – vor allem die Umvertei

Guntram B. Wolff and Marcel Fratzscher

Sovereign QE and national central banks

Inflation continues to fall. The first outright deflation numbers since 2009 have been recorded and inflation expectations are clearly dis-anchored. I

Guntram B. Wolff

Kohl’s Euro

The great challenge today is to undo the legacy of Kohl’s rhetoric. Breaking up the euro is too costly. Thus the task is to weaken the ties that bind

Ashoka Mody

Greece to the Eurozone’s Rescue

With Greece, the mistakes were legion. But a fresh start is now possible. Forgive the troika’s Greek debt. With a primary surplus—fiscal revenues abov

Ashoka Mody

Has a stronger renminbi contributed to financial tightening?

The People’s Bank of China (PBC), the Chinese central bank, finally cut its benchmark interest rates on 21 November, after easing its policy in a shad

Guonan Ma

Emerging markets mock the pessimists

Remember this time last year, when it was fashionable to predict that 2014 would be a pretty bad year for emerging markets?  Didn't really happen

Jim O‘Neill