The roots of the German miracle

Bryan Caplan deserves praise for calling on free market economists to pay more attention to the "grave evil" of unemployment. I fear, though, that he overstates what free market policies can contribute to solving the problem.

Sensationalist Silliness Several people asked me to comment on The Telegraph article Germany signals shift on €2.3 trillion redemption fund for Europe by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard. OK. Here goes. The headline is nothing but sensationalist silliness. There is no shift, and even if there was a shift, it could not possibly come in time.

Carlo Cottarelli, 20 April 2012As with austerity itself, the austerity debate shows no sign of disappearing any time soon. This column argues that the last thing that the world economy needs at this uncertain moment is a knee-jerk reaction from fiscal policy. While the column agrees that governments need to make cuts, it stresses they should not lose sight of the bigger picture. Full Article: The austerity debate: Make haste slowly

WHILE we're on the subject of just what it means to be European, let me direct your attention to this week's print edition, which contains a Special report on the euro crisis by The Economist's foreign editor, Ed Carr:

Nicolas Véron, 26 April 2011On 11 April, the Independent Commission on Banking in the UK, chaired by Oxford economist John Vickers, published its much-awaited interim report on reform options for British banking. This column argues that despite its critics, the policy proposals are a significant milestone not only for the UK, but for European and global banking reform.Full Article: Some progress in the banking reform debate

Morris Goldstein, Nicolas Véron, 14 April 2011Are banks too big to fail? This column suggests now is the time for Europeans to ask this question. It argues that given the potential risks to systemic stability, there is a case for policy action even in the absence of analytical certainty.Full Article: The EU should start a debate on too-big-to-fail

Assaf Razin, Efraim Sadka, 21 January 2011Does the free movement of factors of production lure tax authorities into a race to the bottom? This column argues that, when a group of host countries faces an upward supply of immigrants, tax competition does not lead to a race to the bottom; competition may actually lead to higher taxes than tax coordination.Full Article: Tax competition vs. tax coordination: Revisiting the debate

John H Cochrane, 7 December 2010In November this year, the US Federal Reserve began its new quantitative easing programme. The Fed will buy up to $600 billion in long-term government bonds, putting $600 billion of extra money in the economy. This column argues that now is not the time to be buying back long-term debt. With the current exceptionally low long-term rates, the US should be issuing it instead.Full Article: Sense and nonsense in the quantitative easing debate