IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/epolit/v38y2021i3d10.1007_s40888-021-00236-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Europe, public debts, and safe assets: the scope for a European Debt Agency

Author

Listed:
  • Massimo Amato

    (Bocconi University)

  • Everardo Belloni

    (Politecnico di Milano SoM)

  • Paolo Falbo

    (University of Brescia)

  • Lucio Gobbi

    (University of Trento)

Abstract

The Covid-19 crisis has radically changed the game for world and EU-economies, and urged for a reappraisal of the guidelines for a healthy management of public expenditure. This requires a deep rethinking of the role of public debt in modern capitalistic economies and of efficient, equitable and politically viable ways of financing it. This paper outlines the main operating framework of a Debt Agency tasked with the management of the Eurozone sovereign debts and the creation of a truly European safe asset. The framework leverages on the potential irredeemable nature of sovereign debts in order to build a common bond. By structurally filtering liquidity risk, the Debt Agency can price the Member States’ funding costs by referring only to their credit risk, as defined by EU agreed rules. The common bond issued by the Debt Agency thus avoids mutualisation by design; hence, it can be directly bought by the ECB. Due to its structural intertemporal sustainability, the Debt Agency’s framework delineated in this paper can serve as a benchmark for institutional and political decisions. In this perspective, a counterfactual exercise has been conducted in order to evaluate the future potential impact of the Debt Agency as well as the past distortions in market pricing of Member States’ fundamental risk due to market mispricing of the liquidity risk.

Suggested Citation

  • Massimo Amato & Everardo Belloni & Paolo Falbo & Lucio Gobbi, 2021. "Europe, public debts, and safe assets: the scope for a European Debt Agency," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 38(3), pages 823-861, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:epolit:v:38:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s40888-021-00236-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s40888-021-00236-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40888-021-00236-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s40888-021-00236-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Luca Fornaro & Martin Wolf, 2020. "Covid-19 coronavirus and macroeconomic policy," Economics Working Papers 1713, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    2. Giudice, Gabriele & de Manuel Aramendía, Mirzha & Kontolemis, Zenon & Monteiro, Daniel P., 2019. "A European safe asset to complement national government bonds," MPRA Paper 95748, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Fabio Panetta & Paolo Angelini & Ugo Albertazzi & Francesco Columba & Wanda Cornacchia & Antonio Di Cesare & Andrea Pilati & Carmelo Salleo & Giovanni Santini, 2009. "Financial sector pro-cyclicality: lessons from the crisis," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 44, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    4. Olivier Blanchard & Emiliano Brancaccio, 2019. "Crisis and Revolution in Economic Theory and Policy: A Debate," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(2), pages 271-287, April.
    5. Ricardo J Caballero & Emmanuel Farhi, 2018. "The Safety Trap," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 85(1), pages 223-274.
    6. Markus K. Brunnermeier & Sam Langfield & Marco Pagano & Ricardo Reis & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh & Dimitri Vayanos, 2017. "ESBies: safety in the tranches," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 32(90), pages 175-219.
    7. Galí, Jordi, 2020. "The effects of a money-financed fiscal stimulus," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 1-19.
    8. Olivier J. Blanchard & Daniel Leigh, 2013. "Growth Forecast Errors and Fiscal Multipliers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 117-120, May.
    9. Olivier J. Blanchard & Lawrence H. Summers, 2017. "Rethinking Stabilization Policy: Evolution or Revolution?," NBER Working Papers 24179, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Beetsma, Roel & Cima, Simone & Cimadomo, Jacopo, 2018. "A minimal moral hazard central stabilisation capacity for the EMU based on world trade," CEPR Discussion Papers 12600, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Fatás, Antonio & Summers, Lawrence H., 2018. "The permanent effects of fiscal consolidations," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 238-250.
    12. Mr. Ashoka Mody & Mr. Stijn Claessens & Mr. Shahin Vallée, 2012. "Paths to Eurobonds," IMF Working Papers 2012/172, International Monetary Fund.
    13. Morelli, Pierluigi & Seghezza, Elena, 2021. "Why was the ECB’s reaction to Covid-19 crisis faster than after the 2008 financial crash?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 1-14.
    14. Nicoletta Batini & Francesco Lamperti & Andrea Roventini, 2020. "Reducing Risk While Sharing It: A Fiscal Recipe for The EU at the Time of COVID-19," IMF Working Papers 2020/181, International Monetary Fund.
    15. Ricardo J. Caballero & Emmanuel Farhi & Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, 2017. "The Safe Assets Shortage Conundrum," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(3), pages 29-46, Summer.
    16. Carnazza, Giovanni & Liberati, Paolo, 2021. "The asymmetric impact of the pandemic crisis on interest rates on public debt in the Eurozone," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 521-542.
    17. De Grauwe, Paul & Ji, Yuemei, 2018. "How safe is a safe asset?," CEPS Papers 13472, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    18. Giovanni Dosi & Marcello Minenna & Andrea Roventini & Roberto Violi, 2021. "Making the Eurozone work: a risk-sharing reform of the European Stability Mechanism," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 299(1), pages 617-657, April.
    19. Helge Berger & Giovanni Dell’Ariccia & Maurice Obstfeld, 2019. "Revisiting the Economic Case for Fiscal Union in the Euro Area," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 67(3), pages 657-683, September.
    20. Nathaniel G Arnold & Bergljot B Barkbu & H. Elif Ture & Hou Wang & Jiaxiong Yao, 2018. "A Central Fiscal Stabilization Capacity for the Euro Area," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 18/03, International Monetary Fund.
    21. Zettelmeyer, Jeromin & Leandro, Ã lvaro, 2018. "The Search for a Euro Area Safe Asset," CEPR Discussion Papers 12793, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    22. Mr. Nathaniel G Arnold & Ms. Bergljot B Barkbu & H. Elif Ture & Hou Wang & Jiaxiong Yao, 2018. "A Central Fiscal Stabilization Capacity for the Euro Area," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 2018/003, International Monetary Fund.
    23. Karsten Wendorff & Alexander Mahle, 2015. "Staatsanleihen neu ausgestalten – für eine stabilitätsorientierte Währungsunion," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 95(9), pages 604-608, September.
    24. Gary Gereffi, 2020. "What does the COVID-19 pandemic teach us about global value chains? The case of medical supplies," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(3), pages 287-301, September.
    25. Jakob von Weizsäcker & Jacques Delpla, 2010. "The Blue Bond Proposal," Policy Briefs 403, Bruegel.
    26. Sony Kapoor & Willem Buiter, 2020. "To fight the COVID pandemic, policymakers must move fast and break taboos," Vox eBook Chapters, in: AgneÌ€s BeÌ nassy-QueÌ reÌ & Beatrice Weder di Mauro (ed.), Europe in the Time of Covid-19, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 1, pages 250-254, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    27. Paniagua, Jordi & Sapena, Juan & Tamarit, Cecilio, 2017. "Sovereign debt spreads in EMU: The time-varying role of fundamentals and market distrust," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 187-206.
    28. Silvia Merler & Jean Pisani-Ferry, 2012. "Sudden Stops in the Euro Area," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 3(3).
    29. Angel Ubide, 2015. "Stability Bonds for the Euro Area," Policy Briefs PB15-19, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    30. Francesco Giavazzi & Guido Tabellini, 2020. "Covid Perpetual Eurobonds: Jointly guaranteed and supported by the ECB," Vox eBook Chapters, in: AgneÌ€s BeÌ nassy-QueÌ reÌ & Beatrice Weder di Mauro (ed.), Europe in the Time of Covid-19, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 1, pages 235-239, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    31. Gary Gereffi, 0. "What does the COVID-19 pandemic teach us about global value chains? The case of medical supplies," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 0, pages 1-15.
    32. Matteo Salto & Stefano Zedda & Stefan Zeugner, 2020. "Using Supra-Covered Bonds to Enhance Liquidity in the Euro Area: Assessment of Advantages for the Banking Sector," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-10, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Massimo Amato & Francesco Saraceno, 2022. "Squaring the circle: How to guarantee fiscal space and debt sustainability with a European Debt Agency," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03554212, HAL.
    2. Francesco Saraceno, 2021. "The Return of Fiscal Policy: Eurozone Macroeconomic Governance after Covid," Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi. An Interdisciplinary Journal of Economics, History and Political Science, Fondazione Luigi Einaudi, Torino (Italy), vol. 55(2), pages 191-208, December.
    3. Massimo Amato & Francesco Saraceno, 2022. "Squaring the circle: How to guarantee fiscal space and debt sustainability with a European Debt Agency," Working Papers hal-03554212, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nicoletta Batini & Francesco Lamperti & Andrea Roventini, 2020. "Reducing risk while sharing it: a fiscal recipe for the EU at the time of COVID-19," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-04090084, HAL.
    2. Álvaro Leandro & Jeromin Zettelmeyer, 2019. "Creating a Euro area safe asset without mutualizing risk (much)," Capital Markets Law Journal, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(4), pages 488-517.
    3. Philip R. Lane, 2021. "The Resilience of the Euro," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 3-22, Spring.
    4. Sam Langfield, 2020. "Bridge over Troubled Monetary Union: A Reply to De Grauwe & Ji," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(S1), pages 1-10, September.
    5. Spyros Alogoskoufis & Sam Langfield, 2020. "Regulating the Doom Loop," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 16(4), pages 251-292, September.
    6. Sascha Buetzer, 2022. "Advancing the Monetary Policy Toolkit through Outright Transfers," IMF Working Papers 2022/087, International Monetary Fund.
    7. Jean Pisani-Ferry, 2018. "Euro area reform: An anatomy of the debate," Post-Print hal-03391908, HAL.
    8. Bofinger, Peter & Feld, Lars P. & Schmidt, Christoph M. & Schnabel, Isabel & Wieland, Volker, 2018. "Vor wichtigen wirtschaftspolitischen Weichenstellungen. Jahresgutachten 2018/19 [Setting the Right Course for Economic Policy. Annual Report 2018/19]," Annual Economic Reports / Jahresgutachten, German Council of Economic Experts / Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung, volume 127, number 201819.
    9. Celso José Costa Jr & Alejandro Garcia-Cintado & Karlo Marques, 2020. "Conventional macroeconomic policies and the pandemic-driven recession," Working Papers 20.03, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Economics.
    10. Costa Junior, Celso J. & Garcia-Cintado, Alejandro C. & Junior, Karlo Marques, 2021. "Macroeconomic policies and the pandemic-driven recession," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 438-465.
    11. Vítor Constâncio, 2020. "The return of fiscal policy and the euro area fiscal rule," Working Papers REM 2020/0127, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa.
    12. Jörg Bibow, 2013. "Lost at Sea: The Euro Needs a Euro Treasury," IMK Studies 35-2013, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    13. Roberta Capello & Andrea Caragliu, 2021. "Regional growth and disparities in a post‐COVID Europe: A new normality scenario," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 710-727, September.
    14. Markus K. Brunnermeier & Sam Langfield & Marco Pagano & Ricardo Reis & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh & Dimitri Vayanos, 2017. "ESBies: safety in the tranches," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 32(90), pages 175-219.
    15. Beetsma, Roel & Cimadomo, Jacopo & van Spronsen, Josha, 2022. "One scheme fits all: a central fiscal capacity for the EMU targeting eurozone, national and regional shocks," Working Paper Series 2666, European Central Bank.
    16. Jean Pisani-Ferry, 2018. "Euro area reform: An anatomy of the debate," SciencePo Working papers hal-03391908, HAL.
    17. European Fiscal Board (EFB), 2020. "2020 annual report of the European Fiscal Board," Annual reports 2020, European Fiscal Board.
    18. Jean Pisani-Ferry, 2018. "Euro area reform: An anatomy of the debate," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/4qcei72ijt9, Sciences Po.
    19. Matteo Salto & Stefano Zedda & Stefan Zeugner, 2020. "Using Supra-Covered Bonds to Enhance Liquidity in the Euro Area: Assessment of Advantages for the Banking Sector," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-10, November.
    20. Vítor Constâncio, 2020. "The Return of Fiscal Policy and the Euro Area Fiscal Rule," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 62(3), pages 358-372, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    European Debt Agency; Safe asset; Eurobonds; Public debt; Perpetual loans;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G2 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt
    • H81 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - Governmental Loans; Loan Guarantees; Credits; Grants; Bailouts

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:epolit:v:38:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s40888-021-00236-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.