IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bog/spaper/16.html

The euro area crisis: a view form the north

Author

Listed:
  • Seppo Honkapohja

    (Bank of Finland)

Abstract

The paper provides an overview of the sovereign debt crisis. I first consider the build-up of the crisis. I then discuss policy choices when a financial crisis erupts and assess the adjustment processes in the crisis countries, including alternatives to policies of austerity. Finally I take up institutional improvements that can help in resolving the current crisis and avoiding a future one. These include the banking union and the strengthened Stability and Growth Pact and related institutional rules. Current high levels of public and private debt together with still weak bank balance sheets are a major unsolved problem.

Suggested Citation

  • Seppo Honkapohja, 2013. "The euro area crisis: a view form the north," Special Conference Papers 16, Bank of Greece.
    • Handle: RePEc:bog:spaper:16
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.bankofgreece.gr/BogEkdoseis/SCP201316.pdf
    File Function: Full Text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andersen, Torben M. & Holmström, Bengt & Honkapohja, Seppo & Korkman, Sixten & Söderström Hans Tson, & Vartiainen, Juhana, . "The Nordic Model. Embracing globalization and sharing risks," ETLA B, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, number 232.
    2. Gros, Daniel, 2012. "Macroeconomic Imbalances in the Euro Area: Symptom or cause of the crisis?," CEPS Papers 6865, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    3. Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff, 2009. "Varieties of Crises and Their Dates," Introductory Chapters, in: This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly, Princeton University Press.
    4. Lars Jonoug & Jaakko Kiander & Pentti Vartia (ed.), 2009. "The Great Financial Crisis in Finland and Sweden," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13404.
    5. Gibson, Heather D. & Hall, Stephen G. & Tavlas, George S., 2014. "Fundamentally Wrong: Market Pricing of Sovereigns and the Greek Financial Crisis," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 405-419.
    6. Anabela Carneiro & Pedro Portugal & Jose Varejão, 2013. "Catastrophic Job Destruction," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 152, OECD Publishing.
    7. 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.
    8. Lars Jonung & Jaakko Kiander & Pentti Vartia, 2008. "The great financial crisis in Finland and Sweden - The dynamics of boom, bust and recovery, 1985-2000," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 350, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    9. Harris Dellas & Goerge Tavlas, 2012. "The road to Ithaca: the Gold Standard, the Euro and the origins of the Greek sovereign debt crisis," Working Papers 149, Bank of Greece.
    10. Mongelli, Francesco Paolo, 2013. "The mutating euro area crisis: is the balance between "sceptics" and "advocates" shifting?," Occasional Paper Series 144, European Central Bank.
    11. Gylfason, Thorvaldur & Holmström, Bengt & Korkman, Sixten & Söderström, Hans Tson & Vihriälä, Vesa, . "Nordics in Global Crisis. Vulnerability and resilience," ETLA B, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, number 242.
    12. Carmen M. Reinhart & M. Belen Sbrancia1, 2015. "The liquidation of government debt," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 30(82), pages 291-333.
    13. repec:rnp:ecopol:09111 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Honkapohja, Seppo, 2009. "The 1990's financial crises in Nordic countries," Research Discussion Papers 5/2009, Bank of Finland.
    15. Eichengreen, Barry & Jung, Naeun & Moch, Stephen & Mody, Ashoka, 2014. "The Eurozone Crisis: Phoenix Miracle or Lost Decade?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 288-308.
    16. Obstfeld, Maurice, 2013. "Finance at Center Stage: Some Lessons of the Euro Crisis," CEPR Discussion Papers 9415, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    17. Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff, 2009. "Is the 2007 US Sub-Prime Financial Crisis So Different?: An International Historical Comparison," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 56(3), pages 291-299.
    18. repec:rnp:ecopol:ep1254 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Ullrich, Katrin, 2006. "Market discipline and the use of government bonds as collateral in the EMU," ZEW Discussion Papers 06-046, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    20. Mongelli, Francesco Paolo, 2013. "The mutating euro area crisis: is the balance between "sceptics" and "advocates" shifting?," Occasional Paper Series 144, European Central Bank.
    21. Buiter, Willem & Sibert, Anne, 2005. "How the Eurosystem?s Treatment of Collateral in its Open Market Operations Weakens Fiscal Discipline in the Eurozone (and what," CEPR Discussion Papers 5387, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    22. Reichlin, Lucrezia, 2014. "Monetary Policy and Banks in the Euro Area: The Tale of Two Crises," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 387-400.
    23. George Provopoulos, 2013. "The Greek Economy and Banking System: Recent Developments and the Way Forward," Special Conference Papers 14, Bank of Greece.
    24. Honkapohja, Seppo, 2012. "The 1980s financial liberalization in the Nordic countries," Research Discussion Papers 36/2012, Bank of Finland.
    25. Polito, Vito & Wickens, Michael, 2014. "How the Euro Crisis Evolved and how to Avoid Another: EMU, Fiscal Policy and Credit Ratings," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 364-374.
    26. C. Randall Henning & Martin Kessler, 2012. "Fiscal Federalism: US History for Architects of Europe's Fiscal Union," Working Paper Series WP12-1, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    27. Michael Bordo & Harold James, 2013. "The European crisis in the context of the history of previous financial crises," Special Conference Papers 18, Bank of Greece.
    28. De Grauwe, Paul & Ji, Yuemei, 2014. "How much Fiscal Discipline in a Monetary Union?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 348-360.
    29. Gibson, Heather D. & Palivos, Theodore & Tavlas, George S., 2014. "The Crisis in the Euro Area: An Analytic Overview," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 233-239.
    30. Carneiro, Anabela & Portugal, Pedro & Varejão, José, 2014. "Catastrophic job Destruction during the Portuguese Economic Crisis," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 444-457.
    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. Brigitte Granville & Dominik Nagly, 2014. "Conflicting incentives for the public to support the EMU," Working Papers 50, Queen Mary, University of London, School of Business and Management, Centre for Globalisation Research.
    2. Valerio Filoso, Valerio & Panico, Carlo & Papagni, Erasmo & Francesco, Purificato & Vázquez Suarez, Marta, 2016. "Causes and timing of the European debt crisis: An econometric evaluation," MPRA Paper 75847, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Dimitras, Augustinos I. & Kyriakou, Maria I. & Iatridis, George, 2015. "Financial crisis, GDP variation and earnings management in Europe," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 338-354.
    4. Carlo Panico, Francesco Purificato, Elvira Sapienza, 2015. "Benefici, problemi e prospettive dell’integrazione monetaria in Europa (Benefits, issues and future of monetary integration in Europe)," Moneta e Credito, Economia civile, vol. 68(271), pages 305-339.
    5. Florian Morvillier, 2018. "On the impact of the launch of the euro on EMU macroeconomic vulnerability," EconomiX Working Papers 2018-51, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    6. Gibson, Heather D. & Palivos, Theodore & Tavlas, George S., 2014. "The Crisis in the Euro Area: An Analytic Overview," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 233-239.
    7. Florian Morvillier, 2018. "On the impact of the launch of the euro on EMU macroeconomic vulnerability," Working Papers hal-04141675, HAL.
    8. Robert L. Hetzel, 2016. "What Caused the Great Recession in the Eurozone?," Working Paper 16-10, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
    9. Juselius, Katarina & Dimelis, Sophia, 2019. "The Greek crisis: A story of self-reinforcing feedback mechanisms," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy, vol. 13, pages 1-22.
    10. Massimiliano Agovino & Massimiliano Cerciello & Aniello Ferraro & Antonio Garofalo, 2022. "A Regional Perspective on Social Exclusion in European Regions: Context, Trends and Policy Implications," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 8(2), pages 409-433, July.
    11. Yannis M. Ioannides, 2015. "Why Productivity Enhancing Reforms Will Help Greece Exit the Crisis and Usher in Long Run Growth," Discussion Papers Series, Department of Economics, Tufts University 0807, Department of Economics, Tufts University.
    12. Agliardi, Elettra & Pinar, Mehmet & Stengos, Thanasis, 2014. "A sovereign risk index for the Eurozone based on stochastic dominance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 375-384.
    13. CHIRIȚOIU Dorin Iulian & BURLACU Rodica, 2015. "Do Austerity Measures Harm International Trade?," European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Bucharest Economic Academy, issue 01, March.
    14. Andrea Vaona, 2015. "The price-price Phillips curve in small open economies and monetary unions: theory and empirics," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 281-307, June.
    15. Meier, Samira & Rodriguez Gonzalez, Miguel & Kunze, Frederik, 2021. "The global financial crisis, the EMU sovereign debt crisis and international financial regulation: lessons from a systematic literature review," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    16. Brigitte Granville & Dominik Nagly, 2015. "Conflicting Incentives for Public Support for EMU," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 83, pages 142-157, December.

    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. Polito, Vito & Wickens, Michael, 2014. "How the Euro Crisis Evolved and how to Avoid Another: EMU, Fiscal Policy and Credit Ratings," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 364-374.
    2. Whelan, Karl, 2014. "Ireland’s Economic Crisis: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 424-440.
    3. Eichengreen, Barry & Jung, Naeun & Moch, Stephen & Mody, Ashoka, 2014. "The Eurozone Crisis: Phoenix Miracle or Lost Decade?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 288-308.
    4. Carneiro, Anabela & Portugal, Pedro & Varejão, José, 2014. "Catastrophic job Destruction during the Portuguese Economic Crisis," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 444-457.
    5. Reichlin, Lucrezia, 2014. "Monetary Policy and Banks in the Euro Area: The Tale of Two Crises," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 387-400.
    6. Gibson, Heather D. & Hall, Stephen G. & Tavlas, George S., 2014. "Fundamentally Wrong: Market Pricing of Sovereigns and the Greek Financial Crisis," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 405-419.
    7. Honkapohja, Seppo, 2013. "The euro crisis : a view from the North," Research Discussion Papers 12/2013, Bank of Finland.
    8. Honkapohja, Seppo, 2013. "The euro crisis: a view from the North," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 12/2013, Bank of Finland.
    9. van Riet, Ad, 2015. "Market-preserving fiscal federalism in the European Monetary Union," MPRA Paper 77772, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Gibson, Heather D. & Palivos, Theodore & Tavlas, George S., 2014. "The Crisis in the Euro Area: An Analytic Overview," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 233-239.
    11. Honkapohja, Seppo, 2014. "Financial crises: Lessons from the Nordic experience," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 13(C), pages 193-201.
    12. Carmen M. Reinhart & Takeshi Tashiro, . "Crowding out redefined: the role of reserve accumulation," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    13. William R. White, 2013. "Is Monetary Policy a Science? The Interaction of Theory and Practice over the Last 50 Years," SUERF 50th Anniversary Volume Chapters, in: Morten Balling & Ernest Gnan (ed.), 50 Years of Money and Finance: Lessons and Challenges, chapter 3, pages 73-116, SUERF - The European Money and Finance Forum.
    14. Corrado Macchiarelli, 2018. "What is the EU-UK relation all about? Tracking the path from monetary integration to “ever closeness”," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 137, European Institute, LSE.
    15. Agliardi, Elettra & Pinar, Mehmet & Stengos, Thanasis, 2014. "A sovereign risk index for the Eurozone based on stochastic dominance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 375-384.
    16. Jakob de Haan & Jeroen Hessel & Niels Gilbert, 2014. "Reforming the architecture of EMU: Ensuring stability in Europe," DNB Working Papers 446, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    17. Jean Pisani-Ferry, 2012. "The Euro crisis and the new impossible trinity," Bruegel Policy Contributions 674, Bruegel.
    18. Michael D. Bordo, 2017. "An Historical Perspective on the Quest for Financial Stability and the Monetary Policy Regime," NBER Working Papers 24154, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Carmen M. Reinhart, 2013. "Asia Chartbook: Crises, Credit and Debt, 1835-2013," NBER Working Papers 19655, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Machinea, José Luis, 2010. "A crise financeira internacional: sua naturaleza e os desafios da política econômica," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E65 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Studies of Particular Policy Episodes
    • F36 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Financial Aspects of Economic Integration

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:bog:spaper:16. 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: Anastasios Rizos (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/boggvgr.html .

    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.