dinsdag 8 september 2009

Werk en onderwijs!


A Power Station in Your Basement

Read the complete article in Der Spiegel international here.

Keynes at Home, Smith Abroad

Domestic stimulus spills over to protectionism. Read the complete article in the WSJ here.

Towards the integrated measurement and management of market and credit risk: The dangers of compounding versus diversification

The financial crisis has exposed serious weaknesses in risk measurement and management practices. This column argues for both market practitioners and their supervisors to make concerted efforts to achieve a more integrated measurement and management of different forms of risk.
Read the full article here.

De enige winnaar van de crisis

.... het milieu...

Lees dit artikel van G. Noels hier.

Bonus : "Aux Etats-Unis, toute ingérence sera perçue comme totalitaire"

Les membres du G20 vont se réunir et présenter leurs résolutions sur les bonus du secteur bancaire. Européens et Américains divergent sur la réglementation de ces derniers. Un consensus est-il envisageable ?
Lisez l'article complet ici.

maandag 7 september 2009

Milieuvriendelijk beleid!


How Did Economists Get It So Wrong?

Read Krugman's article here.

La hausse du forfait hospitalier, une "piste parmi d'autres" étudiées par l'Etat

Le gouvernement envisage d'augmenter le forfait hospitalier de 25 % et de baisser le remboursement de certains médicaments, affirme le Journal du Dimanche daté du dimanche 6 septembre. Ces mesures devraient être inscrites dans le projet de budget 2010 de la sécurité sociale, "pour freiner le dérapage de l'assurance-maladie", écrit le quotidien.
Lisez l'article complet ici.

Eurozone stimulus: A myth, some facts, and impact estimates

Eurozone governments have engaged in substantial fiscal stimulus. This column argues against further fiscal measures, claiming that forward-looking firms and households will cut their expenditure in response to governmental expansions. It warns that further fiscal efforts risk eroding financial and monetary policies that are combating the crisis.
Read the complete article here.

vrijdag 4 september 2009

Firefighters Become Medics to the Poor

"Among the hidden costs of the health care crisis is the burden that fire departments across the country are facing as firefighters, much like emergency room doctors, are increasingly serving as primary care providers." Read the complete article in the NYTimes here.

The improbable 2°C global warming target

Mitigating global warning is a pressing and daunting task for the world’s major economies. This column says that the 2°C target set by G8 leaders is both politically and technologically unrealistic. It argues they must adopt more realistic targets and long-term commitments to adaptation plans.
Read the full article here.

Systemic risk and deposit insurance premiums

Financial institutions enjoy a large number of government guarantees. This column says that we ought to be charging banks for such subsidies and doing so in a way that promotes financial stability. It uses the example of demand deposit insurance in the US to explore the poor design of funding for such guarantees.
Read the full article here.

The crisis and citizens’ trust in central banks

Most observers agree that central banks can claim partial credit for the stabilisation that have been achieved and the prospect of a recovery. This column warns that the general public seems to hold a completely different opinion; trust in central banks has declined and the reaction of central banks to the crisis is generally judged as unsatisfactory. Central bankers all over the world should redouble their efforts to regain the trust of the people towards their institution.
Read the full article here.

Moeten de banken de crisis betalen?

Moeten de banken de crisis betalen? Dat lijkt IVAN VAN DE CLOOT niet onrechtvaardig. Als we een manier vinden om banken correct te laten betalen voor het risico dat ze afwentelen op de maatschappij, zou ons financiële systeem daar zelfs wel bij varen.
Lees het volledige artikel hier.

donderdag 3 september 2009

When carbon is priced, who ultimately pays?

Read the complete article here.

Sustaining a Global Recovery

"How much has potential output decreased? It is very hard to tell: we do not see potential output, only actual output. The historical evidence is worrisome, however. The IMF’s forthcoming World Economic Outlook presents evidence from 88 banking crises over the past four decades in a wide range of countries. While there is large variation across countries, the conclusion is that, on average, output does not go back to its old trend path, but remains permanently below it.

The possible good news is that the trend itself appears to be unaffected: on average, crises permanently decrease the level of output, but not its growth rate. So, if past is prologue, the world economy likely will return to its past growth rate. But, especially in advanced countries, the period of above-average growth, characteristic of normal recoveries, may be short-lived or nonexistent."

Read Olivier Blanchard's article here.

Being an economist

A slow-burning fuse

Age is creeping up on the world, and any moment now it will begin to show. The consequences will be scary, says Barbara Beck. Read the complete special report in The Economist here.

Health Care That Works

Read the complete op-ed in the NYTimes here.

Illusions chinoises

Lisez l'article complet dans Les Echos ici.

Daar is Tobin weer

DE STANDAARD ANALYSE — 'De banken hebben de crisis veroorzaakt, en zij moeten dus ook maar opdraaien voor de gevolgen ervan.' Dat ABVV-voorzitter Rudy De Leeuw gisteren in De Morgen, pleitte voor de invoering van een crisisbelasting op de banken, zal niemand echt verbazen. Maar dat minister van Financiën en MR-voorzitter Didier Reynders zich in Le Soir duidelijk voorstander toonde van de invoering van een soort algemene taks op financiële transacties, klonk al heel wat verrassender.
Lees het volledige artikel hier.

Effets économiques d'une régularisation des sans-papiers en Belgique

Consultez le rapport de l'IRES à ce sujet ici.

woensdag 2 september 2009

A Tale of Two Depressions

This is an update of the authors' 4 June and 6 April 2009 columns comparing today's global crisis to the Great Depression. World industrial production, trade, and stock markets are now showing signs of recovery. Still – today's crisis remains dramatic by the standards of the Great Depression.
Read the full article here.

Banking crises and exports: Lessons from the past

Both financial turmoil and falling demand have hit exporters hard. This column confirms the importance of financing problems by showing that sectors relatively more dependent on external finance suffer larger export drops during banking crises.
Read the full article here.

Duaalflatie iemand ?

Eén van de onuitputtelijke discussies vandaag tussen economen is die over de dreiging van inflatie versus deflatie. ...
Lees het volledige artikel hier.

De begroting: naar een nieuwe energiebelasting ? - update

Update: Deze ochtend lees ik dat de regering nu al rekening houdt met een tekort van 25 miljard euro. Alhoewel dat allerminst een verrassing zou mogen zijn (op deze blog hadden we het al verschillende keren over de horrorshow die de begroting is). We zijn de jaren '70 aan het herhalen.
Lees G. Noëls opiniestuk hier.

Contrer la récidive bancaire, par Martin Wolf

Il en faudrait peu pour que les banques aient à nouveau les mains libres ; c'est en tout cas l'impression que l'on a.

Lisez l'article complet ici.

dinsdag 1 september 2009

FEB: livret statistique 2009

Consultez ce rapport ici.

How Does the Quality of U.S. Health Care Compare Internationally?

This paper shows that the U.S. health care system does relatively well in some areas, including cancer care, and less well in others, such as coordinated management of chronic conditions. Rather than compromise currently excellent care, health reform can only help, the authors conclude.
Read this paper here.

Test Scores and Biological Father's Income

Read the related comments here.

La crise financière, un an après

Lisez l'article dans Les Echos ici.

maandag 31 augustus 2009

La Belgique est le dernier bastion de l'indexation des salaires sur les prix

Lisez l'article complet dans Le Monde ici.

New Poll Finds Most Americans Continue To Support Moving Ahead With Health Care Reform Now

Read Kaiser's Health Tracking here.

Central banks can adapt to life below zero

The zero lower bound is one of the great myths of monetary economics. It is the statement that interest rates cannot fall below zero, for otherwise people would hoard cash. Generations of central bankers have treated it as the equivalent of zero degrees Kelvin, the lowest theoretically possible temperature. ....
Read the full article here.

Financiële sector: waar staan we een jaar later?

Wij zijn intussen al twee jaar na de start van de financiële crisis. Vandaag is er een enorme puinhoop van financiële verliezen, ontspoorde staatsfinanciën en ontwrichte balansen. Maar er is recent ook een sfeertje ontstaan. De markten beginnen hun gewoonten weer op te pikken. Banken draaien een bladzijde om. Men wil de oude gewoonten weer oppakken.
Lees het artikel hier.

vrijdag 28 augustus 2009

The Least Surprising Correlation of All Time

Read the full article here.

Pourquoi Obama reconduit Bernanke à la tête de la Fed

Ben Bernanke, nommé président de la Federal Reserve par George W. Bush, ne partait pas gagnant avec le nouveau président US. Barack Obama l'a pourtant reconduit pour un nouveau mandat de quatre ans. Portrait de cette figure-clé de l'économie américaine, en 3 forces et 3 faiblesses.
Lisez l'article complet ici.

Va t'il falloir imposer aux professionnels de santé de se faire vacciner contre la grippe A(H1N1) ?

Lisez l'article complet ici.

Ecole de la réussite: compétence non acquise!

Lettre ouverte à nos représentants politiques, aux représentants des parents, aux organisations syndicales des enseignants, à la presse, à quiconque se soucie de l'avenir de l'école.
Lisez l'article complet ici.