by: Seppo Honkapohja, Frank Westermann

Designing the European Model
By Seppo Honkapohja, Frank Westermann

•Publisher:   Palgrave Macmillan
•Number Of Pages:   304
•Publication Date:   2009-06-15
•ISBN-10 / ASIN:   023054701X
•ISBN-13 / EAN:   9780230547018
Product Description:

This book examines existing problems in the European economy, focusing on labour markets, including labour market reform and outsourcing, as well as macroeconomic issues, such as macroeconomic stabilization in the Euro area and convergence and divergence in economic growth in the EU. The book also looks at rethinking subsidiarity in the EU, financial architecture and competition policy.
While the European Union has been hailed as a major political success in the last five decades, it continues to face numerous economic and social concerns. With enlargements and changing international environments the Union is confronted with new challenges. Problems have arisen from new global economic developments, such as outsourcing of productive activities and the international macroeconomic imbalances. These issues include unemployment problems, slow growth performance of many EU countries, the formulation of appropriate macroeconomic policies, policies towards enlargement of the Union to institutional design and structural policies for the EU.
The fourteen articles in this book are divided into three parts. The first part is devoted to labour market issues covering reforms from welfare systems to pay-setting and longer working hours. The second part considers European macroeconomic issues including the fiscal policy framework for the EU, growth performance of EU-15 economies and global imbalances and their effects on Europe. The third part of the book is focused at institutional issues, including the subsidiary principle, European education systems, coming problems in European pension systems, and the functioning of the financial system and competition policy in Europe. Written jointly by a group of well-known independent economic experts, this book offers an in-depth economic analysis that aims to discuss and suggest effective solutions to current concerns in European policy.
List of Contents
List of Figures vi
List of Tables viii
List of Boxes xi
Preface xii
Members of the EEAG xiii
Introduction 1
Part I Labour Markets
1 Welfare to Work (from the 2002 EEAG Report) 35
2 Labour Market Reform in Europe (from the 2004 EEAG Report) 61
3 Pay-setting Systems in Europe: Ongoing Developments and
Possible Reforms (from the 2004 EEAG Report) 82
4 Outsourcing (from the 2005 EEAG Report) 122
5 Longer Working Hours – The Beginning of
a New Trend? (from the 2005 EEAG Report) 144
Part II Macroeconomic Issues
6 Fiscal Policy and Macroeconomic Stabilisation in the Euro Area:
Possible Reforms of the Stability and Growth Pact and National
Decision-Making Processes (from the 2003 EEAG Report) 177
7 Acceding Countries: The Road to
the Euro (from the 2004 EEAG Report) 229
8 Economic Growth in the European Union (from the
2006 EEAG Report) 259
9 Global Imbalances (from the 2006 EEAG Report) 296
Part III Institutions
10 Rethinking Subsidiarity in the EU:
Economic Principles (from the 2003 EEAG Report) 331
11 Financial Architecture (from the 2003 EEAG Report) 366
12 Pensions and Children (from the 2005 EEAG Report) 399
13 Prospects for Education Policy in Europe
(from the 2006 EEAG Report) 447
14 Mergers and Competition Policy in
Europe (from the 2006 EEAG Report) 469
Index 497
Author Biography

SEPPO HONKAPOHJA is a Professor of International Macroeconomics at the University of Cambridge, UK. He was previously Professor of Economics at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He has published extensively in economics journals and is author of the Book Learning and Expectations in Macroeconomics, with George W. Evans. In 2002-2007 he served as member and Chairman of the European Economic Advisroy Group at CESifo
FRANK WESTERMANN is a Professor of International Economic Policy at the University of Osnabrueck, in Germany. He was previously Assistant and Associate Professor at the University of Munich. He is author of Boom-Bust Cycles and Financial Liberalization, with Aaron Tornell. In 2002-2005 he served as the Secretary General of the European Economic Advisroy Group at CESifo