The major factor behind the rise in asset values and leverage is the long trend towards lower real interest rates. This trend has nothing to do with monetary policy. In the shorter run, however, central banks do affect real rates which recently has come on top of the trend.
Clearly the value to a particular member depends on the alternative. A country like Sweden with good monetary institutions currently have fairly little to gain, which is correctly reflected in the strong popular support for remaining outside.
The Union should be based on the princip that a package of compulsory rules for all members apply only to areas were this is clearly necessary. An example would be that voting power in EU institutions requires that democratic principles and freedom of the press is respected in each memberstate. However, this does not apply to the case of a singel currency. Forcing convergence in this way onto members that do not want it is going to make the union dangerously unstable.
Question 2: Do you agree that the different behaviour of UK real wages relative to Eurozone wages during the Great Recession is in large part due to the UK having different labour market policies?
The consequences of low real wage growth depends on the particular situation of the country. In some crisis countries within the eurozone, unit labor costs had become unsustainably high. A real devaluation had to be undertaken and in absence of the possibility to devalue the currency low wage growth is a painful necessity.
In other countries, its more the wage profile that has been the problem. Low wage growth for categories of workers who have difficulty finding jobs has been good, for example in Germany. However, higher aggregate wage growth would possibly have been good for Germany and certainly good for weaker countries in the union.
Currently, in Sweden, low negotiated wage increases make it difficult for the central bank to receive its inflation target.
The CFM surveys informs the public about the views held by prominent economists based in Europe on important macroeconomic and public policy questions. Some surveys focus specifically on the UK economy (as the CFM is a UK research centre), but surveys can in principle focus on any macroeconomic question for any region. The surveys shed light on the extent to which there is agreement or disagreement among these experts. An important motivation for the survey is to give a more comprehensive overview of the beliefs held by economists and in particular to include the views of those economists whose opinions are not frequently heard in public debates.
Questions mainly focus on macroeconomic and public policy topics. Although there are some questions that focus specifically on the UK economy, the setup of the survey is much broader and considers questions related to other countries/regions and also considers questions not tied to a specific economy.
The surveys are done in collaboration with the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).
Global risks from rising debt and asset prices
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Question 2: Is the loose monetary policy of major central banks responsible for the recent increase in global leverage or asset values?
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Juncker's State of the Union Address
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Question 2: Do you agree that the euro has had more benefits than costs?
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Question 1; Do you agree that euro membership should be compulsory for all EU member states?
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Wages and economic recoveries
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Question 2: Do you agree that the different behaviour of UK real wages relative to Eurozone wages during the Great Recession is in large part due to the UK having different labour market policies?
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Question 1: Do you agree that lower real wage growth was beneficial for employment levels during the Great Recession?
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