Breaking Up? A Route Out of the Eurozone Crisis
An urgently needed discussion of the future of the eurozone, the possibility of exit, and what that would mean for the people of Europe.
- Costas Lapavitsas, professor, department of economics, SOAS
- George Irvin, professor, department of development studies, SOAS
- Paul Mason, BBC economics editor and author of ‘Meltdown: The End of the Age of Greed’
- Stathis Kouvelakis, reader in political theory, King’s College London
- and chaired by Seumas Milne, associate editor, The Guardian
Podcasts of the 9 December event can be seen here
NEW RMF REPORT ON THE EUROZONE CRISIS:
Breaking Up? A Route Out of the Eurozone Crisis
November 2011
For Media Coverage of the Report see Journal Utopia (in Greek, by Christina Laskarides, 5 December 2011), Der Standard (in German, interview with Annina Kaltenbrunner, 1 December 2011), Public Service Europe (by Jo Michell, 30 November 2011), La Vanguardia (in Spanish, interview with Costas Lapavitsas, 22 November 2011), Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (in German, 21 November 2011), iEco (in Spanish, by Isabel Stratta, 20 November 2011), Epikaira (in Greek, by Leonidas Vatikiotis, 17 November 2011), The Miami Herald (by Joanna Kakissis, 17 November 2011), Prin (in Greek, by Petros Kosmas, 13 November 2011), El Pais (in Spanish, by Amanda Mars, 13 November 2011), The Observer (by Heather Stewart, 13 November 2011), Eleftherotypia (in Greek, by Leonidas Vatikiotis, 12 November 2011), CNN (by Costas Lapavitsas, 10 November 2011).
Second RMF Report on the Eurozone Crisis:
Eurozone Between Austerity and Default
September 2010
Sweeping public cutbacks are being imposed across the Eurozone. A new RMF report analyses the costs, benefits and social implications of action to break the cycle of debt as opposed to enduring austerity-induced long-term stagnation.
Download executive summary in English and French (thanks to Eric Toussaint)
For Media Coverage of the Report see El Pais (in Spanish, 12 September 2010), Jornal de Negocios (in Portuguese, 13 September 2010), Sbilanciamoci (in Italian, 15 September 2010), GR Reporter (in English, 17 September 2010), Imerisia (in Greek, 17 September 2010), Prin (in Greek, 20 September 2010), Epikaira (in Greek, 22 September 2010), Público (in Portuguese, 26 September 2010), Eleftherotipia (in Greek, 26 September 2010), Sky Radio (in Greek, interview with Costas Lapavitsas, audio posted: 26 September 2010), The Guardian (by Costas Lapavitsas, 1 October 2010), EUobserver (by George Irvin, 4 October 2010), La Vanguardia (in Spanish, 17 October 2010), Jornal de Negócios (in Portuguese, interview with Costas Lapavitsas, 6 December 2010).
First RMF Report on the Eurozone Crisis:
Beggar Thyself and Thy Neighbour
March 2010
RMF report considers the causes of the Eurozone crisis and discusses alternative policies.
Download Executive Summary in English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish. Download Press Release in English, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish.
For Media Coverage of the Report see The Guardian (by Larry Elliott, 15 March 2010), Público I – Público II (in Portuguese, 18 March 2010), Birgün I – Birgün II (in Turkish, 18-19 March 2010), Jornal de Negócios I - Jornal de Negócios II (in Portuguese, 19 March 2010), El Pais (in Spanish, 20 March 2010), Epohi (in Greek, 21 March 2010), Kathimerini (in Greek, 21 March 2010), The Guardian (by Costas Lapavitsas, 21 March 2010), BBC World Service (interview with Costas Lapavitsas, audio posted: 25 March 2010), Kokkino (in Greek, interview with Costas Lapavitsas, audio posted: 25 March 2010), Vima (in Greek, 27 March 2010), Makedonia (in Greek, 28 March 2010), Público (in Portuguese, 28 March 2010), El Pais (in Spanish, 4 April 2010), La Vanguardia (in Spanish, 4 April 2010), Epohi (in Greek, 4 April 2010), Eleftherotipia (in Greek, 11 April 2010), Epikaira (in Greek, 13 April 2010), Deia (in Euskara, 16 April 2010).
New RMF Discussion Papers
36. Credit, Profitability and Instability: A Strictly Structural Approach, by Paulo L dos Santos
This paper offers a purely structural characterisation of the content, limits and contradictions of credit relations in capitalist accumulation. Considering steady-state evolutions and step-change perturbations in a dynamic model of the Marxian circuit of capital, it establishes…
35. Notes Towards a New Political-Economy Approach to Contemporary Credit Relations, by Paulo L dos Santos
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the development of a systematic, Marxian approach to the content and contradictions of contemporary credit relations. It does this by abandoning traditional Marxian analyses of credit based on “monied capitalists” as well as the traditional understanding of credit as “the great regulator” of the velocity of money…
34. European Periphery Crises, International Financial Markets, and Democracy: moving towards a globalized neofeudalism?, by Jorge Garcia-Arias, Eduardo Fernandez-Huerga and Ana Salvador
This paper analyzes the origin and causes of the recent economic and financial crises, mainly for the countries located in the periphery of the European Union (EU), as well as their evolution and transformation into social, political, and institutional crises…
33. Neoclassical Inflation: No theory there, by John Weeks
The theoretical generalization that the price level is determined by the quantity of money is commonly employed as a teaching device, in abstract modeling, and as a guide to policy. It represents a profound misunderstanding of inflation. In specific, the famous parable, more money then more inflation, is logically wrong…
Interviews with John Weeks and Costas Lapavitsas (Real News Network)
John Weeks
It’s About Wall St. but it’s Not All About Speculation Pt1
The Road To Political Dictatorship Pt2
A Deeper Crisis is Coming, We Must Control the Banks Pt3
Costas Lapavitsas
Should Greece Pull Out of the Euro?
John Weeks, William K. Black and Paolo Manasse discuss the Euro and the danger of economic recession
Is the Euro Crisis Over?
Audit Commission Campaign
The campaign for an Audit Commission on Greek Public Debt was launched in Athens on March 3rd. Supported by numerous prominent signatories globally, amongst whom many academics, Members of Parliament and Members of the European Parliament, the petition has reached almost 9000 signatures in just a couple of weeks. The campaign has also received great attention from the media worldwide.
Declaration from the Athens Conference on Debt and Austerity
Statement of action and solidarity (May, 2011)
Read the Call for the Audit Commission and sign the petition online at:
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43171.html
Media coverage:
Guardian: Can Europe escape the debt trap? Yes – and here’s how
Guardian: Europe needs debt relief, not decades of austerity
Guardian: Support the campaign to audit Europe’s public debt
EU Observer: Pressure grows for an independent audit of Greek debt
Financial Times: Interesting, odd and odious sovereign debt ideas
Tovima: Ζητούν έλεγχο νομιμότητας χρέους
Avgi: Επιτροπή Λογιστικού Ελέγχου Χρέους: Να μάθουμε τι χρωστάμε, να δούμε τι θα πληρώσουμε…
El Pais: Portugal gana apoyos políticos para evitar el rescate de la deuda
Tercera informacion: Chomsky, Loach a Grecia e Irlandia: “No pagueis!”
Negocios: Auditoria à dívida grega ganha adeptos para preparar reestuturação
Recent Published Work
Academic Publications
Onaran, Ö., Stockhammer, E. and Grafl, L. (2011) “Financialization, distribution, and aggregate demand in the US”, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 35(4), 637-662.
Onaran, Ö. (2011) “From wage suppression to sovereign debt crisis in Western Europe: Who pays for the costs of the crisis?” International Journal of Public Policy, 7(1-3), 51-69.
Onaran, Ö. (2011) “From transition crisis to the global crisis: Labor in Eastern Europe”, Capital and Class, 35(2), 213-232.
Kaltenbrunner, A. (2010), ‘International Financialization and Depreciation: The Brazilian Real in the International Financial Crisis‘, Competition and Change, Volume 14, Numbers 3-4, December 2010 , pp. 296-323(28).
Newspaper Articles and Briefings
The Real News, 30 December 2011,
The Euro Crisis in 7 Simple Charts: They’re telling you a real pack of lies– The crisis of the euro currency zone is an excellent example of how flagrant lies can successfully be converted into accepted wisdom.
Guardian, Comment is Free, Engelbert Stockhammer, 27 October 2011,
The euro: how to reform, not rescue, the system– The effective creation of a European welfare state could give new life to a project that has been built on unstable foundations.
Guardian, Comment is Free, Costas Lapavitsas, 19 September 2011
Greece must default and quit the euro. The real debate is how– A Greek default and exit must be taken in the people’s interest-non entrusting the process to the EU, IMF and banks.
Guardian, Comment is Free, Michael Burke, George Irvin and John Weeks, 4 September 2011
Cuts will not end the crisis — The coalition should turn the RBS into a British Investment Bank to lift us out of this depression.
Guardian, Comment is Free, James Meadway, 10 August 2011
How did the world get so fixated on GDP? — GDP growth remains central to economic policy, yet life in flatlining Japan remains rather better than it does elsewhere.
