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Political Economy in Europe

Our research themes 

Research in Political Economy in Europe concentrates on the interaction between political and economic processes in Europe. We study these interactions in different areas.

In the monetary field there is the interaction between the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone, the political responses to the crisis and the institutional reforms that the evolving crisis have imposed on the Eurozone. We study how different social models affect the workings of capitalism and how the different varieties of capitalism in turn influence social models. Another area of research relates to the interaction between the labour market institutions and the economic governance of the EU and the Eurozone.

Highlights 

The Limits of the Market: The Pendulum Between Government and Market

by Paul de Grauwe

limits of the markets

The old discussion of 'Market or State' is obsolete. There will always have to be a mix of market and state. The only relevant question is what that mix should look like. How far do we have to let the market go its own way in order to create as much welfare as possible for everyone? What is the responsibility of the government in creating welfare? These are difficult questions. But they are also interesting questions and Paul De Grauwe analyses them in this book.

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The Political Economy of Monetary Solidarity: Understanding the Euro Experiment

by Waltraud Schelkle

schelkle book cover

Creating the European monetary union between diverse and unequal nation states is arguably one of the biggest social experiments in history. This book offers an explanation of how the euro experiment came about and was sustained despite a severe crisis, and provides a comparison with the monetary-financial history of the US.

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Economics of the Monetary Union

by Paul de Grauwe 

Economics of Monetary Union

The tenth edition of Economics of Monetary Union provides a concise analysis of the theories and policies relating to monetary union. Paul De Grauwe analyses both the costs and benefits associated with exiting the eurozone, as well as presenting a discussion of the banking union, the current issues surrounding the TARGET2 payment system, and the role of the European Central Bank. In Part One, Paul De Grauwe examines the implications of adopting a common currency, assessing each country's benefit from being a member of the eurozone, while also questioning whether other parts of the world would gain from monetary unification. Part Two of the book looks at the problems of running a monetary union by analysing Europe's experience and the issues faced by the European Central Bank.

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Key Research Themes

  • Rethinking EMU and economic governanceEuropean capitalism(s) and European social model(s)
  • Economic migration, labour markets and population dynamics
  • Welfare including pension reform
  • Fiscal austerity and new sources of economic growth
  • Employment relations, labour market performance and institutional reform
  • Regional policy, industrial structure and economic development
  • East-west international division of labour

Selected publications 

Barr, Nick (2019) Gender and Family: Conceptual Overview, Social Protection and Jobs Discussion Paper No. 1916. May 2019, Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 

Barr, Nick (2019) The US College Loans System: Lessons from Australia and England’, Economics of Education Review, Vol. 71, August 2019, pp. 32-48. (Bruce Chapman, Lorraine Dearden and Susan Dynarski).

Basedow, Robert (2019)  “Good Regulatory Practices and Trade” in Francois, J., Hoekman, B., Behind the Border Policies: Assessing and addressing non-tariff measures, Cambridge University Press.

Begg, Iain (2017) ‘Fiscal and Other Rules in EU Economic Governance: helpful, largely irrelevant or unenforceable?’ National Institute Economic Review, 239 (1).

Begg, Iain (2017) ‘Fiscal rules and the scope for risk sharing’ Intereconomics, 52 (3).

Costa-i-Font, Joan (2017) 'The National Health Service at a Critical Moment: when Brexit means hectic' Journal of Social Policy, 46 (4).

Costa-i-Font, Joan, Norton, Edward C. and Siciliani, Luigi (2017) 'The Challenges of Public Financing and Organisation of Long-Term Care' Fiscal Studies, 38 (3).

Coulter, Steve (2017) Everyday Economics: a user's guide to the new economy Agenda Publishing.

de Grauwe, Paul and Gerba, Eddie (2018) 'The Role of Cognitive Limitations and Heterogeneous Expectations for Aggregate Production and Credit Cycle' Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control.

Featherstone, Kevin and Papadimitriou, Dimitris, 'Greece: a crisis in two-level governance', in Dinan, Desmond, Nugent, Neil and Paterson, William E. (eds) (2017), The European Union in Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan.

Foresti, Pasquale and Napolitano, Oreste (2017) 'On the Stock Market Reactions to Fiscal Policies' International Journal of Finance & Economics, 22 (4).

Innes, Abby (2017) 'Draining the Swamp: understanding the crisis in mainstream politics as a crisis of the state' Slavic Review, 76 (S1).


Monastiriotis, Vassilis, Kallioras, Dimistris and Petrakos, George (2017) 'The Regional Impact of EU Association Agreements: an event analysis approach to the case of Central and Eastern Europe', Regional Studies, 51 (10).

Schelkle, Waltraud (2019), Independent or lonely? Central banking in crisis. Review of International Political Economy, 26(3), 1-25, 2019. (With Mabbett, D.)

Schelkle, Waltraud (2019) EU Pension policy and financialisation: purpose without power? Journal of European Public Policy, 1-18, 2019.

Tuytens, Pieter. “Countering Financial Interests for Social Purposes: What Drives State Intervention in Pension Markets in the Context of Financialisation?” Journal of European Public Policy 26, no. 4 (2019): 550-578.

Academic Staff working in this area 
  • Nick Barr, Professor of Public Economics
  • Iain Begg, Professorial Research Fellow 
  • Joan Costa-i-Font, Associate Professor (Reader) of Politcal Economy 
  • Steve Coulter, LSE Fellow in Political Economy of Europe 
  • Paul de Grauwe, John Paulson Chair in European Political Economy
  • Kevin Featherstone, Eleftherios Venizelos Professor of Contemporary Greek Studies and Professor of European Politics 
  • Pasquale Foresti, LSE Fellow in European Political Economy
  • Bob Hancke, Associate Professor of Political Economy
  • Abby Innes, Assistant Professor of Political Economy
  • Corrado Macchiarelli, Visiting Fellow in European Political Economy
  • Vassilis Monastiriotis, Associate Professor of Political Economy
  • Waltraud Schelkle, Associate Professor of Political Economy

Impact

Academics in the "Political Economy in Europe" stream provide expertise on numerous issues: welfare state design (pensions, social protection, higher education and long-term care); Brexit; European integration and the Eurozone crisis; and labour markets.

Our academic staff are interviewed in media outlets including the BBC, ITV, China Global TV, Bild, The Financial Times and The Economist. They are invited as guest speakers in numerous national and international universities, organisations and governments, from Harvard and the House of Lords to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. They disseminate their research in conferences in the UK, Europe and the United States.

 

  

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REF 2014 First in Area and European Studies
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