we trust the “Society of Distrust”?.

Confidence and trust have flown away: such seems to be the inevitable conclusion during these times of economic stagnation and collapsing banking system. It has thus become urgent to define more clearly the boundaries of that blurred and elusive notion, which is what Éloi Laurent proposes here in a tightly-reasoned criticism of Yann Algan and Pierre Cahuc’s The Society of Distrust.

Eurozone: the high cost of complacency.

The first decade of Eurozone economic policy is marked by complacency, passivity and ultimately failure, as seen by Eloi Laurent.

Integrity and Efficiency in the EU: The Case Against the European Economic Constitution. CES Working Paper, no. 130, 2006

The European Constitutional Treaty (ECT) was presented by its drafters as an explicit constitution for the European Union (EU 25). A possible explanation for its rejection by the French and Dutch citizens in the course of spring 2005 is that it did not sufficiently amend the implicit constitution of the EU 25, the European Union Treaty (EUT), which was truly the object of voters’ aversion. Assuming this to be true, there should be a thorough debate on the relevance and viability of the de facto current constitution of the European Union. In this paper, we engage in this debate by identifying what is essentially wrong with the economic provisions of the EUT, which we designate as the “European economic constitution.” Using a constitutional political economy approach, we first attempt to demonstrate that both what we define as the “principle of integrity” and the “principle of efficiency” of collective action appear to be violated by the European economic constitution. This occurs, respectively, because its provisions are not neutral, nor revisable, and because they do not sufficiently allow for the possibility of cooperative collective decision (leading to convergence in welfare) in a more than ever numerous and heterogeneous EU. Our essential argument in this respect regards the implications of the structurally different economic performances and incentives of small and large countries under the European economic constitution. Finally, since the present European trade-off between “integrity” and “efficiency” appears sub-optimal, we present two original ways of achieving potentially better ones in the EU, through a “Great compromise” or “Economic constitution(s),” expressing a preference for the latter

Country size and strategic aspects of structural reforms in the EU. NERO meeting, OECD, Paris, June 12, 2006.

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Can we trust the “Society of Distrust”?

Confidence and trust have flown away: such seems to be the inevitable conclusion during these times of economic stagnation and collapsing banking system. It has thus become urgent to define more clearly the boundaries of that blurred and elusive notion, which is what Éloi Laurent proposes here in a tightly-reasoned criticism of Yann Algan and Pierre Cahuc’s The Society of Distrust

Écologie et inégalités

Cet article présente une synthèse de certaines questions contemporaines soulevées par le croisement des enjeux environnementaux et sociaux. Il commence par traiter le cas des pays en développement où pauvreté et dégradations environnementales entretiennent des rapports étroits dans lesquels la mauvaise gouvernance prend une part active. L’article considère ensuite le lien entre inégalités de revenu et qualité des politiques environnementales et discute certaines critiques théoriques et empiriques de la « courbe de Kuznets environnementale ». Dans sa troisième partie, il tente de préciser la définition de la « justice environnementale » et des « inégalités environnementales » et défend finalement l’idée, exemples à l’appui, d’une compatibilité possible entre exigence sociale et exigence environnementale sous la forme de politiques publiques « social-écologiques ».This article presents a survey of some contemporary questions at the crossroads of environmental and social issues. It starts by exploring the case of developing countries, where poverty and environmental degradations are closely related and fuelled by bad governance. The article then considers the link between income inequalities and quality of environmental policies and discusses some critical takes on the so-called “Environmental Kuznets curve”. In a third part, the article tries to define with some precision the notion of “environmental justice” and “environmental inequalities” and finally defends the idea of compatibility between social and environmental imperatives under the form of public “social-ecological” policies

North by Northwest: What's Wrong with the French Model and How Can the Nordic Model Help. The Nordic Model: Solutions for Continental Europe’s Problems?”, Center for European Studies, Harvard University, May 9-10, 2008..

In this paper, we try to point out some important weaknesses of the contemporary French socialeconomic model, focusing on relevant elements of comparison with Nordic countries. In doing so, we rely on the idea that large and small countries differ in terms of growth and governance strategies. Hence, while the “Nordic model” can be a good revelatory of some of France’s major problems, it is also an ambiguous template for reform. The paper starts by examining the question of growth strategy (macroeconomic management and structural reforms), then goes on to investigate governance strategy (trust, confidence, governance quality) and finally explores the issues of diversity and integration policy.

Pour une justice environnementale européenne:Le cas de la précarité énergétique

Le débat scientifique et démocratique sur la justice environnementale et sur l'articulation des politiques sociales et environnementales, vieux de plus de deux décennies outre-Atlantique, ne fait que commencer en Europe. L'État providence ne peut plus faire l'impasse dans l'Union européenne sur l'environnement dans lequel vivent les individus (travail, résidence, loisirs) dès lors que celui-ci détermine en partie les facteurs affectant leur santé et plus largement leur bien-être. Il s'agit donc pour les pays membres et les instances de l'UE à la fois d'adopter et d'adapter l'exigence de justice environnementale. Cet article propose des pistes en vue de cette adaptation et, après avoir défini différentes catégories d'inégalités environnementales, en éclaire plus particulièrement un aspect : la précarité ou pauvreté énergétique. La situation du Royaume-Uni et de la France sont passées en revue avant d'aborder les enjeux et modalités d'une politique européenne de lutte contre la précarité énergétique

Peut-on se fier à la société de défiance ?

La confiance s’est envolée : tel semble être le constat qui s’impose en ces temps de marasme économique et d’effondrement du système bancaire. Il est donc urgent de mieux définir les contours de cette notion floue et insaisissable, ce qu’Éloi Laurent propose à travers une critique serrée de La Société de défiance de Yann Algan et Pierre Cahuc