Beyond the economics of the euro - analysing the institutional evolution of EMU 1999-2010, September 2011

This Occasional Paper examines how and why the institutional framework governing EMU has evolved since the creation of the euro. Building on theories of institutionalism, the paper in particular investigates to what extent functional spillovers from the single currency into other policy domains, like macroeconomic policies or financial regulation, met with an adequate institutional response, and to what extent the existing institutional framework conditioned the response to the financial crisis. The interaction between policy requirements and institutional capabilities is examined both in “ordinary times” (1999-2007) and under “crisis conditions” (2007-10). The paper uses a typology of change which helps to put into perspective both the resilience of the institutional framework of EMU and its capacity to adapt. In this respect, it allows for a better understanding and framing of the current reforms of EMU economic governance. It concludes that even though the crisis will accelerate institutional development, it will do so only gradually, as path dependence and an inbuilt bias towards incremental change will prevent policy-makers from pursuing a “clean slate” strategy. JEL Classification: E52, E31, D84EMU institutional architecture, historical institutionalism, institutional change., rational choice

Beyond the economics of the euro - analysing the institutional evolution of EMU 1999-2010, September 2011

This Occasional Paper examines how and why the institutional framework governing EMU has evolved since the creation of the euro. Building on theories of institutionalism, the paper in particular investigates to what extent functional spillovers from the single currency into other policy domains, like macroeconomic policies or financial regulation, met with an adequate institutional response, and to what extent the existing institutional framework conditioned the response to the financial crisis. The interaction between policy requirements and institutional capabilities is examined both in “ordinary times” (1999-2007) and under “crisis conditions” (2007-10). The paper uses a typology of change which helps to put into perspective both the resilience of the institutional framework of EMU and its capacity to adapt. In this respect, it allows for a better understanding and framing of the current reforms of EMU economic governance. It concludes that even though the crisis will accelerate institutional development, it will do so only gradually, as path dependence and an inbuilt bias towards incremental change will prevent policy-makers from pursuing a “clean slate” strategy

Beyond the economics of the Euro: Analysing the institutional evolution of EMU 1999-2000

This paper examines how and why the institutional framework governing EMU hasevolved since the creation of the euro. Building on theories of institutionalism, the paper in particular investigates to what extent functional spill-overs from the single currency to other policy domains, like macroeconomic policies or financial regulation, met with an adequate institutional response, and to what extent the existing institutional framework conditioned the response to the financial crisis. The interaction between policy requirements and institutional capabilities is examined both in “ordinary” times (1999-2007) and under “crisis conditions” (2007-2010). The paper uses a typology of change which helps to put into perspective both the resilience of the institutional framework of EMU and its capacity to adapt. In this respect, it allows for a better understanding and framing of the current reforms of EMU economic governance. It concludes that even though the crisis will accelerate institutional development, it will do so only in a gradual way, as path dependence and inbuilt bias towards incremental change will prevent policymakers pursuing a “clean slate” strategy

Success Factors of Macro-Regional Cooperation: the Example of the Baltic Sea Region. Bruges Political Research Papers No. 12, March 2010

As illustrated by the recent adoption of the European Union Baltic Sea Strategy, a new level of governance seems to be emerging in the European integration process, i.e. the macroregional level. The present paper aims at identifying the necessary ingredients for successful macro-regional cooperation. It draws on the example of the Baltic Sea Region (BSR), where the combination of intense cooperation and of heterogeneity is particularly interesting to analyze. The author argues that effective macro-regional cooperation requires four factors: a common perception of interests, a common identity, a well-balanced cooperation method, and the involvement of the EU. The respective relevance of each of these factors is tested and some key strengths and weaknesses of cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region are identified

“Loose lips sinking markets?": the impact of political communication on sovereign bond spreads

Taking a cue from the assertion that “loose lips sink markets” (Carmassi and Micossi, 2010), this paper investigates to what extent and why political communication has had an impact on the sovereign bond spreads of selected euro area countries over the German Bund. Drawing on 25,000 news media releases between January 2009 and October 2011, it empirically compares political communication across various political actors at the supranational and national levels in the euro area. It finds empirical evidence that, in the short term, certain types of political communication have a quantifiable effect on sovereign bond spreads. This effect can be positive or negative depending on the type of communication, possibly fueling self-reinforcing feedback loops between markets and policy actions. Subsequently, this paper explores possible reasons for this observed phenomenon. It analyses the specific economic, political and institutional context in which political communication works in Europe and finds that the potential for miscommunication is structurally higher in the euro area than in other nation-based currency areas. Finally, the paper identifies avenues to make communication policy more effective and puts forward possible measures to mitigate the risks of miscommunication

Toward standardizing and reporting colorectal cancer screening indicators on an international level:the international colorectal cancer screening network

The International Colorectal Cancer Screening Network was established in 2003 to promote best practice in the delivery of organized colorectal cancer screening programs. To facilitate evaluation of such programs, we defined a set of universally applicable colorectal cancer screening measures and indicators. To test the feasibility of data collection, we requested data on these variables and basic program characteristics from 26 organized full programs and 9 pilot programs in 24 countries. The size of the target population for each program varied considerably from a few thousand to 36 million. The majority of programs used fecal occult blood tests for primary screening, with more using guaiac than immunochemical tests. There was wide variation in the ability of screening programs to report the requested measures and in the values reported. In general, pilot programs were more likely to provide screening measure values than were full programs. As expected, detection rates for polyps and neoplasia were substantially higher in programs screening with endoscopy than in those using fecal occult blood tests. It is hoped that the screening measures and indicators, once revised in the light of this survey, will be adopted and used by existing programs and those in the early planning stages, allowing international comparison with the goal of improved colorectal cancer screening qualit