Overview
- Written by the former Vice President of the European Commission, responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs, 2010-2014
- Covers all aspects of the Euro Crisis at the level of the EU and the member states, in both crisis countries and creditor states
- Explains how the Euro was saved through second-best solutions
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Table of contents (20 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Setting the Scene
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Front Matter
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Keywords
- The Euro Crisis
- Eurozone reform
- Rebalancing of the European economy
- The European Union
- European Financial Stability Facility
- Intergovernmentalism
- European Economic Recovery Plan
- Global Financial Crisis
- Sovereign debt
- Grexit
- Economic governance
- Brexit
- Populism in Europe
- European Stability Mechanism
- Macroeconomic imbalances
- Economic and Monetary Union
- Financial accelerator theory
- Comprehensive Crisis Response
- financial crises
About this book
Walking the Highwire tells the story of the Eurozone Crisis from the perspective of the former Vice-President of the European Commission who was responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs in 2010-2014. It is a comprehensive European account that covers both events and decisions in Brussels and Frankfurt and in the member states, both in distressed countries and creditor states. It also provides an economic-political analysis of the crisis and its management, recognising that the Euro was created politically, and saved politically.
Thoroughly researched and based on economic analysis of the time, reports on various meetings and the author's own speaking notes and diary, this book begins with a narrative of crisis management 2009-2012, before moving on to address the beginning of the recovery from 2013-2014. It concludes with the lessons learnt from the crisis and a programme for reform of the Eurozone in the 2020s, with contemporary policy relevance.
This is an entertaining and engaging account which will be of interest to a wide audience: scholars and students, practitioners and commentators of the Eurozone.
Reviews
“The euro area debt crisis was the most dangerous aftershock of the global financial crisis, and the past decade has been a profound stress test for Europe and its single currency. I cannot but agree with Olli Rehn with whom, in the European Commission, I walked a highwire to address the huge challenges we were then faced with. I am therefore happy, and grateful to Olli Rehn, for this very interesting, rigorous and at the same time entertaining book, based on his experience as European Commissioner during that most dramatic period. It is probably the best account, written from a European perspective, of the financial and sovereign debt crisis, highlighting the central role that the European Commission played, as honest broker between very different interests and as initiator of major reforms in the crisis response, in particular those enhancing the EU and euro area economic governance.” (José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, 2004-2009; 2010-2014)
“This book provides an excellent account from the ultimate insider of the euro-crisis that ran from 2010 until 2014. It is a unique book covering all aspects of the euro-crisis, as contrasted with the several books focusing on individual countries. The author participated in a large proportion of the policy discussions; he also has an excellent grasp of the relevant literature, including the contributions from academic economists. It is extremely well written, with short, punchy, easily assimilable chapters, each headed by well-chosen and apposite quotes. Essential reading.” (Charles Goodhart, Emeritus Professor in the Financial Markets Group, London School of Economics, UK)
“This book brilliantly provides an insider’s account of how institutional constraints during the euro crisis led to a series of second-best policies. A committed European, Olli Rehn takes a hardnosed look at the realities in the Eurozone to propose reforms establishing a more stable currency area.” (Megan Greene, Harvard Kennedy School, US and regular columnist for the Financial Times)
“As European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn was at the epicentre of the earthquake that almost destroyed the euro between 2010 to 2014. No one is better placed to recount the anxious hours when the fate of Europe’s single currency hung in the balance, or to analyze with a practitioner’s experience what needs to be done to strengthen the monetary union durably. But as he explains in this gripping account:knowing what to do is one thing, convincing Europe’s “impossible triangle” to act is quite another.” (Paul Taylor, contributing editor, POLITICO, former Reuters European Affairs Editor during the Eurozone crisis)
“Walking the Highwire is a rare combination of contributions: it is both a political thriller on the euro crisis and a substantial contribution to the contemporary studies on international political economy. Olli Rehn, a well-trained scholar, found himself a broker in the center of the story as Vice-President of the European Commission.” (John Zysman, Professor Emeritus, University of California Berkeley)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Olli Rehn is former European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro (2010-2014). He was the European Commissioner for Enlargement from 2004 to 2010, in charge of the accession process of prospective new member states to the European Union (EU) and stabilisation in the Western Balkans. He served as Minister of Economic Affairs (2015-2016) and is a former Member of European and Finnish Parliaments. Since July 2018, he is the Governor of the Bank of Finland. He holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford in international political economy.
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Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Walking the Highwire
Book Subtitle: Rebalancing the European Economy in Crisis
Authors: Olli Rehn
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34592-1
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-34591-4Published: 21 January 2020
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-34592-1Published: 23 February 2020
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXV, 371
Number of Illustrations: 2 b/w illustrations, 18 illustrations in colour
Topics: Popular Science in Economics, European Economics, International Political Economy, Social Choice/Welfare Economics/Public Choice/Political Economy, Financial Crises, European Politics