Andrea Terzi
Euroland and the World Economy
Global Player or Global Drag?
Euroland and the World Economy is a collection of works that examines the role that Europe currently plays, as well as the contribution it could make as a future global economic player.
Professor Terzi recently stated, “Ordinary discussions of global growth prospects often begin with blaming the U.S. for its excessive external deficit and China for its artificially low currency and the consequent massive flow of exports to the West. While these two players are blamed for sending the global economy astray, little attention is being paid to the role of European economies.” However, he believes there is a problem in Europe, as well, stating, “ I do not subscribe to the influential view that claims that the euro area, or Euroland, provides a template of economic policy and contributes to limiting those U.S.-Asia imbalances. Instead, I believe that Euroland is as much if not more ‘guilty’ than the United States.”
This lack of attention led Professor Terzi and his former colleague Jörg Bibow to ask a small group of invited scholars to explore with them the role of the euro area in contributing to issues that concern the world economy. Professor Terzi explained, “The 3-day workshop in Lugano, Switzerland was a rare moment of scientific dialogue and constructive criticism, and all working papers deserved to be collected and published at the highest level.” Palgrave Macmillan agreed, leading to a 311-page volume that compellingly questions, from a variety of angles, many popular beliefs about the road to virtues of Euroland. The final message of the book is that if Euroland aims to play a greater global role, on a par with the U.S., it should accept its new responsibility for global growth, becoming an engine of the world economy. However, this will not happen without a substantial change, and a greater unity of intent, in macroeconomic policy-making.
Euroland and the World Economy: Global Player or Global Drag?, edited by Jörg Bibow and Andrea Terzi, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in October, 2007.
