The Research Network Macroeconomics and Macroeconomic Policies (FMM) celebrates their 20th Anniversary Conference this year, and this year’s conference is from Oct 20-22 in Berlin. The title is: “Towards Pluralism in Macroeconomics?” Arbeitskreis Politische Ökonomie, in cooperation with the German chapter of the World Economics Association, want to celebrate this by proposing a panel about “Rethinking Europe”, concentrating on the dimension of macroeconomic policies and interdisciplinary approaches.
Why this topic?
Although it is often said that the European Union only deepens with a crises, the year 2016 seems to be decisively different, both by the amount of problems, and their depth, e.g.:
– For the first time ever the formal exit of a member state (UK) is a real possibility
– The deep recession in Europe is far from over, poverty, unemployment, and deprivation are very high in many regions
– The problem of over-indebtedness of some Eurozone member states (esp. Greece) is not solved
– Anti-democratic and nationalistic tendencies, especially in the Eastern countries (Hungary, Poland), are gaining momentum
– The EU position, on how to deal with refugees/migrants, is extremely unsatisfactory
– Central questions of legitimacy for far-reaching economic policies, e.g. how to proceed with CETA/TTIP, are not solved.
We want to discuss such challenges from a structural perspective. We especially welcome contributions about the institutional shaping of a better future for the EU. We need fresh answers for questions such as:
– Is the institutional setting of the EU (Councils, Commission, Parliament) still appropriate?
– Tax competition is a serious problem, but where are the viable solutions?
– The incomplete Eurozone: dissolve it or deepen it – and in both cases how?
– Do we need autonomous EU taxes, and debt?
– How much financial solidarity is appropriate between richer and poorer member states?
– Is there ground for common social standards?
– The refugees/migration crisis won’t be over. Any solutions?
Please send an abstract (maximum 400 words) to: groezing@uni-flensburg.de by May 31st. We will then plan sessions, however, the process of selecting sessions, remains in the hands of the FMM.
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