Two weeks ago on November 21st and 22nd I attended a conference in Athens organized by the Levy Economics Institute at Bard College and some other institutions. Under the general title “Europe at the Crossroads: A Union of Austerity or Growth Convergence?” a number of economists from many parts of the world discussed ways to overcome the economic doldrums in Europa and to solve the crisis of the European Monetary System.

Unfortunately, there is a strong tendency among economists to continue discussing specificities of the Monetary Union or to elaborate on theoretical concepts that have proven to be useless under the conditions of a real world economy. That is why I gave a rather political speech, putting the academic considerations in perspective by stressing the shrinking time frame under which solutions have to be found.

Go to the conference home page to listen to contributions by different speakers.