Bridge over Troubled Waters. The ECB, the Euro-Rescue and the Politicization of Monetary Policy

Flachmeyer, Malte; Paul, Axel T.

doi:10.1007/s11577-018-0555-5

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…In addition, the ECB lowered the base interest rate to zero per cent in 2016. More controversially, it moved towards fixed-rate full allotment in 2008, i.e., it agreed to provide unlimited credit to banks at a fixed interest rate (Flachmeyer & Paul, 2018).…”

Section: A Brief Overview Over the Ecb's Policies Since The Financial Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At its height (2016 to early 2017), the ECB bought bonds worth 80 billion Euro per month on average. After March 2017, the volumes were progressively reduced (Flachmeyer & Paul, 2018).…”

Section: A Brief Overview Over the Ecb's Policies Since The Financial Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many of these policies would have been unthinkable before the crisis, and the effect of the emergency credits, punitive interests, and bond-buying programmes was heightened controversy (Flachmeyer & Paul, 2018). Similarly, it would have been inconceivable that the ECB would instruct member state governments to pursue specific economic and fiscal policies.…”

Section: A Brief Overview Over the Ecb's Policies Since The Financial Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, it would have been inconceivable that the ECB would instruct member state governments to pursue specific economic and fiscal policies. Thus, overall, the ECB was, on the one hand, a key actor in the crisis, and at times the only one who could act in the face of stalemate in the EU's political institutions (Flachmeyer & Paul, 2018). But on the other hand, its policies had increasingly noticeable redistributive effects (Goodhart & Lastra, 2018), stretched the mandate defined in the Treaty and led to a rise in the level of public distrust of the ECB (Tesche, 2018).…”

Section: A Brief Overview Over the Ecb's Policies Since The Financial Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The Politicisation of the European Central Bank and the Bundestag

Högenauer

2019

PaG

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The European Central Bank (ECB) became one of the key actors during the Eurozone crisis. However, its prominent role was not without controversy. On one hand, the Eurozone was stabilised, no member state defaulted, and no state had to leave the Euro. On the other hand, the ECB had to stretch its mandate, expand its policy remit, and adopt so-called ‘unconventional’ monetary policies. These attempts to depoliticise political challenges through a technocratic approach reduced the opportunities for democratic contestation, but they also bred frustration that led to politicisation. This article studies to what extent this politicisation affected the perception of the ECB in national parliaments. For this purpose, it studies the extent to which ECB policy has become politicised in the German Bundestag through an analysis of plenary debates from 2005 to 2018. The Bundestag represents an unlikely case for politicisation despite wide-spread criticism of the ECB in the media, as Germany was traditionally attached to creating a highly independent ECB, until recently had no major Eurosceptic right-wing parties, and parliamentary scrutiny of the national central bank is low. However, by studying the salience of ECB policies, the polarisation of opinion in the parliament, as well as the range of actors participating in the debates, this article finds that the ECB’s policies have become politicised and the subject of scrutiny and dissatisfaction.

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Section: A Brief Overview Over the Ecb's Policies Since The Financial Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At its height (2016 to early 2017), the ECB bought bonds worth 80 billion Euro per month on average. After March 2017, the volumes were progressively reduced (Flachmeyer & Paul, 2018).…”

Section: A Brief Overview Over the Ecb's Policies Since The Financial Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Brief Overview Over the Ecb's Policies Since The Financial Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%