Suchergebnisse

This PhD thesis examines the political determinants of the policy change of the European Central Bank (ECB) during the euro crisis. The dissertation focuses on the role of economic ideas and strategic action in explaining the decisions of the ECB to activate unconventional monetary policies aimed at preserving financial stability in the 2010-12 period. First, the thesis provides evidence that the failure of policy experiments inspired by ideas of fiscal discipline pushed the ECB to adopt a systemic interpretation of the crisis. This process of ideational change shaped the crisis response of the institution and was influenced by the observation of financial market reactions to different crisis management policies. Second, the thesis documents how the ECB acted strategically to minimise the political risks stemming from uncoordinated policy action in the resolution of the crisis. Taken together, these results shed new light on the politics of central banking in Europe.

International audience ; The economic imbalances that characterize the world economy have unequally distributed costs and benefits. That raises the question how countries could run long-term external surpluses and deficits without significant opposition against the policies that generate them. We show that political discourse helps to secure public support for these policies and the resulting economic outcomes. First, a content analysis of 32,000 newspaper articles finds that the dominant interpretations of current account balances in Australia and Germany concur with very distinct perspectives: external surpluses are seen as evidence of competitiveness in Germany, while external deficits are interpreted as evidence of attractiveness for investments in Australia. Second, survey experiments in both countries suggest that exposure to these diverging interpretations has a causal effect on citizens' support for their country's economic strategy. Political discourse, thus, is crucial to provide the societal foundation of national growth strategies.

International audience ; The economic imbalances that characterize the world economy have unequally distributed costs and benefits. That raises the question how countries could run long-term external surpluses and deficits without significant opposition against the policies that generate them. We show that political discourse helps to secure public support for these policies and the resulting economic outcomes. First, a content analysis of 32,000 newspaper articles finds that the dominant interpretations of current account balances in Australia and Germany concur with very distinct perspectives: external surpluses are seen as evidence of competitiveness in Germany, while external deficits are interpreted as evidence of attractiveness for investments in Australia. Second, survey experiments in both countries suggest that exposure to these diverging interpretations has a causal effect on citizens' support for their country's economic strategy. Political discourse, thus, is crucial to provide the societal foundation of national growth strategies.