When Germany’s Constitutional Court cleared the path for the European Stability Mechanism and the Fiscal Compact, markets and governments joined in a collective sigh of relief. With the last legal hurdle cleared, the €700 billion fund to stabilise Europe’s monetary union, rescue over-indebted governments and struggling banks could be established and the euro saved. Read more

For the past two weeks, I have been attending conferences in Europe. Following the general meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society in Prague, I spoke at the European Resource Bank in Brussels. Read more

Visitors to the EU quarter in Brussels are currently greeted by a giant poster on the faade of the Berlaymont building, the EU’s head office. Proclaiming more economic and political union for the EU, it stands in marked contrast to the constant signs of disunion and conflict on display across Europe. Read more

An economist ponders the deep questions. Being an economist is tough. Read more

I am in Prague attending the general meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society, a network of distinguished liberal academics and intellectuals. One of the best speeches at the conference, however, was delivered by a businessman with no academic affiliation – and contained an implicit warning to countries like New Zealand. Read more

Founded in 1947 by distinguished economists such as Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman and Ludwig von Mises, the Mont Pelerin Society has long been a forum for critics of big government, defenders of the free market and believers in individual liberty. As the society’s general meeting in currently being held in Prague (hosted by Vaclav Klaus, the fiercely euro sceptical Czech president), it was clear that the euro crisis would be a dominant theme during the week-long conference. Read more

Last week, I attended an annual public policy conference organised by the Australian think tank The Centre for Independent Studies on topics that ranged from foreign affairs to global economics. However, one of the sessions – traditionally reserved for the latest developments in science and engineering – was most humbling, particularly for the economists attending. Read more

Have you ever heard of Alexander Dobrindt? He must be a member of Superheroes Anonymous because the provincial politician has just taken on the "most powerful woman in the world”, Angela Merkel. Read more

Population growth is always an issue of intense debate, bouncing between a nation’s acceptance (and need) for migrants and an anti-foreigner sentiment. New Zealand and Australia are both typical and similar in this regard – both have relatively low populations for their size. Read more

After three years of the euro crisis, and despite numerous summits, various acronymed bailouts, and countless solemn pledges to save Europe’s common currency, we are nowhere closer to a solution than at the outset. The euro’s troubles have every chance of joining poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, violence in the Middle East and North Korea’s nuclear program as a standard feature of the world in which we live: unpleasant, dangerous and yet seemingly unalterable. Read more

Economics students generally learn how to deal with recessions in their first semester. To cushion the economy in a downturn and speed up the recovery, students are taught to cut interest rates and provide fiscal stimulus. Read more

The most remarkable feature of the global financial crisis is its sheer duration. For five years now, developed economies have been in trouble – much longer than ‘ordinary’ recessions usually last. Read more

Few things in politics look more certain than a change of government after the next Australian election in 2013. The Gillard Labor government is polling abysmally and plagued by constant leadership quarrels. Read more

Of all the reasons why Europe’s monetary crisis keeps dragging on, the lack of a common language is not the most obvious one. Why should it matter when the predominant language of finance, politics and diplomacy is English? Read more

The Western world since the Enlightenment has been shaped by the inviolability of rule of law, a commitment to scientific enquiry, and an adherence to democratic process. But at the root of all of these values lies an openness to ideas and a willingness to discuss them. Read more