拯救欧元得不偿失?

Saving the Euro: a Pyrrhic Victory?

金本位的崩溃对经济从大萧条中复苏有着非常重要的意义。虽然欧元区效仿这种做法存在风险,但是欧元存续的代价却极为高昂。财政整顿不足以解决公债占比过高的问题,金融抑制和债务减免可能成为替代措施,却有可能对经济发展造成不良影响。

The collapse of the gold standard was an essential part of the recovery from the Great Depression. While the eurozone crisis exhibited some similarities to this painful part of history, policy makers were reluctant to employ such drastic measures to emerge from sovereign debt problems. The euro has survived this crisis but its survival has come at a very high price. Fiscal consolidation alone seems inadequate to address the problems of highly indebted economies in the euro area. Financial repression and debt relief will also be needed to address the debt overhang, and this has inflicted significant damage on future growth prospects in the eurozone.