Impact Factor: 0.4

Published since January 1, 2004

The Economists’ Voice

ISSN: 1553-3832

Edited by: Friedrich Heinemann, Gunther Schnabl

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About this journal

Objective
The Economists' Voice (EV) is a non-partisan forum for economists to present innovative policy ideas.

Economists have much to contribute to the public debate on a wide range of policy issues. Anyone concerned about the economic policy challenges of today, whether they are students, policymakers, or other citizens, would benefit from being involved in economists’ policy-oriented debate. Monetary policy, fiscal policy, trade, exchange rate policy, development policy, labor market policy, and regulation as well as health care and pension reform are among the most important fields of economic policy discussions.　

The Economists' Voice creates a forum for readable analysis by leading economists on vital economic policy issues of our day. The focus is on the clear verbal presentation of important evidence-based arguments for a broad readership. Empirical papers on policy-relevant issues are also welcome.

The Economists’ Voice was shortlisted for Best New Journal in the 2007 ALPSP/Charlesworth Awards. Its focused policy articles fill a gap between the op-ed pages of the newspaper and journal articles in theoretical journals. Contributors include seven Nobel Prize winners, five past chairs of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, public intellectuals like Paul Krugman and Richard Posner, and a veritable "Who's Who" of modern economic theory and policy.　

Topics

Monetary policy
Fiscal policy
Trade policy
Exchange rate policy
Development policy
Labor market policy
Regulation
Health care and pension reform
and all other economic policy relevant issues

Article formats
Two types of articles are accepted. First, policy papers up to 10,000 words, which are subject to a double-blind referee process and contribute to the scientific debate on important policy issues. Second, short articles for our policy forum, between 600 – 3000 words. They contain a deeper analysis than a newspaper article/comment but are of comparable general interest.

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Your Benefits

Your benefits

Recognized editorial board
Contributions by Nobel Prize winners
Insightful analyses of the vital issues of today
Quick access to articles, thanks to online publishing

History

Annual, updated continuously
Content available since 2004 (Volume 1, Issue 1)
ISSN: 1553-3832

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External Links

Volume 20 Issue 1

June 2023

Publicly Available July 26, 2023

Frontmatter

Page range: i-ii

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Editorial

Open Access June 28, 2023

The Economists’ Voice, June Issue 2023, Editorial

Friedrich Heinemann, Gunther Schnabl

Page range: 1-4

Download PDF

Policy Papers

March 21, 2023

Davids and Goliaths: Hidden Champions in an Age of Industrial Policy

Bernardo de Melo Pimentel, Guillermo Ramírez

Page range: 5-14

Abstract

We review the state of the current industrial champions debate and make the case for nimble, innovative ‘Davids’, rather than resource-hungry ‘Goliaths’. These export-based firms have shown robust performance in recent years and may help economies increase their resilience in times of significant uncertainty. They are more autonomous than traditional champions and they are already in our midst. The challenge for policymakers is how to foster an environment that supports Davids while keeping an eye on national strategic interests.

Publicly Available April 3, 2023

Can You Have Your Corporate Wokeism and Eat it too?

Dennis L. Weisman

Page range: 15-24

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Abstract

Corporate wokeism may be sustainable in an imperfectly competitive market when the higher costs driven by the inefficiency in employing labor inputs are offset by the increase in positive-margin sales generated from being “woke.” This is the mechanism by which woke corporations are potentially rewarded rather than punished by the competitive process in the new market economy.

April 3, 2023

Lessons from Latin America Dollarization in the Twenty First Century

Nicolas Cachanosky, Emilio Ocampo, Alexander W. Salter

Page range: 25-42

Abstract

This paper looks at twenty first-century dollarization in Latin America. We emphasize that dollarization is a complex reform that can be implemented in many different ways. We draw three important lessons from these experiences: (1) keeping the central bank after dollarizing is an unnecessary institutional vulnerability that facilitates compulsive de-dollarization, (2) public opinion offers the most important defense of dollarization against populist attempts at reversal, and (3) even if dollarization is not supported with structural reforms (or such reforms are reversed), it remains superior to the counterfactual of no reforms with persistent, high and volatile inflation.

March 21, 2023

Measuring Communication Quality of Interest Rate Announcements

Jonathan Benchimol, Itamar Caspi, Sophia Kazinnik

Page range: 43-53

Abstract

We use text-mining techniques to measure the accessibility and quality of information within the texts of interest rate announcements published by the Bank of Israel over the past decade. We find that comprehension of interest rate announcements published by the Bank of Israel requires fewer years of education than interest rate announcements published by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. In addition, we show that the sentiment within these announcements is aligned with economic fluctuations. We also find that textual uncertainty is correlated with the volatility of the domestic financial market.

April 21, 2023

The Political Economy of Transatlantic Security – A Policy Perspective

Jordan Becker, Ringailė Kuokštytė, Vytautas Kuokštis

Page range: 55-77

Abstract

This article reviews the broad political economy literature on transatlantic security, while noting applications to the current challenges ranging from burden-sharing to enlargement to NATO/EU relations, all in the context of renewed state-centric threats to allies emanating from Russia in particular. Thinking about the policy practicalities of transatlantic security has interested scholars and practitioners since the early days of the post-WWII international order. The “O” in NATO emerged as an international “organization” in many ways to address the economic challenges posed by a defense investment imbalance, wherein the US assumed the largest share. This collective action problem and the concomitant burden-sharing challenges merit yet another consideration given a deteriorating security environment in Europe and globally. We discuss a variety of influences that shape the ability of the transatlantic community to invest in defense, while also highlighting the role of recent empirical developments, notably, NATO’s prospective enlargement and the EU’s policy initiatives in the defense field. The discussion lays groundwork for a broader approach to transatlantic security, that is, beyond the canonical understanding of the collective action problem, and stresses a policy perspective that encourages thinking about levers by which burden-sharing arrangements can be adjusted to deal with unfavourable dynamics of defense investment.

Policy Forum: Monetary Policy and the Threat of Fiscal Dominance

Open Access April 27, 2023

Apolitical Money – An Illusion?

Otmar Issing

Page range: 79-88

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Abstract

Monetary history is a history of inflation. The Statute of the ECB, as a copy of the Bundesbank Act, can be viewed as an attempt to establish the euro as apolitical money. Experience with the short history of the euro shows the limits of this attempt. Fundamentally, the state remains the final authority in monetary matters. The article begins with a very brief outline of monetary history and the efforts undertaken to achieve a stable currency. The second chapter analyses the Statute of the ECB as an attempt to shield monetary policy from political influence. This is followed by a review of the experience gained in the short history of the euro. The last chapter draws conclusions about the possibilities of apolitical money.

April 18, 2023

The ECB’s Transmission Protection Instrument and Fiscal Stability

Katrin Assenmacher

Page range: 89-95

Abstract

The ECB’s Transmission Protection Instrument (TPI) supports the effective transmission of the monetary policy stance throughout the euro area, which is a precondition for the ECB to deliver on its price stability mandate. If activated, the Eurosystem would purchase securities issued in jurisdictions that experience a deterioration in financing conditions not warranted by country-specific fundamentals. The TPI thereby complements other tools to counter risks to the transmission mechanism such as the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) reinvestment flexibility and the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) programme.

June 12, 2023

Debt Sustainability in the Emerging New EU Fiscal Framework: A Major Change

Cinzia Alcidi

Page range: 97-102

Abstract

If agreed, the new European Commission legislative proposals on the reform of the fiscal framework will represent a major change. First and foremost debt replaces budget deficit as central variable, and debt sustainability assessment becomes a pivotal concept. It allows to introduce a multiannual approach and more flexible framework disconnected from numerical rules, which, in principle, gives member states greater ownership but also greater responsibility for their choices. It can only work if member states recognise that debt sustainability assessment is a risk-management tool that has to be taken seriously.

June 23, 2023

Government Bond Spreads in the Euro Area

Nicolas Carnot, Stéphanie Pamies

Page range: 103-110

Abstract

In the euro area, the sovereign debts of all Member States aspire to be equally safe but investors persistently discriminate between country debts. Empirically, the evidence suggests a clear role of ‘fundamentals’ in explaining government bond spreads between euro area countries. In particular, the level of indebtedness is found to weigh strongly on spreads in a non-linear fashion. Fiscal factors may however be tempered, or conversely exacerbated, by other factors including the external position, potential growth, and institutional quality. Notwithstanding other pressing policy priorities such as the energy transition and climate change, policy reforms aimed at credibly ensuring sustainable national debts therefore remain central to the governance equilibrium of the euro area.

Open Access May 23, 2023

Selective Bond Purchases – May the ECB Chose Winners and Losers?

Kerstin Bernoth, Sara Dietz

Page range: 111-118

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Abstract

The European Central Bank (ECB) is currently facing major challenges. Fragmentation of government bond yields across Member States of the European Economic and Monetary Union, based on different economic and fiscal policies, hampers a uniform transmission of monetary policy. At the same time, climate-related financial risks need to be addressed. In recent years, the ECB is meeting these challenges by making selective bond purchases and deviating from the principle of market neutrality. This study discusses whether such selective interventions by the ECB are justified from economic and legal perspectives. We conclude that choosing winners and losers, discriminating on the grounds of social, economic, environmental, or other grounds is beyond the ECB’s competence and outside of the ECB’s democratic foundation.

Publicly Available June 22, 2023

Britain’s Failed Attempt at Monetary and Fiscal Exceptionalism

David Marsh

Page range: 119-130

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Abstract

The autumn 2022 economic upheavals that brought down British Prime Minister Liz Truss’s government represented an ultimate extension of a high-risk exercise in British exceptionalism: the June 2016 referendum decision to leave the European Union. The ill-fated 23 September 2022 ‘mini budget’ introduced by Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng, her chancellor of the exchequer – like the referendum outcome six years earlier – was a landmark gesture of national independence. ‘The most ambitious and disastrous budget in modern British history’ illustrated how the intertwining forces of politics and economics set limits on ‘go it alone’ policies. The lessons reverberate beyond the UK’s borders.

May 11, 2023

Government Debt and Monetary Policy Perspectives in Japan

Hiroaki Miyamoto

Page range: 131-134

Abstract

Amid rising global inflation, Japan, which has long struggled with deflation, is now witnessing increasing prices. Inflation and the appointment of a new Bank of Japan governor in April 2023 bring the future of its monetary policy into question. Changes in monetary policy could significantly impact the economy, particularly public finances, given Japan’s high debt. The Bank of Japan must carefully observe market reactions to changes in monetary policy, while the government should aim to improve its fiscal situation. In the meantime, Japan must carefully consider the effectiveness and potential drawbacks of monetary and fiscal policies.

May 9, 2023

Long-Term Strategies to Reduce Public Debt from a Historical Perspective

Thomas Mayer

Page range: 135-142

Abstract

Public debt can be reduced in three ways: (1) repayment; (2) default; and (3) indirect default through monetary financing accompanied by debasement or followed by currency reform. In the course of history, repayment was more the exception than the rule, default often the only available way when a government had no control over the currency in which it borrowed, and indirect default more the rule than the exception. In this paper we review the three ways of debt reduction with exemplary references to historical events. We conclude that financial repression supplemented with debt repayment is likely to be the preferred way for public debt reduction today. The alternative would be currency reform.

Ahead of Print / Just Accepted

Ahead of Print / Just Accepted

Volume 20 (2023)

Issue 1

Volume 19 (2022)

Volume 9 (2012)

Volume 8 (2011)

Volume 7 (2010)

Volume 6 (2009)

Issue 13
Issue 12
Issue 11 Financial Market Regulatory Reform
Issue 10
Issue 9
Issue 8
Issue 7
Issue 6
Issue 5
Issue 4
Issue 3
Issue 2
Issue 1

Volume 5 (2008)

Volume 4 (2007)

Volume 3 (2006)

Volume 2 (2005)

Volume 1 (2004)

Journal Impact Factor	0.4	2022, Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2023)
5-year Journal Impact Factor	0.4	2022, Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2023)
Journal Citation Indicator	0.16	2022, Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2023)
CiteScore	0.8	2022, Scopus (Elsevier B.V., 2023)
SCImago Journal Rank	0.197	2022, SJR (Scimago Lab, 2023; Data Source: Scopus)
Source Normalized Impact per Paper	0.474	2022, CWTS Journal Indicators (CWTS B.V., 2023; Data Source: Scopus)

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Editorial

Editors

Prof. Dr. Gunther Schnabl, University of Leipzig, Germany
Prof. Dr. Friedrich Heinemann, ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, Mannheim, Germany; University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

Editorial Board

Dirk Baur, University of Western Australia, Australia
Nicolas Cachanosky, Metropolitan State University of Denver, USA
Barry Eichengreen, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Stefan Felder, University of Basel, Switzerland
Christopher A. Hartwell, Kozminski University, Poland
Monika Köppl-Turyna, EcoAustria Vienna, Austria
Corrado Macchiarelli, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, UK
Eiji Ogawa, Tokyo Keizai University, Japan
Niklas Potrafke, University of Munich, Germany
Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, Catholic University of Chile, Chile

(Deutsch)

Online ISSN: 1553-3832
Print ISSN: 2194-6167
Type: Journal
Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
First published: January 1, 2004
Publication Frequency: 2 Issues per Year
Audience: Readers include professional economists, lawyers, policy analysts, policymakers, and students of economics. The Economists' Voice is a source of expertise directed at once at the professional economist, policymakers, students, and anyone curious about the economy today.