The Eurozone as a Political Economy Field

Abstract

The Eurozone as a Political Economy Field i v a n o c a r d i n a l e , d ' m a r i s c o f f m a n a n d r o b e r t o s c a z z i e r i

Generalising the political economy of structural change: A Structural Political Economy approach

“…Another mechanism, which is particularly relevant in monetary unions, is that which links the dynamics of tradable and non-tradable sectors to external imbalances and the build-up of debt position. This can lead to asymmetric access to policy tools and potential adjustment paths, and therefore to tensions between countries on how to address crises ( Cardinale and Landesmann, 2017 ).…”

“…between sectors. For example, important conflicts in a monetary union are likely to be between tradable and non-tradable sectors for what concerns the dynamics of the real exchange rate, and between real and financial sectors for what concerns the winding down of debt positions (see Section 4 below; see also Cardinale and Landesmann, 2017 ). It can also be interesting to consider the reverse effect (ID → SI), i.e.…”

“…For example, changes in income distribution and employment structures can lead to delocalization of production. As a result, the definition of the sector that remains in the country changes, and so does the articulation of its interest (e.g., it could shift from an integrationist to a national orientation) ( Cardinale and Landesmann, 2017 ).…”

“…Structural Political Economy ( Cardinale, 2015 , 2017 , 2018b; Cardinale and Landesmann, 2017 ; Cardinale et al., 2017 ; Cardinale and Scazzieri, 2019 ) builds on the aforementioned tradition in that it detects sectoral interdependencies, it draws implications for social groups including those derived from income distribution and their roles in the productive system, and it traces the impact they have on the dynamics of the economy. However, it proposes a broader framework of analysis that makes it possible to study political aspects in a more comprehensive way.…”

“…Third, the SPE perspective highlights the political dimension of economic interdependencies, and in particular the limits they impose on the pursuit of particular interests. Such interdependencies may express themselves in terms of a ‘systemic interest’ in the viability and, more generally, the mode of functioning of the system as a whole (see Cardinale, 2015 , 2017 , 2018a , 2018b ).…”