Does the White House think the Eurozone can hold?
Officially, of course, the White House believes Europe has the wherewithal to right itself and that the Eurozone can hold. But what do top administration folk really think? They aren’t saying, but two former advisers have recently opened up on the subject. Last night, Larry Summers told an audience that "no person of good will" ...
Officially, of course, the White House believes Europe has the wherewithal to right itself and that the Eurozone can hold. But what do top administration folk really think? They aren't saying, but two former advisers have recently opened up on the subject. Last night, Larry Summers told an audience that "no person of good will" can advocate for Eurozone fragmentation and waxed eloquent about the achievements of a united Europe. Former Council of Economic Advisers chair Austan Goolsbee has a somewhat different take. The Washington Post's Ezra Klein asked him here whether there's a way the Eurozone can survive intact:
Officially, of course, the White House believes Europe has the wherewithal to right itself and that the Eurozone can hold. But what do top administration folk really think? They aren’t saying, but two former advisers have recently opened up on the subject. Last night, Larry Summers told an audience that "no person of good will" can advocate for Eurozone fragmentation and waxed eloquent about the achievements of a united Europe. Former Council of Economic Advisers chair Austan Goolsbee has a somewhat different take. The Washington Post‘s Ezra Klein asked him here whether there’s a way the Eurozone can survive intact:
No, there probably isn’t. If you look at the history, there have been places where what would seem to be not-optimal currency areas have stayed together. North and South Italy would seem to be one. But those tend to entail large, permanent subsidies from the rich side to the poor side, and a general social willingness to put up with these vast differences, usually because they’re all of the same nation state, and you have that mobility aspect. It’s harder to apply that model to Europe.
Neither man speaks for the administration. But it’s a fair bet that they reflect currents of thought in Washington’s corridors of power. And that in turn suggests that the White House may be as confused as the rest of us.
David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist
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