*** PHILIPPE JOURDON: Histoire monétaire de l'Europe de 1800 à 2007. De l'esprit des Lumières après le XVIIIe siècle à la généralisation de l'économie monétarisée à partir du XXIe siècle. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'École polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - fax: 43258203 - E-mail: diffusion.harmattan@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http://www.librairieharmattan.com ). 2009, 295 pp, €28,50.
ISBN 978-2-296-08367-7.
Inspired by cliometrics, the discipline used for synthesising statistical, historical methods and scientific models, this books is without precedent. It provides a picture that is sometimes rather detailed in its shape and structure and demonstrates the rise in power of different currencies and their role in the economy and, more broadly, in different societies, particularly those in Europe. Economists will be able to judge the validity of the ideas and analyses making up this dense tableau but those who only know what they have in their pockets or bank accounts will also benefit from this book, which is the first to show how Europe and the world arrived in a monetary landscape from nowhere or at least from very different planets;
Philippe Jourdan is a lecturer in economics and presented his doctoral thesis of 2,300 pages focusing on the past, present and future of the European currency, two years ago. He bases his book around three long monetary cycles. The first stretches from 1800-73, at a time when the economy was slowly monetarising, together with the appearance of private banks and the first ever central banks, notwithstanding the fact that this had developed in Britain a hundred years before. This is also an epoch when certain currencies, such as the English pound, the gold standard was the only measure, whereas the French franc, like other currencies, was made of silver. Jourdan also reveals that although France during this era had a “very warlike vision of political order”, the Bank of France preferred a very moderate monetary order and refused to, “play with the destiny of trade and industry”, unlike the Bank of England. In both cases, history sides with the British. From 1873-1945, we witness the period of economic monetarisation and the victory of the standard and reign of the British Pound until just after the First World War when it hands over to the US dollar. In the context of the First World War, Jourdan claims that, “due to a certain ceiling on public debt, between 80-100%, the country finds itself fatally wounded in the war”, which is one way of paying homage to those who devised the convergence criteria on debt.
The third long cycle Jourdan identifies ranges from 1945-2007. After the initial impetus of the US Marshall Plan, financial and monetary coordination projects between European countries develop over the years with European construction. They were obviously pegged to the D-Mark, the fruit of “monetary revolution” in Germany and the only currency capable of resisting the domination of the dollar. In this context, the author particularly welcomes the compensatory monetary mechanisms and the way agriculture was subsequently the first to benefit from a common European currency via genuine financial solidarity between member states, “one of the most beautiful monetary mechanisms conceived by humanity”. In the following pages, the whole history leading to the birth of the Euro is explained. The author returns to the subject of debt and attempts to illustrate how the 60% level was set as the objective, even though it was not publicly stated and which becomes, “a very real and painful historical experience”. Jourdan compares the allocations made by the European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve and points out that both have to fight against inflation and price stability but the former should not, whilst the latter should, “help and manage the relaunch of growth and jobs”, which explains the talk of it still being an institution in its childhood. This mission would plunge it into its “adolescence” and like the FED, it would be the only institution capable of setting interest rates at a national level and therefore globally influencing the beginning of “adulthood”. In conclusion, the author defends the idea that the destiny of the Euro would be to develop a social project whilst ensuring sustainable development and a balance between, private, social property and ownership. This is effectively a call for a real revolution compared to the “neo-liberal American model” but would rapidly require a significant increase in the European budget in order to give it, “ visibility and social credibility for the single currency”.
Pierre Bouvier
*** HANNS GÜNTHER HILPERT, STORMY MILDNER (Editors): The Financial Crisis: Collateral Damage and Responses. Editions SWP (3-4 Ludwigkirchplatz, D-10719 Berlin. Tel: (49-30) 88007-0 - fax: 880 07-100 - E-mail: swp@swp-berlin.org - Internet: http://www.swp-berlin.org ). "SWP Research Paper" series, No. 6. 2009, 50 pp.
The effects of the financial crisis, which have paralysed the markets and flows of capital since 2008 are nowhere near over. Even worse they have still not yet arrived. This is the view of the researchers from Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik and who provide a warning in this publication about the future fallout from this crisis. Until now the effects have mainly involved the banks but the dangerous distortions have also been revealed in other areas, particularly the international food sector and energy markets. The experience of other crises appears to suggest that the ongoing recession could continue further and Gross Domestic Product in the world could fall in 2009, which has never happened since 1945! According to the writers of this publication, it is crucial that international institutions, such as the IMF, WTO and G20 ensure that policies are put in place that are able to relaunch the financial machine and prevent isol ationist and protectionist reflexes in member states, which could have disastrous effects, like those experienced in the 1930s. The lack of liquidity resulting from the financial crisis means that there is a lack of investment in new energies and environmental protection just at the very moment when large parts of Western energy infrastructure have become obsolete as a means of meeting the energy challenges in this domain. Collateral damage from the crisis also requires global recognition of the importance of energy markets, agriculture, trade, environmental protection and European integration. It is also equally important that economies in the world do not try and go it alone but work together to overcome the crisis, if they do not, a rapid downward spiral could be triggered, from which it would be difficult to recover.
(NDu)
*** HENRI-CLAUDE DE BETTIGNIES, FRANCOIS LEPINEUX (Editors): Business, Globalization and the Common Good. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes - Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - fax: 3761727 - E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). Collection "Frontiers of Business Ethics", No. 6. 2009,447 p., €46. ISBN 978-3-03911-876-2.
Globalisation and new technology, for which just a short time ago we were singing their praises, are just beginning to bear their first fruit, but they do in fact appear to have a pretty bitter taste to them. Rather than making the world “flatter”, globalisation has made it more unequal and also increasingly demonstrates to what extent the world has become inter-dependent. This world without borders, where growth was supposed to nourish inter-cultural understanding, create more secure relations and herald in progress at all levels of society is not on the agenda. On the contrary, the world is more dangerous, disparate, prey to terrorism, natural disasters and other cultural and religious schisms, whilst the capacity of human beings to control progress appears to have slipped out of its hands. Economic activity, seen in our societies as the most efficient way of creating value, through products and services, innovation and other social contributions (as well as spreading this throughout society) appears unable to digest its negative effects. The dominant paradigm was maximising shareholder profits and there was little room for notions of common good. It is not difficult to observe how this model is leading the planet to disaster, particularly for future generations. Hence, the writers of the publication seek to reconcile the idea of the common good with economic activity and globalisation, in a way that would prevent economic actors ignoring the rest of society. The different writers of this publication are economic specialists and initially seek to define the concept of the “common good” and illustrate how the economic sphere is responsible for it in the era of globalisation. In their work they identify the individualist idea of entrepreneur, the notion of Corporate Social Responsibility and how firms can no longer ignore the common good or else suffer the ensuing consequences. One chapter focuses on the responsibility of religious spheres in ethical business and the role these traditions have played in the era of globalisation, particularly in respect of how they can help mitigate the negative aspects and generate a dynamic of change in values. The second part of the book is more empirical and develops a series of initiatives, which in the world of business, aims to develop the common good in the context of globalisation. Nicaragua is examined, as well as the country's efforts to ensure human development of its citizens through the economy, as well as examples of companies that make profits while protecting the environment, sustainable development and citizenship, including practices continued in Corporate Social Responsibility at an international level. The final part of the book tackles the relationship between business and the emerging global civil society. The question of government and global citizenship is also looked at, with the authors arguing that it is imperative that liberal society and market be counterbalanced by civil society. The book also contains a contribution on the sensitive issue of water, with the author looking at ways of preventing “water wars”, one of the greatest threats in the 21st century. He also appeals for universal access to be guaranteed for this vital resource. The book has a number of philosophic insights into ethical and economic activity and is aimed at a very wide public.
(NDu)
*** European View. The Future of Market Economy. Springer publications (7 Haberstrasse, D-69126 Heidelberg. Tel: (49-6221) 345-4304 - fax: 345-4229 - E-mail: subscriptions@springer.com - Internet: http://www.springer.com ). "European View" series, No. 8. June 2009, 161 pp.
The new edition of the esteemed European View, the academic journal of the Centre for European Studies and the European Peoples Party reflection group, mainly tackles the problem of the current economic crisis and the fate of the market economy. It is produced by a variety of different contributors (academics, the political and business communities) who discuss the different aspects of the crisis and seek possible solutions to put into place in an attempt to regain order in the economic sphere, as well as new rules to implement in order for the economic system to again develop a more social and stable character.
(NDu)
*** DAVID HIEZ (Editor): Droit comparé des coopératives européennes. Éditions Larcier (39 rue des Minimes, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5480713 - fax: 5480714 - E-mail: commande@deboeckservices.com - Internet: http://www.larcier.com ). "Faculté de Droit, d'Économie et de Finance de l'Université du Luxembourg" series. 2009, 163 pp., €73. ISBN: 978-2-8044-2000-0.
Following the after-effects of the economic crisis, research and studies are seeking to find a viable alternative to the capitalist model of recent years. Several legal, economics and finance specialists in this book look at the case of the cooperatives in fashion in Europe at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. Research into this subject was practically inexistent until several researchers from most European countries revived it, although there is still a lack of comparative research and too rudimentary knowledge about the different systems. This book seeks to provide a key to understanding the essential characteristics of each country by presenting the main cooperative legislations in each of them. The authors analyse the aspects of law such as those applying in cooperatives in several European countries (Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Finland and Belgium) in an effort to provide material useful to more advanced research in this subject.
(NDu)
*** Bulletin de l'Observatoire des politiques économiques en Europe. Université de Strasbourg (Pôle européen de gestion et d'économie, 61 av. de la Forêt Noire, F-67085 Strasbourg. E-mail: thierry.stolle@urs.u-strasbg.fr - Internet: http://www.opee.u-strasbg.fr ). Winter 2009, No. 20, 48 pp.
Edited by Professor Michel Dévoluy, the issue of this Bulletin is celebrating its tenth anniversary. It confirms more than ever, the initial goal of those behind the project: to get academics out of their ivory towers and to address a public much broader than students and colleagues, as well as to use their expertise and ideas on a changing Europe (given that European integration is now not only tackled in an economic perspective but also in regard to other disciples). The previous issue mainly focused on the economic and financial crisis and this issue does so too with contributions on how the Euro-zone responded and why new member states have been particularly hard hit, as well as, “Europe's mark on the G20 summit in April”. Two other themes are also tackled: the question of jobs for women in the Union and whether European competitiveness goals and territorial cohesion are compatible. One legal specialist also looks at Europe in the perspective of the principles for equality. (MT)