In this lecture, Nobel-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz offers insights and arguments from his latest book, The Euro: How a Common Currency Threatens the Future of Europe (W.W. Norton, 2016; German release as Europa spart sich kaputt, published by Siedler Verlag in September 2016). Although the euro was hailed by its architects as a lever that would bring Europe together and promote prosperity, it has actually, Stiglitz argues, done the opposite: promoted divergence rather than convergence. Europe’s economic stagnation and drab outlook are a result of the fundamental challenges facing a diverse group of countries that share a common currency, where economic unification has outpaced political integration. Stiglitz outlines three possible ways forward: fundamental reforms to the structure of the Eurozone and the policies imposed on member countries; a well-managed end to the single-currency experiment; or a bold, new system dubbed the “flexible euro.”

In cooperation with Siedler Verlag