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Meh. Monetary policy alone can't save the economies of the floundering European nations. If it's economic growth they want, they'll need to do something about a

Meh. Monetary policy alone can't save the economies of the floundering European nations. If it's economic growth they want, they'll need to do something about actually reforming the stagnant, over-regulated business environment. Or streamlining government spending so they can lower taxes without crushing austerity measures. Or cultural changes, encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship. Good luck with that.

anigbrowl 12y ago
True, but by definition monetary policy is the only thing a central bank can dictate. Fiscal policy is the domain of treasuries.
TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago
The Eurozone's problems don't really stem from "over-regulation".
- fennecfoxen 12y ago
  The Eurozone is a diverse set of nations, but many of the economies with the worst problems have over-regulation in some areas, especially labor-related regulations. Oddly enough labor regulation has significant impacts on economic growth and unemployment. :P I don't actually care to prepare a well-sourced and boring essay for this tiny corner of Hacker News. Instead, I will leave you with an approachable anecdote about trying to open a business in Greece selling olive oil on the Internet. You'd think this would be the perfect business for Greece, but (spoilers) it takes 10+ months and involves stool samples. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/19/world/europe/in-greece-business-rules-can-puzzle-entrepreneurs.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/19/world/europe/in-greece-bus... (Postscript. The article notes that some of the delays may be related to not paying the "speed tax", i.e. bribery. That is a story of the regulatory apparatus meeting Corruption for Extra Fun Times.)
- phil21 12y ago
  Maybe. Anecdote is of course not entirely useful, but I know a former employer I worked at tried to find some local staff in the EU (NL) for one of our datacenter locations. After speaking with a local attorney about the requirements, instead we simply rented an apartment and cycled US-based techs through on 3 month intervals. It was far easier than dealing with hiring a full time local to do the same job even after including rent, airfare, and a company vehicle. Less regulation and that would have been at least one, probably two, decent mid-range salary jobs for local IT folks fresh out of school.
kyleblarson 12y ago
http://www.businessinsider.com/titan-ceo-letter-to-montebourg-2013-2 http://www.businessinsider.com/titan-ceo-letter-to-montebour...

anigbrowl 12y ago

True, but by definition monetary policy is the only thing a central bank can dictate. Fiscal policy is the domain of treasuries.

TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago

The Eurozone's problems don't really stem from "over-regulation".

fennecfoxen 12y ago
The Eurozone is a diverse set of nations, but many of the economies with the worst problems have over-regulation in some areas, especially labor-related regulations. Oddly enough labor regulation has significant impacts on economic growth and unemployment. :P I don't actually care to prepare a well-sourced and boring essay for this tiny corner of Hacker News. Instead, I will leave you with an approachable anecdote about trying to open a business in Greece selling olive oil on the Internet. You'd think this would be the perfect business for Greece, but (spoilers) it takes 10+ months and involves stool samples. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/19/world/europe/in-greece-business-rules-can-puzzle-entrepreneurs.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/19/world/europe/in-greece-bus... (Postscript. The article notes that some of the delays may be related to not paying the "speed tax", i.e. bribery. That is a story of the regulatory apparatus meeting Corruption for Extra Fun Times.)
phil21 12y ago
Maybe. Anecdote is of course not entirely useful, but I know a former employer I worked at tried to find some local staff in the EU (NL) for one of our datacenter locations. After speaking with a local attorney about the requirements, instead we simply rented an apartment and cycled US-based techs through on 3 month intervals. It was far easier than dealing with hiring a full time local to do the same job even after including rent, airfare, and a company vehicle. Less regulation and that would have been at least one, probably two, decent mid-range salary jobs for local IT folks fresh out of school.

kyleblarson 12y ago

http://www.businessinsider.com/titan-ceo-letter-to-montebourg-2013-2 http://www.businessinsider.com/titan-ceo-letter-to-montebour...