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Hans-Werner Sinn

Stories from Hans-Werner Sinn

Saving the Greek Sinner
After years of Hellenic trickery and fantasy accounting, the Eurozone countries will be stuck footing the bill – if they can
Hans-Werner Sinn
01/03/2010

The euro’s current weakness has one culprit: Greece. At 14% of GDP, Greece’s latest current-account deficit was the largest of the euro-zone countries after Cyprus. Its debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 113% by the end of 2009. As this year’s deficit is projected to be more than 12% of a shrinking GDP, the debt-to-GDP ratio will soar above 125% by the end of 2010, the highest in the euro zone.

10 EU - US Cartoon
Americans are from Italy, Europeans are from Japan
While the U.S. is inflating away its public debt, a strong Euro may lead to stagnation
Hans-Werner Sinn
01/11/2009

The American business model has collapsed. During recent years, the United States borrowed gigantic sums of money from the rest of the word. Net capital imports exceeded $800 billion in 2008 alone. The money came largely from selling mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations, claims against claims against American homeowners (or to be precise, only against the homes themselves, as the owners were protected by the non-recourse nature of loans).

The Gathering Storm
Increasingly Bad News is Giving Rise to Serious Doubt. Is the World Economy Really on the Brink of Recession?
Hans-Werner Sinn
02/09/2008

 

From 2004 to 2007, the world economy experienced an unusually long and strong boom, with growth rates of nearly 5% and with many countries participating. The European Union (EU15) recorded 2.4% growth on average during these years. In Germany, where growth averaged 1.8% during this period, some journalists proclaimed a new economic miracle. Now, however, increasingly bad news is giving rise to serious doubts; dark clouds are hovering over the United States, in particular. Is the world economy on the brink of recession?

Food or Fuel?
In the Search for Energy, Bio Fuels May Not Make Sense
Hans-Werner Sinn
18/02/2008

When United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently visited Antarctica, he was impressed by the melting ice he saw there. Then he was in Brazil, where he was impressed by the country's use of bio-fuel to power a quarter of its automotive traffic. Oil pressed from rapeseed can be used as diesel fuel, and maize or sugar beets can yield ethanol to replace gasoline. The UN and many countries officially share the view that bio-fuel is one option in fighting climate change. The United States generously subsidizes production of ethanol from maize, with output there currently growing 12% annually and almost 10% worldwide. EU countries subsidized bio-fuels production with €3.7 billion in 2006, and intend to cover 8% of their motor fuels from biological sources by 2015 and 20% by 2020.

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