''The Euro and the Battle of Ideas'' is a book by

Markus Brunnermeier Markus Konrad Brunnermeier (born March 22, 1969) is an economist, who is the Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Economics at Princeton University, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He is a faculty ...

, Professor of Economics at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

; Harold James, Professor of History at Princeton University; and Jean-Pierre Landau, a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of France, a member of the board of directors of the

Bank for International Settlements The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution owned by central banks that "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks". The BIS carries out its work thr ...

(BIS). The book is about the philosophical differences between countries in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, particularly Germany and France, and how their contrasting outlooks on political philosophy have shaped the

Eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro ( €) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU polici ...

. The book also provides context to how the ideas that led to the creation of the European Union have influenced and been influenced by ideas in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

(IMF), and the

European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's most important centr ...

(ECB).

Summary

The book begins with the historical roots of German-French differences, highlighting the cultural and philosophical aspects which distinguish the two nations. Their divergent systems of philosophical thoughts have spurred differences in economic ideologies in regards to federalism versus

centralism Centralisation or centralization (see spelling differences) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, framing strategy and policies become concentrated within a particu ...

monetary Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are ...

and fiscal policies, and austerity versus

stimulus A stimulus is something that causes a physiological response. It may refer to: *Stimulation **Stimulus (physiology), something external that influences an activity **Stimulus (psychology), a concept in behaviorism and perception *Stimulus (economi ...

. The authors argue that "there is no single, coherent economic philosophy within Europe. Rather, different nations have retained their own distinct economic philosophers and view European-level institutions--and ways to improve them--in this light." The books continus with an analysis on how these philosophies have manifested themselves in the European Union, mainly through the Maastricht negotiations and the commitment to a currency union. They expound upon the divergent ideas of economics and politics have contributed to different models of governance within Europe, and that "the German view and the French view actually need each other to be sustainable."

Critical response

Ben Bernanke, former Chairman of the

U.S. Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...

praised the book for its insightful contribution to the

history of economics History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

: "International divergences in economic policy are as much the result of differences in intellectual frameworks as of variation in economic circumstances. This valuable book explains the critical differences in national economic philosophies and how they have conditioned policy choices over the past decade."

Lawrence Summers Lawrence Henry Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist who served as the 71st United States secretary of the treasury from 1999 to 2001 and as director of the National Economic Council from 2009 to 2010. He also served as pres ...

, former

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

, claimed that "This is the best and most important book so far on an experiment with profound economic and geopolitical implications."

Awards

The book has been a recipient of a number of awards, including '' Bloomberg’s'' Best Books of 2017, '' Project Syndicate’s'' Best Reads in 2017 (chosen by Jean Pisani-Ferry), '' The Financial Times''' Best Economics Books of 2016, and '' The Economist’s'' Economics and Business Books of the Year 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Euro And The Battle Of Ideas 2016 non-fiction books 21st-century history books Books about Europe Princeton University Press books

Summary

Critical response

Awards

See also

References