Events

Paul Krugman

Put an end to this crisis!

On 3 July, the Rafael del Pino Foundation hosted Paul Krugman's Keynote Lecture entitled ".Put an end to this crisis!"The event took the form of a debate between the author of the work, the author of the book, the author of the book, the author of the book, the author of the book, the author of the book, the author of the book. The event took the form of a debate between the author of the work, Paul Krugman; Pedro SchwartzProfessor Emeritus of the San Pablo - CEU University; and Manuel ContheDirector of the Editorial Board of the daily Expansión.

Full video of the debate

In statements prior to the debate, Paul KrugmanThe 2008 Nobel laureate in economics, considered one of the most prominent and influential economists of his generation, argued that "Spain needs to get rid of all the economic ballast generated by the bursting of the real estate bubble. To do so, it needs to improve its trade balance by increasing its exports and increasing the size of its trade sector. Spain therefore needs to become much more competitive in international markets, which requires the costs of the Spanish economy to fall relative to those of the rest of Europe".

Professor Krugman's view on the implementation of public spending restraint policies was blunt: "The austerity strategy does not work. With unemployment at very high levels, the logic of austerity already seemed wrong in 2010 and, two years later, it has proved ineffective. So we desperately need to put in place strategies that promote job creation and growth; not a strategy that has already proven to be a failure".

Paul Krugman does not believe that the US election calendar or the recent European Council agreement will reduce market pressure on Europe: "The US has a lot of problems, but the European agreement reached last week is not that important. It is, yes, a step in the right direction, but it is a very small step. If you look at the impact on the financial sector, it is probably bigger and better than on the rest of the economy, but it is not enough. The pact reached in Europe does not deal with the biggest problem, that of the return to growth. It is good news, but only because we are used to the European Commission producing very bad news.

The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for the comments, opinions or statements made by the people who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their sole responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference are the result of the debates held at the meeting held for this purpose at the Foundation and are the responsibility of their authors.

The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for any comments, opinions or statements made by third parties. In this respect, the FRP is not obliged to monitor the views expressed by such third parties who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their own responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference are the result of the discussions that took place during the conference organised for this purpose at the Foundation and are the sole responsibility of its authors.