Fighting Fires from Crisis to Crisis: The Evolution of Central Banking in Europe

The year 2019 ushered in the end of an era for the European Central Bank when Mario Draghi stepped down as ECB President. The financial crisis left a legacy of central banks as “the only game in town”. The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the role of central banks as critical firefighters during crises, in contrast to earlier periods. This contribution examines the evolution of central banking in Europe. First, it evaluates the ideational shifts that allowed for a more expansive interpretation of the role of a central bank. Second, it looks at the ECB’s response to the Covid-19 crisis and assesses the underlying reasons why the use of the bank’s balance sheet is here to stay. Third, it looks at these issues in a comparative perspective, contrasting the issues and policy responses faced by the ECB to those of the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve. The final section concludes. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Investigating Government lending during an economic crisis: a comparative analysis of four EU countries

Many economists argue that fiscal balance (i.e. preventing fiscal deficits and establishing rules for government lending) positively affects the growth rate. Several studies document a strong correlation between these two variables based on the Ricardian equivalence theorem and the crowding-out effect. It may be argued that high growth rates lead to a positive fiscal balance, while lower/negative growth rates lead to deficits (but not vice versa). This study examines this cause-and-effect relationship via a sample of four EU countries that have been affected by the economic crisis. Specifically, a Granger causality analysis captures the linear interdependencies among multiple time series to determine the causal relation between the budget deficit and the GDP growth rates for Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. The results show that no clear rule governs the cause-and-effect relationship between the GDP growth rates and net government lending rates (as a percentage of GDP). Moreover, the literature supports the idea that fiscal improvement may lead to economic growth, while improving net government lending leads to an increase in the GDP growth rate. This study suggests some useful fiscal policies to apply during a crisis. Also, investigating government lending can be useful in a post-COVID-19 economic environment.

Purification of Emu IgY for Therapeutic and Diagnostic Use Based on Monoclonal Secondary Antibodies Specific to Emu IgY.

The emu is the second largest ratite; thus, their sera and egg yolks, obtained after immunization, could provide therapeutic and diagnostically important immunoglobulins with improved production efficiency. Reliable purification tools are required to establish a pipeline for supplying practical emu-derived antibodies, the majority of which belongs to the immunoglobulin Y (IgY) class. Therefore, we generated a monoclonal secondary antibody specific to emu IgY. Initially, we immunized an emu with bovine serum albumin multiply haptenized with 2,4-dinitrophenyl (DNP) groups. Polyclonal emu anti-DNP antibodies were partially purified using conventional precipitation method and used as antigen for immunizing a BALB/c mouse. Splenocytes were fused with myeloma cells and a hybridoma clone secreting a desirable secondary antibody (mAb#2-16) was established. The secondary antibody bound specifically to emu-derived IgY, distinguishing IgYs from chicken, duck, ostrich, quail, and turkey, as well as human IgGs. Affinity columns immobilizing the mAb#2-16 antibodies enabled purification of emu IgY fractions from sera and egg yolks via simple protocols, with which we succeeded in producing IgYs specific to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein with a practical binding ability. We expect that the presented purification method, and the secondary antibody produced in this study, will facilitate the utilization of emus as a novel source of therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies.

The European Semester: An Ordoliberal Construct?

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have inflicted a decisive blow to ordoliberalism's influence on the economic governance of the Eurozone. This contribution shows that the decline of the ordoliberal ideas precedes the pandemic and can be traced in the management of the financial crisis of 2007-2009. Drawing on the theoretical approach of sociological institutionalism and using insights from 18 interviews with participants in the Economic and Financial Committee and the ECOFIN, this article analyses the evolution of policy-makers' economic policy beliefs and their impact on the fiscal reform of 2010-2013. It is argued that the establishment of the European Semester was the institutional reflection of an intellectual shift from rules-based to institutions-based discipline. I find that the latter conflicts with core ordoliberal principles of the Freiburg economic school, opening the way for alternative institutional arrangements, such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

An Approach for Restaurant Management System during Covid-19

Restaurant industry is growing at a swift pace and keen to strengthen every segment of their business. Although ample attention is being paid in digitalizing the restaurant management systems, not many business proprietors recognise the importance of implementing digital billing software systems within the restaurant. The consumers' experience at any restaurant includes not only the food but also the placing and billing their orders. Billing software systems must be incorporated with additional features that speed up the restaurant services to gain better recognition, by enhancing the consumer's experience in any food chain. It enables customers to login to their account, access rewards, place orders and obtain the entire bill alongside payment options. The aim of this work is to change the traditional way of ordering food at a restaurant'. During the days of Covid-19, everyone wanted to avail contactless service, so when getting to a restaurant we will digitally access the menu and order our food in a contactless manner. Use of digital menu cards will help erode the communication gap between the waiter and the customer and therefore would confirm that the right order is placed. There will be less chances of order getting mixed with another table too. In this work, the restaurant management system is implemented in 8086 Microprocessor Assembly Language Programming (ALP) through EMU8086 emulator which helps in understanding the operation of 8086 Microprocessor. © 2022 IEEE.

A New Role for the European Stability Mechanism in Post-COVID-19 EMU? Explaining the Failure of the Pandemic Crisis Support and Assessing Ways Forward

Since the establishment of the Pandemic Crisis Support, it has been hypothesized that the European Stability Mechanism might play a new role in stabilizing investments in the European Economic and Monetary Union through a targeted support for the financing of European public goods. The article inquires into the changes in the European Stability Mechanism’s institutional design that could make this possible. It starts by analyzing its lending policy, its accountability structure, and the structure of incentives that underlie negotiations at the Board of Governors. The article then explains the failure of the Pandemic Crisis Support against the background of a neo-institutionalist analysis of the two-level games that develop at intergovernmental fora, and does so through an investigation of the 2020 negotiations that led to the institution of the Pandemic Crisis Support, first, and the The Next Generation EU, later on. Finally, it illustrates which alterations in the institutional design of the European Stability Mechanism could represent a different, and more favorable, structure of incentives for lenders and borrowers.

Ten Years On, Two Crises Later: Evaluating EMU Institutional Reforms Since 2010

The article systematically reviews EMU governance reforms implemented, policy instruments introduced and further institutional reforms currently under discussion with a view of how far they have addressed the institutional shortcomings of the euro-area architecture, which have led to the euro crisis of 2010ff. It further explores how far these reforms have helped to prevent a replay of that crisis when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the euro area. To this end, the article first reviews the academic debate about the causes of the euro crisis that started with the Greek sovereign debt crisis in 2010. In a second step, it evaluates the reforms implemented since the onset of the euro crisis and during the COVID-19 crisis with regard in how far these reforms have addressed or could address the causes of the crisis and gives an outlook on potential forthcoming problems.

Structural core–periphery divergences in the EU: the case of responses to the COVID-19 crisis in 2020

Pandemic responses within the EU deviate from past large-scale crisis management substituting the austerity paradigm with the normalisation of generous fiscal support. Yet, traditional north-south fault lines remain. The article addresses such a puzzle systematically assessing the core-periphery divide in pandemic management and outcomes across the EU 27. The analysis highlights gaps and geographical heterogeneities across the north-south divide, refuting their sole attribution to differences in the scale of the health crisis. Conversely, we show the contribution of containment measures to heterogeneous economic outcomes across the core and periphery, which extend to the Southern Member States marginally impacted by the outbreak. Findings confirm the pandemic furthered divergences across the Member States, highlighting how the absence of austerity alone is not sufficient to enact convergence within the EU27. Supporting structural imbalances and the need for transnational solidarity, the work contributes to the debate on core-periphery relations and the future of economic integration in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe and foreseen reform of the Stability and Growth Pact. [ FROM AUTHOR];Copyright of European Politics & Society is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

EU Emergency COVID-19 Instruments as an Attempt to Address Deficiencies in the EMU Design

The European Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), together with the Temporary Support to Mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) instrument, constitutes a significant attempt to address deficiencies in the design of the European Monetary Union (EMU). This article shows the importance of a common fiscal instrument for the functioning of the EMU. It also shows why, before 2020, such mechanisms were extremely limited and why making the RRF and SURE permanent will be politically difficult. Challenges hampering fiscal integration in the EMU, combined with the need for a permanent fiscal capacity, make the implementation of the RRF from 2021 to 2026 crucial not only for post-COVID-19 recovery, but also for the long-term economic stability of the EU. A failure in the RRF's transition into a permanent federal instrument will require a more conservative fiscal policy as member state budgets remain crucial for the macro-economic stabilisation of asymmetric shocks.

The Legal Architecture of the Economic Responses to COVID-19: EMU beyond the Pandemic*

This article analyses from a law and policy perspectives the measures adopted by the European Union (EU) to address the devastating economic effects of COVID-19, assessing their implications for Europe's economic and monetary union (EMU). The article first sets the background by exploring the main features of EMU before COVID-19. Subsequently, it examines the multiplicity of policies deployed by the EU institutions to contain the socio-economic damages of the pandemic ? including, most crucially, the EU recovery fund 'Next Generation EU' ? and underlines their transformative effect on the EU architecture of economic governance. As the article argues, the responses to COVID-19 have produced a significant rebalancing of EMU, bridging the asymmetry between EU monetary and economic policy. Finally, the article considers whether the COVID-19-related responses are likely to be only temporary, or rather a new normal for EMU, and sheds light on further constitutional adaptations which are needed to sustain this unprecedented transfer of fiscal power to the EU level.

Emergent Admissions to the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit in the Setting of COVID-19 Pandemic-related, State-mandated Restrictions: Clinical Decision Making and Outcomes.

Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the state of Texas-limited elective procedures to conserve beds and personal protective equipment (PPE); therefore, between March 22 and May 18, 2020, admission to the epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) was limited only to urgent and emergent cases. We evaluated clinical characteristics and outcomes of these patients who were admitted to the EMU. Nineteen patients were admitted (one patient twice) with average age of 36.26 years (11 female) and average length of stay 3 days (range: 2-9 days). At least one event was captured on continuous EEG (cEEG) and video monitoring in all 20 admissions (atypical in one). One patient had both epileptic (ES) and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) while 10 had PNES and 9 had ES. In 8 of 9 patients with ES, medications were changed, while in 5 patients with PNES, anti-epileptic drugs (AED) were stopped; the remaining 5 were not on medications. Of the 14 patients who had seen an epileptologist pre-admission, 13 (or 93%) had their diagnosis confirmed by EMU stay; a statistically significant finding. While typically an elective admission, in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic, urgent and emergent EMU admissions were required for increased seizure or event frequency. In the vast majority of patients (13 of 19), admission lead to medication changes to either better control seizures or to change therapeutics as appropriate when PNES was identified.

Practice Guidelines for Canadian Neurophysiology Laboratories During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on clinical practice. Safe standards of practice are essential to protect health care workers while still allowing them to provide good care. The Canadian Society of Clinical Neurophysiologists, the Canadian Association of Electroneurophysiology Technologists, the Association of Electromyography Technologists of Canada, the Board of Registration of Electromyography Technologists of Canada, and the Canadian Board of Registration of Electroencephalograph Technologists have combined to review current published literature about safe practices for neurophysiology laboratories. Herein, we present the results of our review and provide our expert opinion regarding the safe practice of neurophysiology during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.