Event Date: 2 June 2010
Eurozone in Crisis: Reform or Exit?
Since the start of 2010, the Eurozone crisis has become progressively deeper, threatening the existence of the euro as well as the coherence of the European Union. Imposing harsh austerity measures is not the only way to solve the crisis; in fact, it is the worst of several alternatives. That, at least, is the view of Research on Money and Finance (RMF), a network of political economists from SOAS and several other universities.
RMF and the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities will hold a roundtable discussion on the evening of 2 June to consider these alternatives. Entitled ‘Eurozone in Crisis: Reform of Exit?’, the event will bring together economists and political scientists who take a radical view of the crisis in the eurozone, and Greece in particular. The roundtable will consider options that are not frequently discussed in the media, including cessation of debt payments and exit from the eurozone. The event will explore themes from the widely read RMF report ‘Eurozone in Crisis: Beggar Thyself and Thy Neighbour’, which received worldwide media attention when it was released in March. It will also contribute to the debate on the social, political and economic aspects of the eurozone crisis that was launched in May by the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities.
CHAIR: Larry Elliott, Economics Editor, Guardian Newspaper.
Order of Speakers:
- Prof. Costas Lapavitsas (Department of Economics, SOAS): Reform or Exit from the Eurozone?
- Prof. George Irvin, (Department of Development Studies, SOAS): Costs and Benefits of Default
- Prof. Costas Douzinas, (School of Law, Birkbeck): The Politics of the Crisis
- Dr. Stathis Kouvelakis (European Studies, Kingís College): The Greek Crisis as a Crisis of the State
- Prof. Alex Callinicos (European Studies, Kingís College): The Eurozone and the Global Crisis
