Dear Colleague, We cordially invite you to our seminar on Thursday, 9 July 2015, 5 p.m. wiiw, Vienna 6, Rahlgasse 3, Library 2nd floor Any lessons for today? Exchange-rate stabilisation in Greece and South-East Europe between European aspirations and economic reality, 1870-1939 Matthias Morys Lecturer in Economic History at the University of York (UK) Abstract We add a historical and regional dimension to the current debate on the Greek debt crisis. In analysing 100 years of exchange-rate experience - from the foundation of the National Bank of Greece in 1841 to World War II - of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia/Yugoslavia, we find surprising parallels to the present: repeated cycles of entry to and exit from the dominant fixed exchange-rate system of the day, government debt build-up and default, and financial supervision by West European countries. A potential lesson for today might be that the EU-IMF programmes - with their focus on improving fiscal capacity and made effective by conditionality similar to the earlier SEE experience - remain the best and perhaps only guarantor of continued Greek membership in the euro area. Understandable public resentment against `foreign intrusion´ might need to be weighed against its potential to secure the long-term political and economic objective of exchange-rate stabilisation. (Papers and Powerpoint presentations, as far as available, are posted on our homepage http://wiiw.ac.at/events.html after the respective seminars.) Speaker Matthias Morys is Lecturer in Economic History at the University of York (UK). His research interests include monetary and financial history of the 19th and 20th centuries, the analysis of historical business cycles and the economic history of Central, East and South-East Europe. Best regards, Univ.Prof.Dr. Michael Landesmann Dr. Sándor Richter Scientific Director wiiw Organizer -- Michaela Bönisch Wiener Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche (wiiw) The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies Rahlgasse 3, A-1060 Wien T: +43 1 533 66 10 - 40 F: +43 1 533 66 10 - 50 boenisch@wiiw.ac.at http://www.wiiw.ac.at/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you do not want to receive further mailings please send an e-mail to boenisch@wiiw.ac.at Falls Sie keine weiteren Zusendungen des wiiw wünschen senden Sie bitte ein E-Mail an boenisch@wiiw.ac.at
