The Flow of Capital and the Eurozone Crisis

11 Pages Posted: 28 Jun 2014

See all articles by Vesna Svrtinov

Vesna Svrtinov

University Goce Delcev - Faculty of Economics

Riste Temjanovski

University Goce Delcev - Faculty of Economics

Olivera Trajkovska

University Goce Delcev - Faculty of Economics

Date Written: June 26, 2014

Abstract

Historical experience shows that in the world of high capital mobility, sudden stops of capital inflows may occur, typically triggering financial crises. The latest financial crisis in the euro zone (EZ) seems to support this point of view. Euro adoption encouraged a capital flow bonanza from the countries which constitute the center of the eurozone, to the countries which make up the periphery of the eurozone, where it was possible to obtain better returns, due to their less developed financial systems. This explains the large current account surplus in the Euro centre countries (like Germany and Netherlands) and the deficits in the Euro periphery countries (Greece, Portugal, Spain). The sudden stop which happened in 2009, made it difficult for periphery countries to roll over debt, and thus caused a crisis.

This paper analyses the role of large capital inflows in generating the EZ crisis. We argues that the impact on capital flows within the eurozone of financial deregulation and liberalization and of the adoption of the common currency was critical in exacerbating a growing competitiveness gap between core and periphery countries and explaining the evolution of the crisis.

Keywords: financial crisis, sudden stops, capital flows, EZ, recession

JEL Classification: F21, F31, F32, F37, G01

Suggested Citation

Svrtinov, Vesna and Temjanovski, Riste and Trajkovska, Olivera, The Flow of Capital and the Eurozone Crisis (June 26, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2459448

Vesna Svrtinov

University Goce Delcev - Faculty of Economics ( email )

Krste Misirkov bb Stip
Stip
Macedonia

Riste Temjanovski

University Goce Delcev - Faculty of Economics ( email )

Krste Misirkov bb Stip
Stip
Macedonia

Olivera Trajkovska (Contact Author)

University Goce Delcev - Faculty of Economics ( email )

Macedonia

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
278
Abstract Views
1,286
Rank
200,059
PlumX Metrics