Crisis in the Eurozone

Building on his work as a leading member of the renowned Research on Money and Finance group, Costas Lapavitsas presents a searing critique of the neoliberal nature of the eurozone. He ruthlessly dissects the roots of the current financial turmoil and the European debt crisis. Lapavitsas argues that European austerity will lead to a longer, deeperrecession, worsening the burden of debt and further imperilling banks and the monetary union itself. Controversially, Lapavitsas suggests that impoverished states would be wise to quit the euro and pursue a debtor-led sovereign and democratic default that would lead to profound cuts in the debt. Lapavitsas envisages a restructuring that will rely on the forces of organized labor and civil society, charting a theoretical cautious path between political economy and heterodox economics, between declining Europeanism and nascent nationalism.

Costas Lapavitsas is a Professor of Economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is a member of Research on Money and Finance (RMF). He is the lead author of the new RMF report "Breaking Up? A Route Out of the Eurozone Crisis." His previous publications include Social Foundations of Markets, Money and Credit and Political Economy of Money and Finance.