Barry Eichengreen

This crisis of long-term unemployment is having a profoundly damaging impact on the lives of those bearing the brunt of it. We know this thanks to a series of careful studies of the problem conducted in the depths of the 1930s Great Depression. Barry Eichengreen

Depression Great Depression Great

The 24% unemployment reached at the depths of the Great Depression was no picnic. Barry Eichengreen

Depression Great Depression Great

The 1992 crisis proved that the existing system was unstable. Not moving forward to the euro would have set up Europe for even more disruptive crises. Barry Eichengreen

Crisis Forward Moving Forward

The consequences of a collapse would not be pretty. Whichever country precipitated it - Germany by threatening to abandon the euro, or Greece or Spain by actually doing so - would trigger economic chaos and incur its neighbours' wrath. Barry Eichengreen

Chaos Consequences Country

As for the single market, the E.U.'s landmark achievement, there is no question that a euro zone breakup would severely disrupt its operation in the short run. Barry Eichengreen

Market Question quotations on achievement