International Economics - The European Economy in the Time of COVID-19: Towards a New Dawn?

Guest Editors:

Amélie BARBIER-GAUCHARD, University of Strasbourg, BETA

Samuel LIGONNIÈRE, University of Strasbourg, BETA

Jamel SAADAOUI, University of Strasbourg, BETA

Scope of the special issue

The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in recent history, the ensuing economic crisis has plunged the world economy into disarray and put the European economy to the test. Despite the suffering and the loss of many lives, this crisis is an opportunity to rethink certain aspects of the European project. In the emergency, unprecedented measures have been put in place, such as lockdowns, generalized teleworking, government-guaranteed loans to companies, etc. In this historical context, the special issue will aim at investigating the challenges and perspectives related to a number of issues including monetary and budgetary policies, the coordination of health policies, and the most appropriate response to environmental and social issues in order to propose new ideas to strengthen the European project.

Possible topics

Researchers are invited to submit analytical, empirical and theoretical papers that are broadly consistent with the special issue topic. However, in particular we welcome papers related to the following areas:

• Fiscal policy, debt sustainability after the lockdown policies.
• Economic consequences of climate change and pandemics.
• Economic and political asymmetries in the EU.
• Health policy and European coordination.
• Corporate debt and the rise of zombie firms.
• Conventional and non-conventional monetary policies.
• Efficacy of support strategies during the lockdowns.
• Structural heterogeneity between EU member states.
• Transmission channels of economic policy and policy mix.
• Monetary policy in an incomplete monetary union.
• Banking system, financial integration, financial stability.
• Public finance and fiscal federalism.
• Fiscal rules and EMU budget.
• Labor markets, labor mutations, migrations, poverty and inequality.
• Economic convergence, economic stagnation and ecological transition.
• Internal and external imbalances, external debt sustainability, exchange rates.
• Gender inequality and social protection.

Important dates

• Opening submission: February 2021
• Submission deadline: March 15, 2022
• First decision on submission: June 30, 2022
• Special issue publication: December 2022

See the original call to submit