Jöhr Lecture with Alberto Alesina

15 May 2014. In the Walter Adolf Jöhr Lecture on “Austerity in Europe”, Alberto Alesina will analyse the latest experiences with budget consolidations in Europe.

Abstract of the lecture
"How can we judge the recent experiences of fiscal adjustments in Europe? Have tax increases been more costly for the economy than spending cuts? Have the recent round of adjustments been more costly than in the past as a result of the credit crunch? This lecture will examine the recent epxeriences of fiscal adjustments in Europe and will provide some answers to these questions. The lecture will also discuss the pros and cons of fiscal rules like balanced budget rules."

Expert on sovereign debt

Prof. Alberto Alesina was born in Italy in 1957 and read economics at Università Bocconi, Milan, and at Harvard University. After obtaining his doctorate in 1986, he conducted research and taught at Carnegie Mellon University. In 1988 he returned to Harvard, where he was appointed professor in 1993. In 1998/99, he taught as a visiting professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and in 2002/03 and 2008/09 at the Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research of his alma mater in Milan.

His work covers a great number of topics: political economic cycles, the political economics of financial policies and budget deficits, the process of European integration, stabilisation policies in countries with a high rate of inflation, currency unions, the politico-economic determinants of redistribution policies, differences between the welfare states and economic systems of the US and Europe, as well as the organisation of electoral systems and their impact on economic policies.

Public lecture
The lecture will take place on Friday, 23 May 2014, from 11.15 a.m. in Room 09-010 (Audimax) in the Library Building of the University of St.Gallen. It is open to the public and will be given in English. Admission will be free.