An excerpt from today’s Open Europe news summary:
Luc Coene, a member of the ECB’s supervisory board and a former Belgian Central Bank Governor, told Belgian daily De Tijd that a Grexit may have been a better option, arguing, “Because of the depreciation of the currency, one can achieve more through increased exports in a less painful manner.”
No. Debasing one’s currency does NOT solve anything. There is no way that a country can force others to subsidize its economy through debasing one’s own currency or that one can “jump start” or “stimulate” one’s own economy by debasing the currency. All currency debasement accomplishes is a transfer of wealth from the non-exporting sectors of an economy to exporting sectors and foreigners. In other words, increased exports are subsidized by one’s own citizens.
Patrick Barron
