40 Million Pennies for Your Thoughts

Are you a reclusive economist-savant who happens to know how a member state might be able to exit the European Monetary Union in an orderly fashion?  Would your idea appeal to a center-right British think tank?  If so, you need to shave your beard and put in for the Wolfson Prize (don’t worry, with the 250,000 pounds sterling you can buy a new beard).  Via Free Exchange, the winning proposal will be chosen by a panel of economists selected by Policy Exchange, a London-based think tank.  Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise, who is putting up the cash, explains what they’re looking for:  “Consideration will need to be given to what a post-euro Eurozone would look like, how transition could be achieved and how the interests of employment, savers, and debtors would be balanced. Importantly, careful consideration must also be given to managing the potential impact on the international banking system.”

Some of the Levy Institute’s work on the eurozone crisis more generally can be found here:

• Papadimitriou and Wray, “Euroland in Crisis as the Global Meltdown Picks Up Speed”

• Polychroniou, “An Unblinking Glance at a National Catastrophe and the Potential Dissolution of the Eurozone”

• Varoufakis and Holland, “A Modest Proposal for Overcoming the Euro Crisis”

• Auerback, “What Happens if Germany Exits the Euro?”

• Papadimitriou, Wray, and Nersisyan, “Endgame for the Euro?”