Who is Afraid of Eurobonds? — by Francesco Bianchi, Qingyuan Fang, Leonardo Melosi, Anna Rogantini Picco
The current euro area policy framework conflates short-run stabilization with long-run fiscal sustainability, exposing members to deflationary and inflationary tail risks. We employ an estimated euro area model to analyze an alternative framework that separates these objectives. A centralized Treasury issues Eurobonds to finance countercyclical stabilization, while national governments retain responsibility for long-term fiscal sustainability. The Treasury can coordinate with the monetary authority in case of a large recession, with no need to suspend fiscal rules at the national level. The arrangement functions as an automatic stabilizer, eliminating the tail risks of deflation and fiscal stagflation.
