One point that's not fully explained in this infographic is the borrowing costs in the Eurozone countries:
Before the Euro introduction, borrowing costs in Germany, both for the private as well as the government sector, were cheap, whereas in the southern countries they were high.
With the Euro introduction, borrowing costs were essentially unified, the interest rate being set by the ECB. So Germany suddenly faced higher borrowing costs than before and the southern states faced significantly lower borrowing costs.
That lead to the debt explosion in southern Europe and it put Germany in a tougher position than before. Germany went through an economic slump between 2000 and 2005 and had to retool its economy to be as competitive as before. Germany did this with internal devaluation: German wages have now been stagnating for a decade.
Between 2005 and 2010, the roles have switched and right now Germany's economy is almost overheating, in part because the interest rate set by the ECB is super low to make life easier for the struggling southern countries.
That's why Euro critics like Ambrose Evans-Pritchard call the ECB's policy "one size fits none". However, that's not to say the Euro critics are right. The hope of Euro optimists is that the Eurozone countries' economies will eventually converge. Whether or not that will ever happen is still up in the air. The whole thing is an experiment without precedent.
Before the Euro introduction, borrowing costs in Germany, both for the private as well as the government sector, were cheap, whereas in the southern countries they were high.
With the Euro introduction, borrowing costs were essentially unified, the interest rate being set by the ECB. So Germany suddenly faced higher borrowing costs than before and the southern states faced significantly lower borrowing costs.
That lead to the debt explosion in southern Europe and it put Germany in a tougher position than before. Germany went through an economic slump between 2000 and 2005 and had to retool its economy to be as competitive as before. Germany did this with internal devaluation: German wages have now been stagnating for a decade.
Between 2005 and 2010, the roles have switched and right now Germany's economy is almost overheating, in part because the interest rate set by the ECB is super low to make life easier for the struggling southern countries.
That's why Euro critics like Ambrose Evans-Pritchard call the ECB's policy "one size fits none". However, that's not to say the Euro critics are right. The hope of Euro optimists is that the Eurozone countries' economies will eventually converge. Whether or not that will ever happen is still up in the air. The whole thing is an experiment without precedent.