Description

Why have neo-liberal economic ideas been so resilient since the 1980s, and have continued to be so ever after the onset of the economic crisis in 2008? In Europe in particular, how do we explain the response to the Euro-crisis by EU member-states that have embraced ‘market discipline’ through austerity and structural reform, and in so doing have condemned themselves to slow or no growth? This talk proposes five lines of analysis to explain such resilience, illustrating with a range of examples, including the role of the state, the regulation of financial markets, governance of the euro, reform of labor markets and the welfare state in a range of European countries. The talk builds on the speaker’s co-edited book: Resilient Liberalism in Europe’s Political Economy (V.A. Schmidt and Mark Thatcher—Cambridge University Press 2013).

Vivien A. Schmidt is Jean Monnet Chair of European Integration, Professor of International Relations and Political Science, and founding director of the Center for the Study of Europe at Boston University. She has been a visiting professor or visiting scholar at major European universities and has published ten books and over 100 articles on European political economy, institutions, and democracy, as well as lately on the Eurozone crisis. Recent books include the forthcoming Resilient Liberalism in Europe’s Political Economy (co-edited, Cambridge 2013), Debating Political Identity and Legitimacy in the European Union (co-edited, Routledge 2011), Democracy in Europe (Oxford 2006; updated in French, La Découverte 2010), and The Futures of European Capitalism (Oxford 2002). Professor Schmidt is former chair of the European Union Studies Association—USA. Among recent distinctions, she was awarded a doctorate honoris causa from the Free University of Brussels, held the Franqui Interuniversity Chair of Belgium, and was Senior Visiting Research Scholar at the Free University of Berlin. She received her B.A. cum laude from Bryn Mawr College, her M.A. and Ph.D from the University of Chicago, and also attended Science Po, Paris.

Vivien A. Schmidt’s webpage: http://blogs.bu.edu/vschmidt/