“What is Going on in the World?” The Hegemony of Austerity in Europe: Two Contrasting Views

In his book Against the hegemony of austerity,Stuart Holland tells a different story of the European Union, that of the losers, helping us understand the stages of its construction, clarifying unknown or forgotten aspects and analysing its mistakes and possible solutions. The book, which provides analysis of issues such as the economic recovery, global governance and enhanced cooperation, includes A modest proposal to resolve the Eurozone crisis by Yanis Varoufakis, J.K. Galbraith and Stuart Holland, that has inspired the “Plan B for Europe” recently presented in Madrid by the former Greek Finance Minister. 

On the occasion of the book presentation, Stuart Holland will participate in a new edition of the series of conferences “What is going on in the world?” organised by CIDOB on the 5^th of April. The author will confront his ideas for Europe with those of Albert Carreras, Professor of History and Economic Institutions at the Pompeu Fabra University, during a debate moderated by Jordi Bacaria, director of CIDOB. 

Stuart Holland studied economics, history and political theory at the University of Oxford. He has an extensive career as an economist, adviser and political representative. Among his many roles, he was an adviser to Harold Wilson on European affairs, he drafted what in the early 1970s became the economic programme of the British Labour Party, he was a Member of the British Parliament from 1979 to 1989 and he was an adviser to Jacques Delors in shaping EU policies for economic and social cohesion. He has also worked with the German chancellor Willy Brandt and the former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. He currently teaches in Portugal and Hungary and advises the Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa, on European affairs. 

Albert Carreras holds a PhD in History from the University of Barcelona. He is a Professor of History and Economic Institutions at the Pompeu Fabra University, where he previously was Dean of the School of Economics and Business, Chairman of the Economics and Business Department and Deputy Vice-chancellor. Before joining the UPF he worked as a professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, at the University of Barcelona and at the European University Institute of Florence, where he was Head of the History and Civilization Department. Between 2007 and 2008 he was Prince of Asturias Professor at Georgetown University. He was secretary of Economy and Finance of the Government of Catalonia between 2011 and January 2016.