Curse or Blessing. The implementation of the European Monetary Union and its impact on the income distribution in Europe

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject Politics - Topic: Globalization, Political Economics, grade: 1,0, University of Hamburg (Department of Economics), course: Globalization, Development, Poverty & Inequality, language: English, abstract: In recent years there has been a growing concern about inequality in Europe among politicians, economists and the population. In 2013 in her speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Christine Lagarde underpinned the importance of equal distribution by saying that 'Excessive inequality is corrosive to growth; it is corrosive to society. I believe that the economics profession and the policy community have downplayed inequality for too long. Now all of us - including the IMF - have a better understanding that a more equal distribution of income allows for more economic stability, more sustained economic growth, and healthier societies with stronger bonds of cohesion and trust.'