EUROPE’S ORPHAN

Book ID/图书代码： 03277015B85583

English Summary/英文概要： Originally conceived as part of a unifying vision for Europe, the euro is now viewed as a millstone around the neck of a continent crippled by vast debts, sluggish economies, and growing populist dissent. In Europe’s Orphan, leading economic commentator Martin Sandbu presents a compelling defense of the euro. He argues that rather than blaming the euro for the political and economic failures in Europe since the global financial crisis, the responsibility lies firmly on the authorities of the eurozone and its member countries. The eurozone’s self-inflicted financial calamities and economic decline resulted from a toxic cocktail of unforced policy errors by bankers, politicians, and bureaucrats; the unhealthy coziness between finance and governments; and, above all, an extreme unwillingness to restructure debt.

Sandbu traces the origins of monetary union back to the desire for greater European unity after the Second World War. But the euro’s creation coincided with a credit bubble that governments chose not to rein in. Once the crisis hit, a battle of both ideas and interests led to the failure to aggressively restructure sovereign and bank debt. Ideologically informed choices set in motion dynamics that encouraged more economic mistakes and heightened political tensions within the eurozone. Sandbu concludes that the prevailing view that monetary union can only work with fiscal and political union is wrong and dangerous--and risks sending the continent into further political paralysis and economic stagnation.

Contending that the euro has been wrongfully scapegoated for the eurozone’s troubles, EUROPE’S ORPHAN charts what actually must be done for the continent to achieve an economic and political recovery.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 本书中，著名经济评论员Martin Sandbu为欧元做出了强有力的申辩。他认为，不应该将欧洲的政治经济失败归罪于欧元，责任其实在欧元区及其成员国的当局身上。欧元区自身造成的金融危机和经济衰退主要源于银行家、政治家和官僚们未执行的政策所导致的错误，金融业和政府间不健康的安逸状态，以及最重要的一点——极端不愿意重组债务。

Sandbu认为，货币联盟的起源可以追溯至二战以后对更强大的欧洲统一的渴望。但欧元诞生之际恰逢信贷泡沫，而政府选择不对此进行干预。一旦危机爆发，变导致了意识形态和利益方面的争斗，最终导致未能成功重组主权及银行债务。这导致了更多的经济错误，并加剧了欧元区内部紧张的政治局势。Sandbu得出结论，主流观点认为货币联盟只能依靠财政及政治联盟才能运作，这是错误的，并且存在导致欧洲大陆进一步陷入政治瘫痪和经济停滞的风险。

作者认为，欧元已经错误地被当成了欧元区问题原因的替罪羊，并提出了为实现欧洲大陆经济政治复苏所必须采取的措施。（LYR）

Awards/获奖情况：“（一部）发人深思的有趣作品……（Sandbu）在书中挑战了目前有关欧元命运的可怕共识，并在最后章节中提醒大家单一货币到底目的何在。”——Richard Lambert，《展望》

“《金融时报》作家Sandbu毫不理会目前的头条新闻，直击欧元区背后的理念和实力政策策略，指出确保全球相关性依然是欧洲最大的希望……本书有力地阐述了作者的观点：将欧元作为欧洲经济政治分裂的替罪羊是无稽之谈。”——《出版人周刊》

"[A] stimulating and entertaining book. . . . [Sandbu] has performed a public service by challenging the present dreary consensus on the fate of the euro and, in his final chapter, by reminding us what the single currency was for."--Richard Lambert, Prospect

"Financial Times writer Sandbu (Just Business) looks past current headlines to the ideals and realpolitik strategy behind the Eurozone, arguing that it remains Europe’s best hope for preserving global relevance. . . . The book cogently explains why scapegoating the euro for Europe’s economic and political disunity is nonsense."--Publishers Weekly

"Thanks to the economic crisis that threw a quarter of the eurozone’s youth into unemployment and poisoned its politics, it seems the euro has few friends left. In this fascinating book, Martin Sandbu salvages the shipwreck of monetary union from the blunders of its political leaders. He argues persuasively that the problem lay not with the euro itself but with the decision to avoid sovereign bankruptcy. Sandbu exposes for Europe’s policymakers the uncomfortable truth that the fault was not in their stars, but in the choices they made."--Dani Rodrik, Harvard University

"An extremely original take on the eurozone crisis, Europe’s Orphan boldly tackles the conventional wisdom that the common currency is a disastrous halfway house. Europe’s woes do not lie in its weak central institutions, but in its poor macroeconomic framework and moralistic resistance to debt write-downs. With better policies, Martin Sandbu argues, the eurozone can thrive in its current form. Indeed, the UK should stop gloating and join. Brilliant and profoundly provocative, Sandbu’s book will surely influence the debate on the future of Europe."--Kenneth Rogoff, Harvard University and coauthor of This Time Is Different

"With its novel interpretation of events and policies, Europe’s Orphan offers a refreshing discussion of the recent financial crisis in Europe and the failed attempts to solve it."--Thorsten Beck, Cass Business School, City University London

"This is a timely book with a striking message. It argues that the apparent failure of the euro can be attributed to specific policy mistakes rather than inherent weaknesses, and that those mistakes could be set right, saving the single currency."--Diane Coyle, author of GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History

"Discussing the eurozone crisis, Europe’s Orphan contends that the euro was not the culprit and if anything, the crisis would have been worse without it. It is a gutsy and provocative work."--Ugo Panizza, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

"With an unconventional perspective and new information, Sandbu provides a powerful, consistent, and comprehensive overview of the eurozone crisis. Telling the story as a clash between creditors and debtors that inevitably becomes ever more bitter, this lively account will interest a wide audience."--Harold James, author of Europe Reborn: A History, 1914-2000

About the Author/作者介绍： Martin Sandbu，2009年起担任《金融时报》的经济领导，目前休息在家写书。在写作本书的过程中，他采访了欧元区危机中所有的关键人物。Martin Sandbu在法国长大，父母亲分别是挪威和波兰人。他先后进入牛津、哈佛大学学习，后在哥伦比亚和沃顿教学。他在学术和新闻记者方面的积累，加上对欧洲背景的广泛认识，使其非常适合写作本书。

Martin Sandbu is the economics leader for the Financial Times, a position he has held since 2009. He is currently on book leave from the FT and during the months he has been researching this book Sandbu has interviewed and spoken to all the key characters involved in the eurozone crisis. Sandbu grew up in France with Norwegian and Polish parents, attended Oxford University and later Harvard before teaching at Columbia and Wharton. The combination of his academic and journalistic credentials, as well as his very own pan European background, make him the perfect candidate to write this book.

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