The Contents and Timing of a European Banking Union: Reflections on the Differing Views
Although views differ on the precise contents and timing of a genuine banking union, there is wide political agreement in principle on the need for three basic and vital elements: European bank supervision, a European deposit guarantee scheme (DGS) and a European bank resolution mechanism. In this CEPS Essay, H. Onno Ruding offers his personal views on the progress achieved to date, the outstanding issues that will prove the most difficult to resolve and recommendations on the way forward.
L'Unione Bancaria Europea E La Stabilizzazione Dell'Eurozona (The European Banking Union and the Stabilization of the Eurozone)
The economic governance of the Eurozone has been substantially improved in the last two years. However, the Eurozone still exhibits a dramatic coordination failure. Economic growth is being invoked, without anybody acting to make it realise. If a common macroeconomic stabilisation device was in place, it may have been possible to sustain growth without imposing new stress on public finances. Moreover, mechanisms of risk sharing, in the form of a fiscal backstop, are also a necessary component of any banking union.
How to interpret surveys in medical research: A practical approach
Surveys are being used increasingly in health-care research to answer questions that may be difficult to answer using other methods. While surveys depend on data that may be influenced by self-report bias, they can be powerful tools as physicians seek to enhance the quality of care delivered or the health care systems they work in. The purpose of this article is to provide readers with a basic framework for understanding survey research, with a goal of creating well-informed consumers. The importance of validation, including pretesting surveys before launch, will be discussed. Highlights from published surveys are offered as supplementary material. Was the survey well designed? Was the sample appropriate and the response rate adequate? And do the data support the conclusions?