Is Europe Headed For A Political And Financial Crisis In 2017?

Highlights of an article at Knowledge@Wharton with the same title:

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While most eyes are on the dramatic shifts possible for U.S. economic policy, deep political currents are on the move in Europe. Indeed, the state of economic and political affairs there mirrors the seismic shift in the United States in many ways.

In the U.S., the wave of populism has taken the form of the Republican Party. In Europe, it’s mostly manifested itself through the growth of extremist parties both on the left and the right. Major leadership elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany in 2017 could indelibly change the course of the EU as an economic entity. Last year, both the U.K. and Italy saw the resignations of their prime ministers as a result of referendums, with the U.K. voting to leave the European Union in a Brexit and Italy rejecting constitutional reform that would have reduced political instability and bureaucracy.

This year, Europe’s economic growth will depend to an unusual degree on political developments, with 3 key elections coming up. But one silver lining is the potential growth of European exports due to a stronger dollar, sparked by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s shift to a more hawkish stance that sees interest rates rising.

THE SHAPE OF BREXIT