The Sound Of Economics

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie is joined by ECB Senior Economist Christoph Kaufmann and Bruegel’s Stavros Zenios to unpack how disaster risk, political instability, and investor behaviour collide in euro area bond markets. They explore why investment funds respond differently to fiscal and political shocks, compared to other investor groups, and what are the consequences for both periphery and core countries. The conversation also addresses the disciplining role of markets, the sustainability of public debt and the need of a eurozone safe asset. Relevant research: Ajovalasit, S., A. Consiglio, G. Pagliardi and S. Zenios (2024) "Incorporating political risk into analysis of sovereign debt sustainability", Analysis, Bruegel Anaya Longaric, P., K. Cera, G. Georgiadis and C. Kaufmann (2025), “Investment funds and euro disaster risk”, Working Paper No. 3029, European Central Bank