1st Edition
Deciphering the European Investment Bank History, Politics, and Economics
Deciphering the European Investment Bank: History, Politics and Economics examines the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union’s financial institution and the largest lender and borrower among the International Financial Institutions.
Since its establishment in 1958, the EIB has developed without becoming front-page news and has remained highly invisible. By putting together 14 chapters that analyze topical and meaningful moments and aspects of the bank, this edited book offers the first comprehensive analysis of its origins and its evolution in terms of its mandate, governance, structures, policy activity, and performance. Written by acknowledged experts from various disciplines, the chapters weave together history, economics, law, and political science to provide a multidisciplinary examination and capture the complexity of the EIB. The book is a timely initiative for understanding the EIB, whose role has been ever increasing for contributing to the recent global economic challenges, including the economic and financial crisis, climate change, and COVID-19 pandemic.
The chapters are written at a level which will be comprehensible to undergraduates in economics, history, and international political economy. It will also be a valuable source of reference for academics, policy makers, bankers, and other practitioners interested in regional development banks and their role in the global economy.
Introduction: The European Investment Bank
Lucia Coppolaro and Helen Kavvadia
Chapter 1 A Bank, not a fund
Lucia Coppolaro and Helen Kavvadia
Chapter 2 Banking the European Dream. The French presence and influence at the European Investment Bank (1958–2018)
Bernard Gordon
Chapter 3 Developing Mediterranean Europe: The EIB and the financing of Italy and Greece from the 1960s to the 1980s
Donatella Strangio & Paolo Tedeschi
Chapter 4 The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Istituto Mobiliare Italiano (IMI): A Neglected Relationship in the EIB’s Activity in Italy (1968–1978)
Ilaria Pasotti and Barbara Costa
Chapter 5 The unknown institution: The United Kingdom and the EIB (1973–1999)
Lucia Coppolaro
Chapter 6 Small words, big changes: Understanding the European Investment Bank through its business model
Helen Kavvadia
Chapter 7 The Politicization of the European Investment Bank? Managing Hybridity and Resource Dependence in European Economic Governance
Daniel Mertens and Matthias Thiemann
Chapter 8 The European Investment Bank Loans, Regional Economic Growth, and Cohesion in the European Union
Andrzej Jakubowski
Chapter 9 The EIB in the light of European integration theories: Conserving the tilted playing field
László Bruszt, Dóra Piroska, and Gergő Medve-Bálint
Chapter 10 A Critical Appraisal: Identifying Weaknesses in the European Investment Bank’s Project Assessment Phase
Daniel Beizsley
Chapter 11 The European Investment Bank, development banks and the promotion of public-private partnerships
David Howarth and Moritz Liebe
Chapter 12 The European Investment Bank as a major player in EU urban policy
Mateu Turró
Chapter 13 Never waste a crisis: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, and the European Bank Coordination Initiative
Stuart Shields
Chapter 14 The EIB as the investment arm of the Union: Legal challenges from the big financial crisis?
Emanuela Pistoia
Biography
Lucia Coppolaro is associate professor of international history at the University of Padova (Italy). Her research interests lie in the fields of international economic institutions and international trade. She has published numerous articles in journals including Contemporary European History and The International History Review.
Helen Kavvadia is researcher in residence at the University of Luxembourg. She was a Senior Adviser at the European Investment Bank. Her research and publications focus on political economy and economic diplomacy, with special interest in the regional development banks.
