Clément Fontan
Biographic Data
| ID | 873511 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Clément Fontan |
| GIVEN NAMES | Clément |
| FAMILY NAME | Fontan |
| SIGNATURE | FONTAN C |
| AFFILIATIONS | UCLouvain |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6283-8931 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 135 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Capital, travail et neutralité technocratique. La BCE face aux monstres de l’inflation (2010-2025)
Cet article analyse l’évolution de la stratégie monétaire de la BCE depuis 2010. Nous montrons que les soubassements idéels de cette stratégie engendrent un biais structurel favorisant l’allocation des richesses aux forces du capital au détriment de celle du travail. Malgré des ajustements pendant la période de crises, la BCE reste focalisée sur les salaires comme facteur inflationniste, tout en négligeant l’impact des profits. L’article propose …
Riders on the delegated act storm: Power struggles and expertise in the dismantling of the EU Taxonomy
Not a steamroller, a 3D process: Scientization at the Bank of England
This article investigates the scientization process in central banks, using the Bank of England (BoE) as a case study. Its main goal is to clarify the interactions and tensions among three dimensions of scientization: contributory, policymaking and legitimizing. To do so, we outline an ideal type of contributory scientization in central banks, whereby they become active contributors to science. The article derives empirically observable character…
The ECB and the inflation monsters: Strategic Framing and the Responsibility Imperative (1998–2023)
The recent resurgence of inflation in Europe has led the ECB to increase interest rates and phase out asset purchase programs designed to address the effects of the Great Financial Crisis. This article investigates how the ECB adjusts its logic of responsibility throughout this series of crises. Using a topic model and in-depth analysis of speeches, we examine the ECB's strategic framing of causal linkages related to inflation during three histor…
Six Decades of Economic Research at the Bank of England
This paper discusses the transformation of the content, role, and status of economic research at the Bank of England in the past sixty years. We show how three factors (the policy functions and missions of the Bank, the attitude of its executives toward economics, and its organizational structure) shaped the evolution of in-house economic research at the Bank during three distinctive periods (1960-91; 1992-2007; 2007-14). Our account relies on a …
Roger (Antoine) – Le capitalisme à travers champs. Étudier les structures politiques de l’accumulation. – Lormont, Le Bord de l’eau, 2020 (Documents). 408 p
Éric Monnet, La Banque-providence. Démocratiser les banques centrales et la monnaie
In response to the global financial crisis, central banks grew, once again, into what experts dubbed “the only game in town” in macroeconomic policy. The policy response to COVID-19 has cemented further the key role that monetary policy plays today in our economies. This new role has put into question the thirty years consensus view on central banks as neutral technocratic institutions and has gave birth to new academic debates and controversies.…
Benquet (Marlène), Bourgeron (Théo) – La finance autoritaire. Vers la fin du néolibéralisme . – Paris, Raisons d’agir, 2021 (Raisons d’agir). 168 p
International audience
The European Central Bank and the German Constitutional Court: Police Patrols and Fire Alarms
In May 2020, a ruling of the German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) questioned the legality of the Bundesbank’s participation in the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) Public Sector Purchase Programme. Applying elements of a principal-agent analysis, this article analyses how the FCC ruling presents us with a new understanding of the relationship between the ECB, other EU institutions and Eurozone member states. Existing principal-agent analyses …
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Preference Formation in France During the Eurozone Crisis
This article analyses the causal factors underlying the formation of French preferences during the Eurozone crisis solving process (2008–2017). Going beyond the clear distinction between national preference formation and interstate bargaining of liberal intergovernmentalism, this article combines new intergovernmentalism, political economy and feedback loops to study the horizontal linkages between different actors included in the process of dome…
The Myth of Market Neutrality: A Comparative Study of the European Central Bank’s and the Swiss National Bank’s Corporate Security Purchases
Monetary policy operations in corporate security markets confront central banks with choices that are traditionally perceived to be the prerogative of governments. This article investigates how central bankers legitimise corporate security purchases through a comparative study of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB). As we show, central bankers downplay the novelty of corporate security purchases by relying on familia…
The judicialisation of EMU politics: Resistance to the EU's new economic governance mechanisms at the domestic level
Courts are increasingly asked to deal with fundamental political disagreements in liberal democracies. Because of its political salience and the extent of its consequences, the crisis of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has exposed such fundamental disagreements between and within its member states, which numerous plaintiffs have brought before domestic courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). This article analyses this …
Theoretical perspectives on the new era of central banking
Frankfurt’s double standard: The politics of the European Central Bank during the Eurozone crisis
In this article, I examine the bias in favour of financial markets displayed by the European Central Bank (ECB) during the Eurozone crisis. Having analysed the roots of the ECB’s bias, I explore the discrepancy between the conditionality of ECB financial support that is directed towards states and that which is directed towards markets. On the one hand, the ECB has exerted strong coercive and cognitive pressures to reform Eurozone economic govern…
Une banque centrale au-dessus des nations ? Faire peser les intérêts nationaux au sein de la Banque Centrale Européenne
Bien que la Banque centrale européenne (BCE) dispose d’un niveau élevé d’indépendance, les représentants étatiques ont gardé un moyen de contrôle sur la politique monétaire en nommant de manière autonome les six membres de son directoire. Cet article montre d’abord que ces nominations sont structurées par un jeu à double niveau où les dirigeants doivent prendre en compte les logiques du jeu politique domestique et de la négociation intergouvernem…
Central banking and inequalities: Taking off the blinders
What is the relation between monetary policy and inequalities in income and wealth? This question has received insufficient attention, especially in light of the unconventional policies introduced since the 2008 financial crisis. The article analyzes three ways in which the concern central banks show for inequalities in their official statements remains incomplete and underdeveloped. First, central banks tend to care about inequality for instrume…
Olivier Feiertag et Michel Margairaz (dir.), Les banques centrales et l'État-nation
Cet ouvrage collectif dirigé par Olivier Feiertag et Michel Margairaz couvre l’évolution historique des banques centrales du XVIIe siècle à nos jours, par le prisme de leurs rapports aux États-nations. Plus de trente historiens ont contribué à cette somme dense (près de 700 pages) qui porte sur des terrains historiques balisés, comme la Banque de France sous Napoléon ou la Banque d’Angleterre au temps de l’Empire britannique et d’autres plus méco…
L'art du grand écart: La Banque centrale européenne face aux dilemmes provoqués par la crise de la zone euro
Cet article a pour but de répondre à deux questions centrales : pourquoi la Banque centrale européenne a-t-elle continué à défendre un modèle orthodoxe de politique monétaire alors qu’elle s’en est éloignée dans sa réponse à la crise de la zone euro ; et comment a-t-elle pu le faire ? Il explore d’abord les racines idéelles de la BCE, dont la création a été permise par la diffusion des idées liées à la nouvelle macro-économie classique et par le …
Frankenstein in Europe: The impact of the European Central Bank on the management of the eurozone crisis
Depuis sa création en 1999, la Banque centrale européenne a cherché à influencer les règles de gouvernance économique de la zone euro alors que ses responsabilités initiales sont recentrées sur le domaine monétaire. Bien qu’elle n’ait pas pu exercer de véritable influence sur ces domaines lors des dix premières années de l’euro, la crise des dettes souveraines débutée en décembre 2009 a fait apparaître une fenêtre d’opportunité pour les banquiers…
Chantiers de recherche transfert d'idée et résistances au changement: Le cas de la banque centrale européenne après la crise
The Myth of Market Neutrality: A Comparative Study of the European Central Bank’s and the Swiss National Bank’s Corporate Security Purchases
Monetary policy operations in corporate security markets confront central banks with choices that are traditionally perceived to be the prerogative of governments. This article investigates how central bankers legitimise corporate security purchases through a comparative study of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB). As we show, central bankers downplay the novelty of corporate security purchases by relying on familia…
Central banking and inequalities: Taking off the blinders
What is the relation between monetary policy and inequalities in income and wealth? This question has received insufficient attention, especially in light of the unconventional policies introduced since the 2008 financial crisis. The article analyzes three ways in which the concern central banks show for inequalities in their official statements remains incomplete and underdeveloped. First, central banks tend to care about inequality for instrume…
Frankfurt’s double standard: The politics of the European Central Bank during the Eurozone crisis
In this article, I examine the bias in favour of financial markets displayed by the European Central Bank (ECB) during the Eurozone crisis. Having analysed the roots of the ECB’s bias, I explore the discrepancy between the conditionality of ECB financial support that is directed towards states and that which is directed towards markets. On the one hand, the ECB has exerted strong coercive and cognitive pressures to reform Eurozone economic govern…
The European Central Bank and the German Constitutional Court: Police Patrols and Fire Alarms
In May 2020, a ruling of the German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) questioned the legality of the Bundesbank’s participation in the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) Public Sector Purchase Programme. Applying elements of a principal-agent analysis, this article analyses how the FCC ruling presents us with a new understanding of the relationship between the ECB, other EU institutions and Eurozone member states. Existing principal-agent analyses …
The ECB and the inflation monsters: Strategic Framing and the Responsibility Imperative (1998–2023)
The recent resurgence of inflation in Europe has led the ECB to increase interest rates and phase out asset purchase programs designed to address the effects of the Great Financial Crisis. This article investigates how the ECB adjusts its logic of responsibility throughout this series of crises. Using a topic model and in-depth analysis of speeches, we examine the ECB's strategic framing of causal linkages related to inflation during three histor…
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Preference Formation in France During the Eurozone Crisis
This article analyses the causal factors underlying the formation of French preferences during the Eurozone crisis solving process (2008–2017). Going beyond the clear distinction between national preference formation and interstate bargaining of liberal intergovernmentalism, this article combines new intergovernmentalism, political economy and feedback loops to study the horizontal linkages between different actors included in the process of dome…
The judicialisation of EMU politics: Resistance to the EU's new economic governance mechanisms at the domestic level
Courts are increasingly asked to deal with fundamental political disagreements in liberal democracies. Because of its political salience and the extent of its consequences, the crisis of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has exposed such fundamental disagreements between and within its member states, which numerous plaintiffs have brought before domestic courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). This article analyses this …
Six Decades of Economic Research at the Bank of England
This paper discusses the transformation of the content, role, and status of economic research at the Bank of England in the past sixty years. We show how three factors (the policy functions and missions of the Bank, the attitude of its executives toward economics, and its organizational structure) shaped the evolution of in-house economic research at the Bank during three distinctive periods (1960-91; 1992-2007; 2007-14). Our account relies on a …
Riders on the delegated act storm: Power struggles and expertise in the dismantling of the EU Taxonomy
Frankenstein in Europe: The impact of the European Central Bank on the management of the eurozone crisis
Depuis sa création en 1999, la Banque centrale européenne a cherché à influencer les règles de gouvernance économique de la zone euro alors que ses responsabilités initiales sont recentrées sur le domaine monétaire. Bien qu’elle n’ait pas pu exercer de véritable influence sur ces domaines lors des dix premières années de l’euro, la crise des dettes souveraines débutée en décembre 2009 a fait apparaître une fenêtre d’opportunité pour les banquiers…
Theoretical perspectives on the new era of central banking
Chantiers de recherche transfert d'idée et résistances au changement: Le cas de la banque centrale européenne après la crise
L'art du grand écart: La Banque centrale européenne face aux dilemmes provoqués par la crise de la zone euro
Cet article a pour but de répondre à deux questions centrales : pourquoi la Banque centrale européenne a-t-elle continué à défendre un modèle orthodoxe de politique monétaire alors qu’elle s’en est éloignée dans sa réponse à la crise de la zone euro ; et comment a-t-elle pu le faire ? Il explore d’abord les racines idéelles de la BCE, dont la création a été permise par la diffusion des idées liées à la nouvelle macro-économie classique et par le …
Frankenstein in Europe: The impact of the European Central Bank on the management of the eurozone crisis
Depuis sa création en 1999, la Banque centrale européenne a cherché à influencer les règles de gouvernance économique de la zone euro alors que ses responsabilités initiales sont recentrées sur le domaine monétaire. Bien qu’elle n’ait pas pu exercer de véritable influence sur ces domaines lors des dix premières années de l’euro, la crise des dettes souveraines débutée en décembre 2009 a fait apparaître une fenêtre d’opportunité pour les banquiers…
Une banque centrale au-dessus des nations ? Faire peser les intérêts nationaux au sein de la Banque Centrale Européenne
Bien que la Banque centrale européenne (BCE) dispose d’un niveau élevé d’indépendance, les représentants étatiques ont gardé un moyen de contrôle sur la politique monétaire en nommant de manière autonome les six membres de son directoire. Cet article montre d’abord que ces nominations sont structurées par un jeu à double niveau où les dirigeants doivent prendre en compte les logiques du jeu politique domestique et de la négociation intergouvernem…
Central banking and inequalities: Taking off the blinders
What is the relation between monetary policy and inequalities in income and wealth? This question has received insufficient attention, especially in light of the unconventional policies introduced since the 2008 financial crisis. The article analyzes three ways in which the concern central banks show for inequalities in their official statements remains incomplete and underdeveloped. First, central banks tend to care about inequality for instrume…
Olivier Feiertag et Michel Margairaz (dir.), Les banques centrales et l'État-nation
Cet ouvrage collectif dirigé par Olivier Feiertag et Michel Margairaz couvre l’évolution historique des banques centrales du XVIIe siècle à nos jours, par le prisme de leurs rapports aux États-nations. Plus de trente historiens ont contribué à cette somme dense (près de 700 pages) qui porte sur des terrains historiques balisés, comme la Banque de France sous Napoléon ou la Banque d’Angleterre au temps de l’Empire britannique et d’autres plus méco…
Theoretical perspectives on the new era of central banking
Frankfurt’s double standard: The politics of the European Central Bank during the Eurozone crisis
In this article, I examine the bias in favour of financial markets displayed by the European Central Bank (ECB) during the Eurozone crisis. Having analysed the roots of the ECB’s bias, I explore the discrepancy between the conditionality of ECB financial support that is directed towards states and that which is directed towards markets. On the one hand, the ECB has exerted strong coercive and cognitive pressures to reform Eurozone economic govern…
The Myth of Market Neutrality: A Comparative Study of the European Central Bank’s and the Swiss National Bank’s Corporate Security Purchases
Monetary policy operations in corporate security markets confront central banks with choices that are traditionally perceived to be the prerogative of governments. This article investigates how central bankers legitimise corporate security purchases through a comparative study of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB). As we show, central bankers downplay the novelty of corporate security purchases by relying on familia…
The judicialisation of EMU politics: Resistance to the EU's new economic governance mechanisms at the domestic level
Courts are increasingly asked to deal with fundamental political disagreements in liberal democracies. Because of its political salience and the extent of its consequences, the crisis of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has exposed such fundamental disagreements between and within its member states, which numerous plaintiffs have brought before domestic courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). This article analyses this …
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Preference Formation in France During the Eurozone Crisis
This article analyses the causal factors underlying the formation of French preferences during the Eurozone crisis solving process (2008–2017). Going beyond the clear distinction between national preference formation and interstate bargaining of liberal intergovernmentalism, this article combines new intergovernmentalism, political economy and feedback loops to study the horizontal linkages between different actors included in the process of dome…
Benquet (Marlène), Bourgeron (Théo) – La finance autoritaire. Vers la fin du néolibéralisme . – Paris, Raisons d’agir, 2021 (Raisons d’agir). 168 p
International audience
The European Central Bank and the German Constitutional Court: Police Patrols and Fire Alarms
In May 2020, a ruling of the German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) questioned the legality of the Bundesbank’s participation in the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) Public Sector Purchase Programme. Applying elements of a principal-agent analysis, this article analyses how the FCC ruling presents us with a new understanding of the relationship between the ECB, other EU institutions and Eurozone member states. Existing principal-agent analyses …
Éric Monnet, La Banque-providence. Démocratiser les banques centrales et la monnaie
In response to the global financial crisis, central banks grew, once again, into what experts dubbed “the only game in town” in macroeconomic policy. The policy response to COVID-19 has cemented further the key role that monetary policy plays today in our economies. This new role has put into question the thirty years consensus view on central banks as neutral technocratic institutions and has gave birth to new academic debates and controversies.…
Roger (Antoine) – Le capitalisme à travers champs. Étudier les structures politiques de l’accumulation. – Lormont, Le Bord de l’eau, 2020 (Documents). 408 p
The ECB and the inflation monsters: Strategic Framing and the Responsibility Imperative (1998–2023)
The recent resurgence of inflation in Europe has led the ECB to increase interest rates and phase out asset purchase programs designed to address the effects of the Great Financial Crisis. This article investigates how the ECB adjusts its logic of responsibility throughout this series of crises. Using a topic model and in-depth analysis of speeches, we examine the ECB's strategic framing of causal linkages related to inflation during three histor…
Six Decades of Economic Research at the Bank of England
This paper discusses the transformation of the content, role, and status of economic research at the Bank of England in the past sixty years. We show how three factors (the policy functions and missions of the Bank, the attitude of its executives toward economics, and its organizational structure) shaped the evolution of in-house economic research at the Bank during three distinctive periods (1960-91; 1992-2007; 2007-14). Our account relies on a …
Capital, travail et neutralité technocratique. La BCE face aux monstres de l’inflation (2010-2025)
Cet article analyse l’évolution de la stratégie monétaire de la BCE depuis 2010. Nous montrons que les soubassements idéels de cette stratégie engendrent un biais structurel favorisant l’allocation des richesses aux forces du capital au détriment de celle du travail. Malgré des ajustements pendant la période de crises, la BCE reste focalisée sur les salaires comme facteur inflationniste, tout en négligeant l’impact des profits. L’article propose …
Riders on the delegated act storm: Power struggles and expertise in the dismantling of the EU Taxonomy
Not a steamroller, a 3D process: Scientization at the Bank of England
This article investigates the scientization process in central banks, using the Bank of England (BoE) as a case study. Its main goal is to clarify the interactions and tensions among three dimensions of scientization: contributory, policymaking and legitimizing. To do so, we outline an ideal type of contributory scientization in central banks, whereby they become active contributors to science. The article derives empirically observable character…
Political science (19 works) · Economics (11 works) · Law (9 works) · Global Financial Regulation and Crises (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Global Financial Crisis and Policies (7 works) · Humanities (6 works) · Politics (6 works) · European Union Policy and Governance (5 works) · Political economy (5 works)