David Miles, Ugo Panizza, Ricardo Reis, Ángel Ubide (2017), “Elusive inflation and the Great Recession”, VoxEU,25 October The chair of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, recently stated that “[t]he biggest surprise in the US economy this year has been inflation” (Yellen 2017). The Federal Reserve expected that the rapid decline in unemployment – from 4.8% in January to 4.2% in September, below the Federal Reserve’s estimate of the natural rate of …Read More
Eurostat/Euro area and EU28 government deficit at 1.5% and 1.7% of GDP respectively/23 Οκτωβρίου,2017 In 2016, the government deficit and debt of both the euro area (EA19) and the EU28 decreased in relative terms compared with 2015. In the euro area the government deficit to GDP ratio fell from 2.1% in 2015 to 1.5% in 2016, and in the EU28 from 2.4% to 1.7%. In the euro area the government debt to GDP …Read More
Eurostat/Seasonally adjusted government deficit up to 1.2% of GDP in the euro area/24 Οκτωβρίου,2017 In the second quarter of 2017, the seasonally adjusted general government deficit to GDP ratio stood at 1.2% in the euro area (EA19), an increase compared with 1.0% in the first quarter of 2017. In the EU28, the deficit to GDP ratio stood at 1.3%, an increase compared with 1.1% in the previous quarter. Σχετικές Αναρτήσεις Eurostat/Seasonally adjusted …Read More
Eurostat/”Which sector is the main employer in the EU Member States?”/24 Οκτωβρίου,2017 In 2016, almost half of employment in the European Union (EU) was concentrated in two economic activities: “Wholesale and retail trade, transport, accommodation and food services” (24.7%) and “Public administration, defence, education, human health and social work activities” (23.7%). Both activities have seen their respective share in total employment increase slightly over the last 20 years. In contrast, …Read More
Eurostat/Government debt slightly down to 89.1% of GDP in euro area/24 Oκτωβρίου,2017 At the end of the second quarter of 2017, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA19) stood at 89.1%, compared with 89.2% at the end of the first quarter of 2017. In the EU28, the ratio also decreased, from 83.6% to 83.4%. Compared with the second quarter of 2016, the government debt to GDP …Read More
Balazs Koranyi (2017), “Φτάνει η ώρα των αποφάσεων για την ΕΚΤ”, Καθημερινή/Reuters, 24 Οκτωβρίου Ο πρόεδρος της ΕΚΤ καλείται να προβεί, όχι πρώτη φορά, σε μια δύσκολη πράξη εξισορρόπησης. Με την οικονομική ανάκαμψη στην Ευρωζώνη να βρίσκεται στον πέμπτο χρόνο, έχει έρθει η στιγμή για την περικοπή των μέτρων στήριξης της οικονομίας. Ωστόσο, η υπερβολικά φιλόδοξη σκλήρυνση της νομισματικής πολιτικής θα μπορούσε να «πνίξει» την ανάπτυξη που είχαν ενισχύει τα …Read More
European Commission, Economic and Financial Affairs, (2017), “Investment in the EU Member States: An Analysis of Drivers and Barriers”, Institutional Paper 062, Οκτώβριος The EU is entering its fifth consecutive year of growth. GDP is now higher than before the crisis and the employment rate has increased, thanks in part to reforms in a number of Member States. However, the investment rate is still below its pre-crisis average and is …Read More
Eurostat/Output of economic activities in the EU Member States/23 Οκτωβρίου 2017 In 2016, industry was still the largest economic activity in the European Union (EU) in terms of output generated. It accounted for 19.4% of EU total gross value added (GVA), immediately ahead of the economic activities “Wholesale and retail trade, transport, accommodation and food services” (19.0%) and “Public administration, defence, education, human health and social work activities” (18.8%). “Real estate activities” …Read More
Giugliano Ferdinando, (2017), “Central Bank Independence Requires Accountability”, Bloomberg View, 23 Οκτωβρίου The appointment of Italy’s new central bank governor has turned into a depressing power struggle. But for all the elements that make this a uniquely Italian affair, it also raises broader questions about how a country should balance independence and accountability in the event of a possible central bank failure. Σχετικές Αναρτήσεις Transparency International EU, (2017), «TWO SIDES …Read More
Giancarlo Corsetti, Luca Dedola, Marek Jarocinski, Bartosz Mackowiak, Sebastian Schmidt, (2017), “Business cycle stabilisation in the Eurozone: Ways forward”, VoxEU, 23 Οκτωβρίου Business cycle stabilisation policy in the Eurozone may end up being far from optimal if member states must tighten fiscal policy amid weak economic activity while monetary policy is constrained by the lower bound on nominal interest rates. This column surveys the recent literature formulating practical lessons for …Read More
