Barber, T. (2014) “Economic chill set to make Finland the sick man of Europe“, Financial Times, Comments Blog, 02 Δεκεμβρίου.
Which of the eurozone’s 18 member states will be the weakest performing economy in 2015?
Italy, which has recorded no economic growth since 1999? Cyprus, which is still reeling from its financial sector collapse in 2012-13? Or some other hard-pressed southern European nation? No. In all probability, the sick man of the eurozone will be Finland.
The Finnish economy is in its third consecutive year of contraction. Any growth in 2015 will be not much bigger than a snowflake. The country will hold a general election in April. The question is whether the dark outlook will benefit The Finns, a populist-nationalist party which was known as the True Finns when it shocked Europe by coming third in the 2011 election with 19 per cent of the vote.
The case of Finland is a striking example of how prejudices and oversimplifications fail to capture the complex economic realities of the eurozone. After the Greek debt crisis erupted in 2009, pundits divided the region into two parts: a northern bloc of creditor countries supposedly characterised by economic efficiency, fiscal rigour and respect for the law; and a southern bloc of debtor states supposedly distinguished by economic weakness, profligate public finances and artful rule-bending.
Σχετικές αναρτήσεις:
- Derviş, Κ. & Saraceno, F. (2014) “An Investment New Deal for Europe“, Brookings Blog, 03 Σεπτεμβρίου.
- Fazi, T. (2014) “Is German Policy The Greatest Eurozone Threat? A Response To Jürgen Stark“, Social Europe Journal, 16 Απριλίου.
- Dustmann, C., Fitzenberger, B., Schönberg, U. & Spitz-Oener, A., “From sick man of Europe to economic superstar: Germany’s resurgence and the lessons for Europe“, VoxEU Organisation, 03 Φεβρουαρίου.