Eurofound, (2017), “European Quality of Life Survey 2016”, December The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) is an established tool for monitoring and analysing quality of life in the EU. Carried out in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2016, the EQLS documents the living conditions and social situation of European citizens. It includes subjective and objective measures: reported attitudes and preferences, as well as resources and experiences. Relevant Posts Eurostat/EU children at risk of poverty or social …Read More
Can Europe Sustain the Macron Moment?
Carl Bildt, (2017), “Can Europe Sustain the Macron Moment?”, Project Syndicate, 13 December The European Union’s political and economic outlook improved dramatically in 2017, following a year in which the bloc reeled from the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum and Donald Trump’s election in the United States. But European leaders must not become complacent in 2018, or the EU could be thrown into crisis yet again the following year. Relevant Posts …Read More
The Dangerous Delusion of Price Stability
William White, (2017), “The Dangerous Delusion of Price Stability”, Project Syndicate, 14 December Since the hyperinflation of the 1970s, which central banks were right to combat by whatever means necessary, maintaining positive but low inflation has become a monetary-policy obsession. But, because the world economy has changed dramatically since then, central bankers have started to miss the monetary-policy forest for the trees. Relevant Posts Ferdinando Giugliano, (2017), «The ECB Needs an …Read More
Consumption per capita varied between 53% and 132% of the EU average
Eurostat/Consumption per capita varied between 53% and 132% of the EU average/14 December 2017 Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) is a measure of material welfare of households. Across the Member States in 2016, AIC per capita expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) varied from 53% of the European Union (EU) average in Bulgaria to 132% in Luxembourg. Relevant Posts Eurostat/Consumption per capita varied by more than one to two across EU …Read More
The Euro Zone Needs More Than a New Roadmap
Ferdinando Guigliano, (2017), “The Euro Zone Needs More Than a New Roadmap”, Bloomberg View, 15 December When the European Council meets Thursday and Friday, one document for discussion will be the European Commission’s new plan for the future of monetary union. Many of the ideas are not so much innovative as useful. Others look difficult to enforce. Most importantly, the reform plan will remain yet another meaningless document until euro …Read More
Greece’s recovery on track, boosted by business activity and tourism
Nikos S. Magginas, Effrosyni Alevizopoulou, Aikaterini Gouveli, Eleni Balikou, (2017), “Greece’s recovery on track, boosted by business activity and tourism”, NBG Economic Analysis Department Greece Macro Analysis Team, December 2017 According to NBG analysis, Q3:2017 trends can be explained by strong business activity and an inventory replenishment by Greek businesses in view of the higher-than-initially-expected demand in the first semester and strong orders for H2:2017. Relevant Posts Sotiris Nikas, Christos Ziotis, Nikos Chrysoloras, (2017), «Betting on A Greek Recovery», Bloomberg, …Read More
Betting on A Greek Recovery
Sotiris Nikas, Christos Ziotis, Nikos Chrysoloras, (2017), “Betting on A Greek Recovery”, Bloomberg, 12 December After suffering losses of more than $600 million in the country since 2014, the 67-year-old chairman and chief executive officer of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. says he’s even willing to consider expanding his exposure to Greece. He’s particularly confident about a turn in the fortunes of Eurobank, in which Fairfax has an 18 percent stake, making it …Read More
Employment up by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU28
Eurostat/Employment up by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU28/13 December 2017 The number of persons employed increased by 0.4% in the euro area (EA19) and by 0.3% in the EU28 in the third quarter of 2017 compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the second quarter of 2017, employment increased by 0.4% in the euro …Read More
Simon Evenett, Johannes Fritz, (2017), “Europe fettered: How foreign trade distortions hold back European exporters”, VoxEU, 12 December The focus of much of the literature on the trade impact of crisis-era protectionism on import restrictions is misplaced. This column introduces the latest Global Trade Alert report, which shows that while import restrictions played their part in holding back European exporters, trade-distorting subsidies were more important. Relevant Posts Simon Evenett, (2017), …Read More
Latest data shows developing trends in the European Central Bank’s refinancing operations
Konstantinos Efstathiou, (2017), “Latest data shows developing trends in the European Central Bank’s refinancing operations”, Bruegel, 12 December At this stage, open market operations of the European Central Bank (ECB) primarily consist of long-term funding with maturity exceeding three years, i.e. mostly Targeted Long-Term Refinancing Operations (TLTROs). The importance of traditional, one-week Main Refinancing Operations (MRO) and three-month Long-Term Refinancing Operations (LTROs) has all but disappeared. More recently, the relative …Read More