Tiffin, Α. (2014) “European Productivity, Innovation and Competitiveness: The Case of Italy“, IMF Working Paper, Strategy,Policy and Review Department, May. In Italy, price-based competitiveness measures are not always an accurate predictor of trade outcomes. This paper offers a more comprehensive assessment of Italian competitiveness, focusing on the role of innovation and the evolution of Italy’s export market share. Overall, Italy maintains a high-quality export mix, and the adaptability of …Read More
All on Board, Making Inclusive Growth Happen
OECD (2014) All on Board, Making Inclusive Growth Happen, OECD Inclusive Growth Initiative with support from the Ford Foundation, May. Inclusive Growth, which is a new approach to economic growth that aims to improve living standards and share the benefits of increased prosperity more evenly across social groups, has become a major challenge for many countries around the world. This objective is particularly relevant in high income countries and …Read More
European Economic Forecast, Spring 2014
European Commission (2014) “European Economic Forecast, Spring 2014“, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, May: Brussels. The EU economic outlook is strengthening. While leading indicators point to GDP growth gaining momentum in the near term, the conditions for a sustained recovery in the medium term are also improving. In view of the crisis legacy, growth is still set to remain moderate, but a gradual easing of the drag related …Read More
What are the effects of the EU budget: Driving force or drop in the ocean?
Núñez-Ferrer, J. & Katarivas, M. (2014) “What are the effects of the EU budget: Driving force or drop in the ocean?”, CEPS Special Reports, Economic Policy, 28 April. The study presents an overview of the impact of the main investment tools of the EU budget. The focus is on the increasing role of the financial instruments, which are fundamentally changing the budget’s nature and reach. Through these instruments, the …Read More
European Banking Union: Status of Implementation and the Need for Improvement
Bauer, M. & Demary, M. (2014) “European Banking Union: Status of Implementation and the Need for Improvement“, Konrand Adenauer Stiftung, 23 April. The crisis in the euro area revealed points of weakness in the architecture of the Monetary Union. It appeared that the common monetary policy also required a common system of banking supervision. This report summarises the current proposals and decisions regarding the Banking Union and evaluates the …Read More
Government wages and labour market outcomes
European Commission (2014) “Government wages and labour market outcomes”, European Economy. Occasional Papers, April 2014: Brussels. As most European countries are trying to consolidate public finances, whilst also attempting to improve cost competitiveness for external rebalancing and abate unemployment, it is crucial to assess government wage formation, its outcomes and interaction with private sector labour costs. This paper provides an overview of government wage setting regimes, an empirical analysis …Read More
What drives the German current account? And how does it affect other EU member states?
Kollmann, R., Ratto, M., Roeger, W., In’t Veld, J. & Vogel, L. (2014) “What drives the German current account? And how does it affect other EU member states?”, European Economy, Economic Papers, April 2014. We estimate a three-country model using 1995-2013 data for Germany, the Rest of the Euro Area (REA) and the Rest of the World (ROW) to analyze the determinants of Germany’s current account surplus after the …Read More
The Global Economy in 2030: Trends and Strategies for Europe
Gros, D. & Alcidi, C. (2014) “The Global Economy in 2030: Trends and Strategies for Europe“, Economic Policy, CEPS Paperbacks, 02 April. This groundbreaking study concentrates on a set of critical economic factors that will shape future economic growth at the global level and offers a description of the possible evolution of their reach and scope. Our goal in pursuing this research is not to make precise predictions about …Read More
European Economic Forecast, Winter 2014
European Commission (2014) “European Economic Forecast, Winter 2014“, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, February, Brussels. Europe’s economic recovery, which began in the second quarter of 2013, is expected to continue spreading across countries and gaining strength while at the same time becoming more balanced across growth drivers. As it is typical following deep financial crises, however, the recovery remains fragile. Nevertheless, recent positive economic news means that the …Read More
Financing the Real Economy
Canton, E. (2014) “Financing the Real Economy“, ECFIN Economic Brief, Issue 30, February 2014. Introduction In the aftermath of the economic and financial crisis, policymaking became more geared towards structural reforms to support the process of economic recovery, steered at the EU level through the reinforced economic govern-ance. While there areencouraging signs that an economic recovery is underway in Europe, growth pro-spects are modest and further re-forms remain necessary …Read More