Taylor, A., (2013), “External Imbalances and Financial Crises”, International Monetary Fund, IMF Working Paper No. 13/260, December. Consider two views of the global financial crisis. One view looks across the border: it blames external imbalances, the unprecedented current account deficits and surpluses in recent years. Another view looks within the border: it faults domestic financial systems where risks originated in excessive credit booms. We can use the lens of macroeconomic …Read More

Filippetti, Andr., Peyrache, Ant., (2013), “Is the Convergence Party Over? Labour Productivity and the Technology Gap in Europe”, Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 51, Issue 6, pp. 1006-1022. Closing the technology gap to reduce labour productivity disparities across Europe is crucial for the European cohesion policy. This article explores the sources of labour productivity growth in Europe over the period 1993–2007 in light of the enlargement process. Labour productivity …Read More

Ward-Warmedinger, M., Macchiarelli, C., (2013), “Transitions in Labour Market Status in the EU”, IZA Discussion Papers, N. 7814/2013. This paper presents information on labour market mobility in 23 EU countries, using Eurostat’s Labour Force Survey (LFS) data over the period 1998-2008. More specifically, it  discusses alternative measures of labour market churning; including the ease with which individuals can move between employment, unemployment and inactivity over time. The  results suggest that …Read More

Ritzen, J. and Zimmermann, K., (2013), “A Vibrant European Labor Market with Full Employment”, IZA – Institute for the Study of Labor, IZA Policy Paper No.73, December. We sketch a visionary strategy for Europe in which full employment is quickly regained by  2020, where income inequality is reduced and the economies are more sustainable. We name this scenario “vibrant.” It is contrasted with what would happen if present policies continue …Read More

Karanikolos, Μ., Mladovsky, P., Cylus, J., Thomson, S., Basu, S., Stuckler, D., Mackenbach, J. and McKee M., (2013), “Financial crisis, austerity, and health in Europe”, The Lancet, 381(9874): 1323-1331. The financial crisis in Europe has posed major threats and opportunities to health. We trace the origins of the economic crisis in Europe and the responses of governments, examine the effect on health systems, and review the effects of previous economic …Read More

Honkkila, J. and Kavonius, I.K., (2013), “Micro and Macro analysis on household income, wealth and saving in the euro area”, European Central Bank, Working Paper No. 1619, November. The report on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress by Stiglitz, Sen and Fitoussi concludes that in the measurement of household welfare all material components should be covered, i.e. consumption, income and wealth, from both the micro as well as …Read More

Georgiadis, G. and Grab, J., (2013), “Growth, real exchange rates and trade protectionism since the financial crisis”, European Central Bank, Working Paper No. 1618, November. Existing evidence suggests that protectionist activity since the financial crisis has been muted, raising the question whether the historically well-documented relationship between growth, real exchange rates and trade protectionism has broken down. This paper re-visits this relationship for the time period since 2009. To this …Read More

Baldacci, Ε., Gupta, S. and Mulas-Granados, C., (2013), “Debt Reduction, Fiscal Adjustment, and Growth in Credit-Constrained Economies”, International Monetary Fund, Working Paper No.13/238, 22 November. This paper assesses the effects of fiscal consolidations associated with public debt reduction on medium-term output growth during periods of private debt deleveraging. The analysis covers 107 countries and 79 episodes of public debt reduction driven by discretionary fiscal adjustments during 1980–2012. It shows that …Read More