Since the end of the financial crisis, salaries in Germany have increased significantly and real wages are rising faster than productivity.The buoyancy of the German labour market explains this shift in wage dynamics compared to previous trends. The unemployment rate is at a twenty-five year low and is forcing wages upwards.Following fifteen years of wage restraint, the change also reflects distri... Lire la suite
Residential investment by French households grew strongly from 2000 to 2007, before dropping sharply during the 2008-2009 crisis. After a brief rebound in 2010-2011, it returned to a downward trend. By 2015, it had fallen back to its early 2000s level. This negative performance explains a large share of the GDP growth gap between France and Germany from 2008 to 2015.The 2000-2007 expansion mainly... Lire la suite
In France, much of the high level of government expenditure (57.3% of GDP in 2014) can be explained by the size of government social protection systems. The benefits paid by these schemes account for half of government expenditure (€630bn in 2014, or 29.4% of GDP). Most of this expenditure takes the form of retirement pensions and healthcare insurance payments. Most of these schemes are contributo... Lire la suite
When a pharmaceutical company wants to market a new molecule, it applies for a patent. The patented drug, known as the "originator" drug, is generally protected for between 10 and 15 years. After the patent expires, the pharmaceutical company no longer has the monopoly on manufacturing the drug, and can face competition from generic pharmaceutical firms. In France, whether they are made by generic... Lire la suite
Between 2013 and 2016, inflation, within the meaning of the consumer price index (CPI), was almost one percentage point lower than budget bill (PLF) projections. This can either be put down to an increased difficulty in forecasting inflation in an extraordinary economic environment (very low inflation, European Central Bank key interest rates constrained by the zero lower bound, rollout of new ins... Lire la suite
Over the last two decades, the electricity sector has changed significantly. Its deregulation, aimed at boosting efficiency and competitiveness, has led to a reshaping of the incumbent monopolies and the opening up of certain activities, such as electricity supply, to competition. Electricity markets and interconnections between countries have been gradually introduced to exchange electricity.In a... Lire la suite
Creation of Banking Union was spearheaded by the European Council, which opted for this approach on principle in 2012, in response to the financial and sovereign debt crisis, while also bolstering prudential requirements for banks at the same time. Its establishment reflects an in-depth change to the supervision and structure of the European banking system, aiming at better financing the euro area... Lire la suite
Commodity prices plummeted between 2014 and 2016. Oil prices fell by half, mineral prices were down by approximately one-third and agricultural raw materials prices tumbled by 20%. Despite the recent upturn in prices, low prices have done considerable damage to exporting countries' current account balances, especially countries without diversified economies.Commodity-exporting countries adjusted i... Lire la suite
After a two-year slowdown, world economic activity should quicken in 2017, continuing at a milder pace in 2018. This acceleration will likely be driven both by the advanced economies–particularly the United States-and the emerging economies, as conditions in Russia and Brazil improve.In the United States, after a slack in 2016, economic growth should gain momentum in 2017 and 2018 thanks to the ne... Lire la suite
Patent systems were developed to spur innovation. Patents grant their owner a temporary monopoly on the use of the patented technology. Without a patent system (or other means of stimulating innovation), the inventor cannot fully capture the profits resulting from the innovation, and the devoted effort is insufficient. Consequently, patents encourage innovation in exchange for a temporary restrict... Lire la suite