Very small enterprises (VSEs), which make up 96% of French businesses, fare en essential component of the French economy. They are the main local economic driver, cross-cutting a wide range of sectors, including retailers, crafts and tradespeople, self-employed professionals, service providers, accommodation and food services. They are also present in manufacturing and information and communicatio... Lire la suite
With a faster decline of industry as a share of GDP, France's productive structure has been diverging from that of countries with the highest specialisation in industry such as Germany and Japan-a trend accentuated by the 2008 crisis. Conversely, France's growing specialisation in services has brought its productive structure closer to that of the United Kingdom and United States.As the economic d... Lire la suite
The decline in oil prices affects emerging economies in different ways, having an adverse impact on oil-exporting countries and a favourable impact on oil importers.For oil exporters, lower oil prices mean lower exports in value terms. The loss of oil revenue has an adverse impact on the fiscal balance and, more broadly, on domestic demand as a whole. Depending on the budgetary and monetary policy... Lire la suite
The European internal market has been one of the key goals of the economic and political project of the European Union (EU) since the Treaty of Rome (1957). Its gradual implementation has brought major economic gains and provided momentum for modernising EU economies. The process has promoted strong growth in trade between Member States, followed by closer economic integration. Beyond the lifting... Lire la suite
Before the crisis, China enjoyed a period of buoyant growth, driven mainly by capital accumulation. It was able to maintain a high investment-to-GDP ratio thanks to abundant savings, partly a consequence of distortions in factor prices including the exchange rate, wages and interest rates. Productivity gains also contributed to China's outstanding performance, through technological catch-up but al... Lire la suite
In 2014, there were 36,681 municipalities in France (36,767 including overseas municipalities), 101 départements and 27 regions. French local-government entities accounted for 40% of the European Union total in 2011.Their economic role is substantial: local governments accounted for 21% of French government expenditure and 60% of government investment in 2014. Their powers are varied and may overl... Lire la suite
In early 2015, global economic growth slowed, with major disparities between economic areas. The advanced economies continued expanding, albeit at a slightly slower pace than at the end of 2014, but the outlook remains positive. In contrast, growth slowed more sharply in the emerging economies.In the United Kingdom and the United States, growth picked up again in the second quarter, after a tempor... Lire la suite
Since 2001, the Ecofin Council gave a mandate to the Ageing Working Group (AWG) made up of the Commission and the Member States to update periodically harmonised projections of age-related public expenditure and other expenditures linked to the sustainability of the Member States' public finances (retirement and disability benefits, health care, long-term care, education and unemployment benefits)... Lire la suite
There is a close link between economic growth and the business confidence indicators published by the three organisations that conduct economic surveys in France (INSEE - the French national statistical institute, Banque de France and Markit). All three surveys have "reference thresholds" expressing the balance of optimistic/pessimistic answers. The INSEE and Banque de France set their thresholds... Lire la suite
The use of economic sanctions as a tool for diplomacy is nothing new. The benchmark study by Hufbauer, Schott and Elliott published in 2007 inventories more than 200 sanctions episodes instituted since the beginning of the 20th century. More recent developments, such as the sanctions imposed against Russia or the upcoming lifting of sanctions against Iran, show that sanctions are still a very topi... Lire la suite