Sweden experienced a serious crisis in the early-1990s, with banks collapsing, a sharp drop in GDP, soaring public debt, loss of the country's triple A rating, and a jump in unemployment not seen since the 1930s.This crisis came after a period during which wages and prices had spiralled out of control throughout the 1970s and 1980s, rectified by frequent devaluations. A mismanaged deregulation of... Lire la suite
The world economic outlook in the summer of 2012 hinges on the resolution of the crisis in the euro area. Monetary policy decisions made at the end of 2011 significantly reduced financial tensions and stabilised growth in early 2012. Recent developments in Spain and in Greece, in the run-up to the elections, have revived some fears and weakened the short-term outlook for the euro area, particularl... Lire la suite
The net external position (NEP) of a country's economy is the difference between total foreign receivables held by residents and total claims on residents by foreign creditors. An economy with a negative NEP is therefore in debt to the rest of the world. Our study focuses on the adjustment mechanisms that enable an economy to rebalance its NEP.The international financial integration under way sinc... Lire la suite
Oséo plays a pivotal role in public policy regarding credit and credit guarantees. With €569 million in aid for innovation in 2011, Oséo is also a major provider of support for innovation. Thanks to its broad scope for action, it is able to support companies throughout their development. For example, Oséo can offer companies aid for innovation programmes in order to develop a new product or for sc... Lire la suite
Since the inception of the financial crisis, the price of gold has evolved as a safe haven, i.e., an asset whose return is uncorrelated or negatively correlated with the return on another asset in periods of financial market tensions: the performance of gold, the price of which has risen from $650 per ounce ($650/oz) in June 2007 to close to $1650/oz in April 2012, thus contrasts with the performa... Lire la suite
A year ago, Japan's triple disaster-earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident-had a very strong impact on the Japanese economy. In addition to its dramatic human cost, the catastrophe destroyed production capacity in the disaster zones and caused a power supply shortfall. It also negatively impacted the national and international economy through disruption of production chains-the factor that ultim... Lire la suite
Under French welfare and tax legislation, real disposable household income for workers on the "Smic" minimum-wage rose faster than the real minimum-wage, for a given family configuration and number of hours worked, between 1999 and 2011, with disposable income rising by over 10% against a 5% rise in the minimum-wage. Various mechanisms introduced to support low-earners' incomes have played a decis... Lire la suite
The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) indicator estimated by CEPII (Centre d'Études Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales, a Paris-based economics institute) underscores the similar specializations of the five main European Union (EU) exporters (France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, and Spain). All five countries studied specialize in mechanical products and/or vehicles and-apart fro... Lire la suite
Reduced rate employers' social security contributions for low-wage workers, first introduced in 1993 and progressively extended since then, are a key component of employment policy in France. Their gross cost to public finances amounted €22.2 billion in 2009 (not including revenues from their positive impact on employment and the resulting lower spending on unemployment benefits). This paper summa... Lire la suite
The world economy is still convalescent. The 2008-2009 crisis grew out of deep imbalances in the advanced economies, and in particular out of excessive levels of household, corporate and/or government debt. Stimulus plans have mitigated the consequences of this crisis, but at the cost of rising public debt, even though the process of private debt reduction has barely begun. It will take time to cl... Lire la suite