Tresor-Economics - Trésor Info | Direction générale du Trésor

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 51 - Competition and productivity gains: a sectoral analysis in the OECD countries

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 20 février 2009

Competition in the markets for goods and services is frequently cited as a contributor to economic growth. That is because greater competition in a given sector is thought to boost activity and jobs by lowering the sale price of goods and raising that sector's productivity, particularly through innovation.From a theoretical standpoint, however, the impact of competition on productivity is less cer... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 50 - The economic impact of the 2008 research tax credit reform (Crédit d'Impôt Recherche)

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 21 janvier 2009

In so-called knowledge-based economies, both research and development (R&D) and innovation are essential to growth and competitiveness. In this respect, France does not appear to be investing enough in R&D activity. With R&D spending at 2.1% of GDP, France ranks in the middle of the league table, above the European average but well below Germany, the Scandinavian countries, the United States and J... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 49 - The effects of globalisation on the supply of factors of production

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 19 décembre 2008

The emergence of new economic giants like India and China combined with very rapid growth in trade have profoundly altered the supply of factors of production on a global level. The supply of labour weighted by the share of exports in global GDP has more than doubled since 1980, as has the stock of capital.Despite efforts to raise educational standards, low skilled workers continue to dominate glo... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 48 - Analysing the determinants of social services expenditure in France's départements

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 05 décembre 2008

France's départements spent an average of €913.4 per inhabitant in 2006, with social services amounting to a total of €27 billion accounting for nearly 50% of this spending.Two periods can be distinguished within the general trend of social services expenditure between 1992 and 2006, namely a period of stability, from 1992 to 1999, during which there was no change in scope of the départements' pow... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 47 - The global economic outlook in the autumn of 2008

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 20 novembre 2008

In the summer of 2008, even before suffering the consequences of the abrupt worsening of the financial crisis in mid-September, the world economy was faltering.By the summer of 2007, growth around the world had already started to slow down. This was due to the impact of the depressed American housing market on world financial markets starting in August 2007, and to the rise in commodity price – oi... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 46 - Economic catch-up and price-level convergence in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 23 octobre 2008

As their economies catch up, the real exchange rates of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries are appreciating, which means that domestic prices are rising faster than in the euro area. This is a typical feature of transition economies, reflecting sharp gains in labour productivity and a sizeable accumulation of productive capital, which ultimately leads to convergent price levels.The way i... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 45 - French companies abroad

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 17 octobre 2008

The presence of French companies in the world continues to grow. According to the "Subsidiaries Survey" conducted by the French Treasury (DGTPE), there were more than 30,000 French establishments around the world in 2006, up from 28,000 in 2004. They employed six million people and generated some €850 billion in turnover, i.e. more than twice as much as France earned from exports.More than half of... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 44 - Can developments in profitability explain the strength of corporate investment?

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 03 octobre 2008

French firms have invested heavily since the cyclical trough of 2003, even though their profit margins have remained stable. The investment rate of non-financial corporations was nearly 21% in 2007, matching the peaks reached in the early 1980s and 1990s. In Germany, on the other hand, corporations have relatively little raised their investment rates since their low point in 2004, despite sharply... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 43 - How the French car industry is facing globalisation

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 12 septembre 2008

France is Europe's second-largest car manufacturer. And yet the slowdown in French car output over the past three years has dragged down the country's GDP growth, its external trade balance, and employment. This retreat primarily reflects changes in French car manufacturers' production arrangements in response to globalisation.While demand is stagnant in the developed countries, car manufacturers... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 42 - How should doctors be paid?

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 05 septembre 2008

The French 2008 Social Security Budget Bill provides for the possibility of experimenting with new methods of payment for doctors over a period of 5 years. While the image of private practice in France is closely bound up with the concept of fee-for-service payment, this is not necessarily the case elsewhere, where doctors may be salaried employees or receive fixed fees, depending on the country.P... Lire la suite