Tresor-Economics - Trésor Info | Direction générale du Trésor

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

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 40 - The bursting of the US house price bubble

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 11 juillet 2008

US house prices rose by nearly 60% in nominal terms between 2000 and 2006, before starting to fall in the summer of 2007.The price rise was driven by strong growth in housing demand coupled with relatively scarce supply due to a shortage of available land in the most urban states and, perhaps, weak competition in the construction sector. In addition, housing demand was fuelled by unsustainable fac... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 41 - The role of financial factors in rising agricultural prices

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 03 juillet 2008

There has been a sharp acceleration in the rate of increase in world prices for agricultural commodities since 2006, coming after fifteen years of rising steadily but moderately. By percolating throughout the food production chain, rising prices of agricultural commodities are contributing to global inflation. It is important to ascertain the causes of this crisis in order to determine the most ap... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 39 - The outlook for pension spending and the role of a reserve fund

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 01 juillet 2008

Thanks to the abundant baby boom generations, for the past several decades demographics have been highly favourable to pensions funding. This benign situation is coming to an end as these generations reach retirement. Much of the attendant increase in pension spending is set to last, thanks notably to the durable rise in life expectancy.This is because the baby boom initially increased the proport... Lire la suite