Tresor-Economics - Trésor Info | Direction générale du Trésor

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 34 - "Large contracts" signed by French firms in the emerging countries

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 11 avril 2008

A transaction is considered to be a "large" contract when the French share of it exceeds €3 million. Large civil contracts signed by French firms in the emerging countries are reported on a quarterly basis by the international network of Economic Missions of the Ministry for Ministry forthe Economy, Industry and Employment. These major contracts have a direct impact on French exports, and in parti... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Tresor-Economics No. 33 - The carry trade and recent yen movements

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 04 avril 2008

The existence of a strong Japanese current account surplus against a background of relative yen weakness in recent years raises questions, and is contributing to the persistence of international balance of payments imbalances.Over and beyond the role played by macroeconomic policy in Japan (with very low key rates especially), a decline in Japanese households' preference for domestic securities (k... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 32 - Do rising food prices pose a risk of persistent inflationary pressure?

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 21 mars 2008

Prices of agricultural commodities rose sharply in 2006 and 2007. The causes of the trend are both cyclical and structural, which means prices could remain durably high and very volatile. Several exporting regions, especially Australia and Europe, have recently suffered climate events. Cereal and dairy production have fallen as a result, reducing inventories and causing tension in world markets. M... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 31 - How does the National Minimum Wage compare with the SMIC?

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 11 mars 2008

The British National Minimum Wage (NMW) was introduced in 1999 and rapidly rose to a level close to that of its French equivalent, the Salaire Minimum Interprofessionnel de Croissance, or SMIC. However the NMW has not affected the operation of the labour market in the same way as the SMIC. At first sight, the proportion of workers covered by this minimum wage is distinctly lower in the United King... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 30 - The long-term economic consequences of climate change

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 21 février 2008

In 2006 the UK Treasury published a study on the economic consequences of climate change (the "Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change"). The main novelty of the "Stern Review" was to introduce economic analysis right into the heart of the climate debate, vigorously arguing that the damage caused by global warming could be 5 to 20 times greater than the sacrifices demanded of our economies... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 29 - Implementation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive: what is at stake?

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 15 février 2008

The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (the MiFID) came into force on 1 November 2007. Under this directive, States can no longer require investors' orders to be concentrated on the regulated exchanges only. As a result of this rule, applied with variable rigour from one European country to another, the great majority of orders have hitherto been routed through regulated markets, and in pa... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 28 - The conditions for a positive contribution of sovereign wealth funds to the world economy

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 31 janvier 2008

The so-called Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs), set up by governments enjoying fast growing external revenues in order to manage sovereign wealth separately from official foreign reserves, are already surpassing the hedge fund industry in terms of assets under management. Their aggregate asset portfolio is still much lower than total assets under private management (2 to 3 trillion $ versus 53 trilli... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 27 - Competition within sectors in France

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 16 janvier 2008

Relative lack of competition is regularly pointed out as a main factor behind weak economic growth. In this study, we build an indicator measuring competition in a given sector of the economy. We then give an estimation of the potential gain in growth and jobs resulting from an alignment of competition in certain sectors with that observed in the best-performing European countries.We can assess th... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 26 - Trends in French public spending: a retrospective survey

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 13 décembre 2007

The share of public spending in GDP has risen sharply in France over the past fifty years, rising from 35 % at the beginning of the 1960s to over 50 % since the 1990s.The rise has not been a steady one, being especially pronounced when fiscal policy was called upon to stimulate the economy (after the fiscal stimuli of 1974 and 1981). Over the long run, the main driver has been the rapid growth in... Lire la suite

Trésor-Eco

Trésor-Economics No. 25 - The impact of the housing slowdown on US consumption

Rédigé par : DG Trésor 05 décembre 2007

Household consumption has been one of the main drivers of growth in the United States since 2002. However, a number of factors could drag down US consumption looking to 2008, the housing slowdown among them.The housing market has been showing signs of weakness since the end of 2005, but it has been slowing more sharply since mid-2006. Prices are expected to continue levelling off in the coming qua... Lire la suite