The number of business failures fell sharply during the Covid crisis. Public support prevented many companies from going bankrupt, particularly the smallest and those in the sectors most affected by the crisis. However, an analysis of the companies that failed shows that market selection continued to play a role, with the most fragile companies continuing to enter into legal proceedings during the... Lire la suite
The French sovereign debt issuance strategy has two main objectives: to ensure financing at the best cost for the taxpayer and to limit the debt refinancing risk. Agence France Trésor's issuance policy translates these objectives into practice by maximising the liquidity of its bonds and ensuring that it maintains a permanent capacity to place its securities with a diversified and resilient invest... Lire la suite
The association agreements between the European Union and North Africa, concluded from the end of the 1990s, have encouraged an increase in trade between the two shores of the Mediterranean and an intensification of trade in certain industrial sectors. However, the EU's market share has declined as a result of the growth of emerging countries. New avenues of cooperation with North African countrie... Lire la suite
Cyber risk is increasing rapidly with the digitalisation of the economy, and the Covid crisis has accelerated this trend. The financial sector is particularly targeted and cyber risk, while it has not yet led to a major crisis, can become systemic and threaten financial stability. Various public policies can be implemented to mitigate this risk.... Lire la suite
At a time when biodiversity is in decline, estimating the value of the services it provides makes it possible to measure the challenges of its preservation and to inform national and international decisions (post-2020 global framework and COP15). Although still fragmented and dependent on the methods used and the ecosystems analysed, existing estimates highlight the economic importance of biodiver... Lire la suite
Discrimination is a difference in treatment based on a prohibited criterion, such as age, origin, religion or sexual orientation. Studies of different kinds confirm the existence of discrimination in the labour market in France. In addition to being illegal, discrimination in the labour market has economic costs for the whole economy. This justifies the existence of public policies aimed at reduci... Lire la suite
In 20 years, China has become Sub-Saharan Africa's largest creditor, holding 62.1% of its bilateral external debt in 2020, up from 3.1% in 2000. These loans are based on a complex institutional architecture, which favours tools derived from private loan contracts, securing both repayments and Chinese strategic interests. Since 2016, these flows have undergone a quantitative and geographical recali... Lire la suite
Industry accounts for almost 20% of national greenhouse gas emissions, mainly driven by chemicals, non-metallic minerals and metallurgy. Since 2000, the decline in industrial emissions has been driven by improvements in the carbon efficiency of production. The probability of making decarbonisation investments increases with the size of the company, its productivity, its carbon energy consumption a... Lire la suite
The research tax credit (CIR) is a tax measure to support companies' research and development (R&D) activities. Following the 2008 reform of the CIR, the claims associated with the CIR increased from €1.8bn in 2007 to €6.5bn in 2018. Existing studies highlight the positive effects of the reform at the microeconomic level. Evaluated using the DG Treasury's Mésange model, the CIR reform would have i... Lire la suite
The response of European governments to the crisis has been unprecedented. These measures have made it possible to absorb a large part of the loss of household and corporate income in 2020. In total, for the euro zone, public administrations have absorbed 88% of the shock suffered by private agents (87% in France). In particular, households' disposable income has been preserved overall, thanks in... Lire la suite