Policy Brief: Economic Survey of Greece, 2007

Growth performance over the last decade has been among the best in the OECD, though a precise calibration is not yet possible following the recent revisions to GDP data. High growth has been driven by a range of factors, some of which are transitory. It is particularly encouraging that growth has been sustained over the last two years, despite substantial fiscal consolidation, mainly being driven by investment and exports. However,

Policy Brief: Economic Survey of the United States, 2007

Despite a sharp housing market correction, overall growth has been holding up fairly well. Strong foreign demand and a decline in import growth have slowed the rise in the external deficit. With activity near capacity limits, some inflationary pressures have emerged. Reining them in without stifling growth is the main challenge for monetary policy. Looking further ahead, the key challenges are to sustain healthy growth and ensure

Economic Survey of Hungary, 2007 - Summary in Hungarian

A politika jelenleg a költségvetési konszolidáció körül forog Magyarországon. A Kormány 4 évre szóló ambiciózus konszolidációs programba kezdett azt követően, hogy a 2006-os választási évben ismételten csúcsra jutott az államháztartás hiánya (a GDP 9,2 %-a). Az azonnali bevételnövelő és kiadáscsökkentő intézkedések időlegesen visszafogják a növekedést. Mindazonáltal, ha minden a tervek szerint alakul, a kormányprogram - hosszabb távon

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Economic survey of Hungary 2007

The main economic challenge is ensuring implementation of the ambitious fiscal consolidation programme through budgetary discipline and structural reform in central and local government. Challenges also remain in raising the low employment rate.

Policy Brief: Economic Survey of Hungary, 2007

Budget consolidation is dominating the political agenda. The Hungarian government has embarked on an ambitious four-year consolidation programme following another election-year peak in the deficit in 2006 at 9.2% of GDP. The immediate revenue increases and spending cuts are temporarily damping growth. However, if all goes according to plan, the programme will bring dividends to the economy in the longer term. This payoff is crucially

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Policy Brief: Economic Survey of New Zealand, 2007

New Zealand has undertaken wide-ranging reforms over the past 20 years and now has one of the most flexible and resilient economies in the OECD. However, a large external deficit, very low household saving and still-strong inflation pressures indicate an unbalanced growth pattern. There are some signs that these imbalances are starting to unwind, but the short-term outlook remains uncertain. On current settings, it will take time for

Policy Brief: Economic Survey of Slovak Republic, 2007

Following major economic reforms, the Slovak economy has grown strongly in recent years, driven by rapid productivity growth, but still has far to go to catch up to the per capita income levels in the advanced European countries. The incoming government has made achieving a more equal distribution of income a priority insofar as this can be done without damaging long-term growth prospects. There is considerable scope both to

Policy Brief: Economic Survey of Belgium, 2007

The Belgian economy is in a strong recovery phase. The balancing of the budget since the start of the decade has allowed public debt to fall fast relative to GDP, providing a favourable macroeconomic background for the recovery. Moreover, structural reforms, particularly in the labour market, are showing signs of success. Output has accelerated and was by mid-2006 growing at 3% – the fastest pace since 2000. With growth well above

Economic Survey of Sweden, 2007 - Summary in Swedish

SammanfattningSverige kan glädja sig åt en utmärkt makroekonomisk utveckling med hög tillväxttakt, låg arbetslöshet och stabila inflationsförväntningar. Tidiga åtgärder, som vidtogs på 1990-talet, för att reformera lagstiftningen ger utdelning i form av produktivitets- och BNP-tillväxt. Det finns dock problem på marginalen. Sysselsättningsgraden har inte återhämtat sig till traditionellt höga nivåer sedan krisen i början av

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Policy Brief : Economic Survey of Sweden, 2007

Sweden enjoys excellent macroeconomic performance with high rates of growth, low unemployment and stable inflation expectations. Early steps in regulatory reform, taken in the 1990s, are paying off in terms of productivity and GDP growth. However, tensions are visible at the margin. Employment rates have not recovered to traditionally high levels since the crisis of the early 1990s. Joblessness is widespread among immigrants and

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