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News & Events
News
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16-Apr-2008
Lending has been strong, with debt ratios reaching very high levels. The Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland (CBFSAI) had clearly identified the major vulnerabilities and taken action to mitigate them. The Irish banks are well-capitalised and profitable, which provides a cushion to weather the more difficult times ahead. This chapter reviews financial market developments, the actions by the CBFSAI and the new policy issues that have come to the fore with the financial market turmoil.
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16-Apr-2008
Softening economic growth and the slowdown in the housing market mark a turning point for fiscal policy. Strong revenue growth in earlier years financed a sustained expansion of government spending and some cuts in tax rates, while still allowing the government to run a substantial fiscal surplus. This left the public finances in a healthy state with net government debt declining to a very low level. But this benign picture is changing as growth slows and tax receipts increase more slowly. Public spending growth needs to slow.
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16-Apr-2008
Ireland currently has a relatively young population but faces similar, if more distant, long-term pressures from population ageing as other countries. The pension system is founded on a basic state pension but relies heavily on private saving to provide adequate replacement incomes in retirement. Large increases in the state pension have reduced poverty, although many pensioners still have low incomes. There is a large retirement savings gap for many households between the close to flat-rate state pension and a reasonable replacement income in retirement.
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16-Apr-2008
Immigration has soared in recent years. The immigrants tend to be young, well educated and work. But they often work in basic jobs. Immigration policy should thus focus on better integration. This chapter reviews Irish immigration policy in the light of international experience. It also highlights the uncertainties about future migration flows and the challenges they pose for infrastructure planning.
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09-Apr-2008
Germany has been enjoying a strong cyclical rebound in economic growth after a long period of stagnation. First positive effects of past reforms are already visible. However, for high economic growth to be more enduring, economic challenges remain, notably in the fields of labour markets, fiscal policy, education policy, healthcare and network industries.
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07-Apr-2008
Despite the longest economic expansion in its post-war history, Japan faces many challenges. Perhaps most urgent is addressing the fiscal situation through comprehensive tax reform. There is also significant scope for policies to accelerate productivity growth in the service sector, which has lagged behind manufacturing. In addition, measures to reverse the rise in labour market dualism would be beneficial for both growth and equity.
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28-Feb-2008
After several years of rapid economic expansion, the key challenge for policy is to restore economic balance. There is also a need to strengthen the macro-economic policy framework. In a longer-term perspective, a major challenge is to improve cost-effectiveness in the health-care sector.
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19-Feb-2008
After several years of strong growth, the economy shows signs of overheating. This should be counteracted via prudent fiscal policy and labour market reforms. Boosting employment is also vital given Denmark's ambitious, but costly, welfare priorities in areas like healthcare. Finally, reducing the distortions from high marginal tax rates must be a key priority, this report argues.
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31-Jan-2008
The Dutch labour market is functioning well, with employment and labour participation rates above OECD averages. Nevertheless, there are sizable pockets of under-activity, which could be mobilised to addrss short-run labour shortages and ageing related reductions in the labour suply.
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31-Jan-2008
About two-thirds of Dutch female workers opt for part-time jobs, bringing down the country’s average working time to one of the lowest levels in the OECD. Thus, increasing working hours depends on reconciling work and family responsibilities.
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