structural reforms

Opinion

EU policy recommendations: A stronger legal framework is not enough to foster national compliance

In 2011, the EU introduced stricter rules to monitor the implementation of country-specific policy recommendations. Using a new dataset, this column investigates whether these new laws have increased national compliance. There is no evidence that these stricter processes matter for implementation rates, whereas macroeconomic fundamentals and market pressure are important determinants of implementation progress. These results suggest ways to improve the effectiveness of European policy coordination that go beyond stronger legal processes.

By: Konstantinos Efstathiou, Guntram B. Wolff and Bruegel Topic: Macroeconomic policy Date: July 23, 2019

Past Event

Role of national structural reforms in enhancing resilience in the Euro Area

At this event Gita Gopinath, Chief Economist at the IMF will discuss the role of national structural reforms in enhancing resilience in the Euro Area.

Speakers: Shekhar Aiyar, Maria Demertzis, Romain Duval, Gita Gopinath and Guntram B. Wolff Topic: Macroeconomic policy Location: Bruegel, Rue de la Charité 33, 1210 Brussels Date: June 17, 2019

Working Paper

What drives national implementation of EU policy recommendations?

The authors use a newly-compiled dataset to investigate whether and why European Union countries implement the economic policy recommendations they receive from the EU.

By: Konstantinos Efstathiou, Guntram B. Wolff and Bruegel Topic: Macroeconomic policy Date: April 25, 2019

Past Event

Diverging narratives: European policies and national perceptions

Who tends to get the blame for the Euro crisis in national media? What do national politicians think about the EU and EMU?

Speakers: Pierre Boyer, Juha Pekka Nurvala, Giuseppe Porcaro and Laura Shields Topic: Macroeconomic policy Location: Bruegel, Rue de la Charité 33, 1210 Brussels Date: February 27, 2019

Past Event

Structural reforms in Europe: policy lessons from the crisis

When are structural reform efforts successful in fostering productivity and growth when and why do they fail?

Speakers: Ana Fontoura Gouveia, Paolo Manasse, Klaus Masuch and Alessio Terzi Topic: Macroeconomic policy Location: Bruegel, Rue de la Charité 33, 1210 Brussels Date: September 18, 2018

Opinion

Making Italy grow again

On March 4th, Italians sent a resounding message in favour of a break with the past. The ultimate test for the new ‘government of change’ will be whether it succeeds where all others have failed over the past two decades: bringing the country back to growth. The authors propose three different actions to revamp Italy’s ailing productivity and gear the country’s productive capacity towards the 21st century: human capital, e-government, and green growth.

By: Simone Tagliapietra, Alessio Terzi, Guntram B. Wolff and Bruegel Topic: Macroeconomic policy Date: June 26, 2018

Blog Post

Italian populism calls for hard choices

The economic agenda of Italian populists is likely to exacerbate rather than alleviate Italy’s longstanding problems. But the piecemeal, small-step approach followed by European and national ruling elites, while perhaps tolerable for countries under normal economic conditions, is insufficient for an Italy stuck in a low-growth-high-debt equilibrium. If defenders of the European project want to regain popularity, they will need to present a clear functioning alternative to setting the house on fire.

By: Alessio Terzi Topic: Macroeconomic policy Date: May 31, 2018

Blog Post

Structural Reforms 0.0 – The case for strengthening institutions

Improvement in institutional quality, particularly concerning the rule of law, is the most essential and urgent structural reform the EU can make. Without it, the obtrusive lack of trust in the EU – which has thus far hampered expansionary and reformist efforts – will persist.

By: Maria Demertzis and Inês Goncalves Raposo Topic: Macroeconomic policy Date: May 3, 2018

Working Paper

State contingent debt as insurance for euro-area sovereigns

Since the financial crisis, EU countries' economies have recovered to the point that they are exiting their adjustment programmes. Institutional stability mechanisms have been improved at the European level, with the promotion of the banking union and the establishment of a European Monetary Fund, for instance. However, the authors argue that such crisis contingencies should include markets in their risk-sharing, which would require better coordination with institutions.

By: Maria Demertzis, Stavros Zenios and Bruegel Topic: Banking and capital markets Date: April 26, 2018

Blog Post

Do wide-reaching reform programmes foster growth?

With growth gathering momentum in the eurozone, some have claimed this is the proof that structural reforms implemented during the crisis are working, re-opening the long-standing debate on the extent to which reforms contribute to fostering long-term growth. This column employs a novel empirical approach – a modified version of the Synthetic Control Method – to estimate the impact of large reform waves implemented in the past 40 years worldwide.

By: Alessio Terzi, Pasquale Marco Marrazzo and Bruegel Topic: Macroeconomic policy Date: March 28, 2018

Opinion

Greece must capitalise on its growth momentum

Better-than-expected growth performance reflects the underlying positive changes in the Greek economy – but net investment is in fact negative, while Greece has various institutional weaknesses. Further improvements must be made regarding Greece’s attractiveness to foreign direct investment. A new (at least precautionary) financial assistance programme would improve trust in continued reforms and also address eventual public debt financing difficulties.

By: Zsolt Darvas and Bruegel Topic: Macroeconomic policy Date: March 26, 2018

Opinion

Reading The Tea Leaves on China’s Constitutional Amendments

The recent amendments of the Chinese Constitution have stimulated much attention, focusing on the power consolidation of President Xi. Though the four key amendments do not mention direct economic reforms, indirect impact should be considered even if clear-cut conclusions are difficult to draw.

By: Alicia García-Herrero and Bruegel Topic: Global economy and trade Date: March 12, 2018