This Country Focus studies the development of private consumption in France during the decade before the crisis. Are … French consumers greater spendthrifts than their European fellows? In this paper, we estimate a consumption function to show … that strong growth of private consumption in France during the pre-crisis decade is explained by the main determinants …

In Germany private consumption virtually stagnated for nearly a decade and clearly lagged behind GDP growth. This … Country Focus uses the estimation of a consumption function to show that the drop in employment is the most important factor … and the expiry of the more generous depreciation rules have also held back private consumption. Since these one-offs will …