Huge global imbalances have emerged as a result of the massive current account deficits of the US. The US deficit is largely matched by surpluses in Asia, oil-exporting countries and a few European countries. Correction of global imbalances will require substantial depreciation of the US dollar,...

This chapter analyses macroeconomic adjustment within the euro area. The focus is on the adjustment problems in Ireland (which has had a booming economy) and Italy (which has instead been exposed to strong contractionary shocks). The analysis stresses how adjustment processes may be much more...

This chapter analyses corporate taxation within the EU and asks whether the new EU states expose the old ones to unfair tax competition. Various policy approaches are discussed. The chapter recommends an increase in VAT and a reduction in labour income taxes as a way of “simulating” an...

The credit crunch was most likely viewed as a mixed blessing by many private equity executives. On the one hand, it signalled the end of the most favourable set of economic conditions the private equity industry had ever witnessed: abundant capital, low interest rates, increasing stock market...