The extensive public sector measures in support of the financial sector have been key to managing the financial crisis that erupted in mid-2007 and intensified after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. This article looks into the measures taken by central banks to contain the impact of the...

A large number of governments in all regions of the world have recognised the need for paid sick leave although the benefi t schedules vary widely. International data show that the incidence of paid sick leave is closely associated with overall economic developments. What are the patterns of...

Economists are currently divided over the question of what represents a more immediate threat to the global economy - deflation or excessive infl ation. Using stochastic simulations, this article extrapolates the likely inflation rates in individual European countries and the euro area as a...

Europeans have a tendency to call the financial crisis a US problem, or a crisis precipitated by the "Anglo-Saxon" model. The data suggest otherwise. Moreover, the corporate sector in Europe has a much lower capacity to finance investment from internal sources of funds, which implies that a...