To live up to its growth potential and secure its inclusive social model, the euro area must make better use of its available labor. In the aftermath of the crisis, boosting growth is essential to prevent unemployment from becoming a long-term problem and to facilitate the return to fiscal...

Using the IMF's Global Economic Model, calibrated to the European Union, the effects of reform in product and labor markets are quantified for both a large and a small euro area economy. When markups in these markets are reduced, there are sizable long-term gains in output and employment. Most...

Data on the weekly operating time of capital improve the measurement of effective capital input in production. The production function of the French business sector is found to be consistent with a Cobb-Douglas technology under constant returns to scale. Total factor productivity growth,...

To improve the Bank's macroeconomic modeling capabilities, a continuum of macro models referred to as RMSM-X and RMSM-XX are being developed. These models share a common accounting framework that ensures economic consistency among economic sectors. This paper shows how to specify the budget...

Simulations with the IMF's Global Economy Model, calibrated to the European Union, suggest that there are sizable long-term gains in output and employment from boosting competition in product and labor markets. Coordinating reforms across these markets in a given country is found to be...

Dynamic latent variable models, coherences and correlation analysis applied to real and nominal aggregates are used to compare wide sense cyclical interdependence between OECD economies across exchange rate regimes. The results indicate that while there are important domestic components in the...

The expert contributors focus on global imbalances and accompanying policy challenges, competitiveness and trade, the sustainability of current growth strategies, and banking and financial stability in the light of the global economic and financial crisis. They provide a multi-disciplinary...

This paper reviews the theoretical framework of an inflation stabilization program. In the absence of price rigidities, a reduction in inflation simply implies finding a replacement for revenue lost from a decline in the inflation rate. In reality, backward-looking nominal contracts and...