A mix of solid economic policies, wage moderation, and an early orientation toward Eastern Europe explain Austria’s strong economic performance. The economy has grown strong in 2007 and through the first quarter of 2008. Employment growth remains strong, but the trend of a declining...

Macroeconomic performance of Armenia in 2007 has been strong, with double-digit growth and single-digit inflation for the sixth consecutive year. Fiscal policy in 2007 remains prudent, with the central government deficit limited to the programmed level of 1.8 percent of GDP. Monetary growth has...

This paper discusses key findings of the Seventh Review and Inflation Consultation Under the Stand-By Arrangement for Turkey. Macroeconomic developments have become less favorable since the last review in May 2007. Political developments have distracted attention from an ambitious economic...

This paper proposes a composite indicator designed to summarise in a single statistic a variety of different facets of macroeconomic performance and assesses relative performances of countries with respect to six macroeconomic variables, viz., the growth rate of real GDP, real per capita GDP,...

Peru has successfully pursued a market-driven financial de-dollarization during the last decade. Dollarization of credit and deposit of commercial banks - across all sectors and maturities - has declined, with larger declines for commercial credit and time and saving deposits. The analysis...

The paper reviews the sluggish growth and inclusive developments of the Brazilian economy in the last decade. The first section analyzes the macroeconomic performance pointing export growth as the engine of growth. The second evaluates social policies and their relationship with the improvements...

The chapter first introduces Tarantelli’s thought on the role of labour economics and social pacts. The implementation of his proposals for a social pact in Italy is then discussed and compared to similar experiences in Europe. Attention is finally devoted to developing a theory of social...

The chapter adheres to a school of interpretation which is sceptic with respect to the virtues of neo-corporatism while asserting the several other institutional aspects, referred both to the labour market and the overall economic system that affect the macroeconomic performance. The chapter is...

The chapter claims that monetary authorities’ conservatism is needed to improve the macroeconomic performance, the more so the higher the degree of product market competition. Contrary to a widespread belief, central bank conservatism and market competition are complements, rather than...

Social pacts have long been a centrepiece of European politics. They are characterized by negotiations among government, employers, workers, and other interest groups over wages and other economic issues. With the growth of globalization and pervasiveness of knowledge, some economists have...