Authors of the Report on the European Economy 2003

This chapter is an assessment of the economic situation of Europe, with some concentration on those countries which have adopted the euro in 2001 and 2002 drawing on a wide variety of sources including Ifo survey data. At 1.6% in 2001 and 1.3% in 2002, these GDP growth rates are both, lower than...

This chapter considers the monetary and fiscal policies appropriate to Europe under the circumstances of an adverse international cycle and a weak euro. Typically, governments have medium-term plans for fiscal consolidation, “stabilisation plans”, calling for a falling trend in budget...

This chapter presents forecasts of growth and inflation in the European economy for the year 2003 and assesses the current macroeconomic conditions for the whole area and for some individual countries.

This chapter compares growth in Europe and the United States in recent decades. Although Europe was, as one would expect, catching up in the 1950s and 1960s, this virtually ceased in the 1970s, and the United States has pulled further ahead in the 1980s and 1990s – and at a particularly...

This chapter analyses the current financial architecture of the euro area, questioning whether the current institutional arrangements are adequate to reduce the risk of financial crises, and deal with them if they occur.