Using pooled mean-group estimation we first analyse conditional convergence in the EU15 area in 1960-2002. Conditional convergence is well documented for the EU15 countries and deeper European integration is mostly shown to have fastened convergence. Also higher investment, lower public...

This paper examines the economic effects of the opening of the former Soviet Union. The analysis carried out in the paper is two-fold. First we simulate the impact of the eastern enlargement of the EU and, second, we analyse how deeper integration between the EU and FSU contributes to this. The...

Tässä muistiossa käsitellään EU:n itälaajenemisen vaikutuksia Suomen tuotantorakenteeseen. Tarkastelu jakautuu neljään osaan. Ensiksi tarkastellaan KIE-maiden integroitumista kohti EU:ta. Todetaan, että EU:n laajenemisen suhteen vallitsee merkittävä epäsymmetria siinä, että...

Europe’s catching up of the US in per capita income levels has, with some exceptions, come to a halt and turned into a decline during the 1980s and 1990s with a simultaneous secular worsening in the EU unemployment situation. The aim of the paper is to present a systematic description of the...

Transatlantic trade relations between the European Union and the United States have evolved rapidly at the close of the 21st century. Alongside the benefits of free trade the relationship has been marred by trade disputes. The WTO arbitration and government and business initiated transatlantic...

The failure to achieve equitable access to university studies has turned the focus to the funding of European higher education systems. Since the large amounts of public subsidies injected in tertiary-level education have not succeeded in reducing disparities in access for children from...

This paper deals with fiscal policy coordination under the Stability and Growth Pact. In particular, it addresses the question of how fiscal policy can be coordinated within EMU, where countries still differ considerably in terms of country-specific shocks and fiscal policy multipliers. To...

We examine how those re-entering paid-employment after a brief self-employment spell fare upon return using data from the European Community Household Panel. Unconditionally, those re-entering paid-employment appear to have considerably lower wages than those staying in the wage sector. This...

Three current account imbalances - one very large deficit (the United States) and two surpluses (Japan and the Euro area) - are subjected to a minimalist structural interpretation. Though simple, this interpretation enables us to assess how much of each of the imbalances require a real exchange...

This paper analyzes the impacts of news shocks on macroeconomic volatility. Whereas anticipation amplifies volatility in any purely forward-looking model, such as the baseline New Keynesian model, the results are ambiguous when including a backward-looking component. In addition to these...