The characteristics of the Belgian labor market are examined using international comparisons in order to assess the government’s recent labor market initiatives. The labor market in Belgium is found to suffer from a number of structural problems compared to other industrial countries: the...

Belgium’s impressive past fiscal consolidation is an example for other countries that need to bring down their public debt and also provides insights on how best to address its own current fiscal challenges. Belgium has a unique history of a long and successful large fiscal consolidation....

This Selected Issues paper for Belgium evaluates whether price increases in Belgium are excessive. It assesses the household and bank balance sheets and their vulnerability to a slowdown in housing prices, and identifies differences in real estate markets between Belgium and other countries. The...

This paper discusses key findings of the Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA) and Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) on Banking Supervision, Securities Regulation, Insurance Supervision and Regulation, and Securities Settlement Systems for Belgium. The assessment...

The basic government finance processes are supported by a sound institutional and legal framework. Fiscal information is provided through regular publications and extensive use of the internet. Finally, audit processes are extensive and help improve budget management decisions, practices and...

Although economic performance has remained good, difficulties in building consensus for institutional reform have caused an ill-affordable hiatus in economic policymaking. Robust economic activity absorbed a growing labor force and allowed the unemployment rate to decline continuously....

This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that the economic upturn that started in mid-2005 in Belgium has remained on track. On the heels of a catch-up in private investment, the revival of private consumption and the cyclical expansion in neighboring countries have broadened the recovery to...

After being hit by a severe recession in 2008–09, the Belgian economy is gradually recovering. When core inflation remained subdued in 2010, headline inflation jumped up due to the energy price hike. The growth of potential output is expected to revert to its declining trend over the medium...

In this paper, we describe the changes of (early) retirement programs over time and study the link between trends in elderly labor force participation and youth unemployment. From a theoretical point of view, there is no convincing argument that the idea of a lump-of-labor should hold. Our...

Economic activity picked up in the course of 1999, despite the dioxin crisis of mid-year, owing to a recovery in export markets following the world financial turmoil of late 1998, supportive monetary policy in the euro area, improvements in business and consumer confidence, and continued growth...