This chapter presents evidence on the brain drain from European countries towards the US, identifying possible causes and costs for the economy, and looks at factors and policies that could reduce the net outflows of skilled people from Europe.

This chapter analyses the role of fiscal policy as a tool of macroeconomic stabilisation and proposes changes in the EU fiscal rules with the aim of making them more flexible while at the same time maintaining fiscal discipline.

This chapter reconsiders and assesses subsidiarity as one of the general principles to guide the political and institutional development of the European Union, and proposes a framework to assess the consistency of alternative plans.

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 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.

This chapter presents a “primer” on the ten new members of the EU starting in May 2004. It summarises the income and structural differences between them and the old members of the EU and analyses a number of economic policy issues regarding growth, migration, public finances, trade, foreign...

This chapter discusses the current economic situation and the future outlook for Europe stressing the cause and implications of a strong euro as well as the need for a common fiscal framework through an improvement of the Stability and Growth Pact.

This chapter is devoted to the widely debated topic of outsourcing of production and jobs from the Western EU member countries to the new member countries and also to the rest of the world. This trend is clearly visible in the manufacturing sector in the European Union. Outsourcing is mainly a...