The paper sheds light on developments in labour market matching in the EU after the crisis. First, it analyses the main features of the Beveridge curve and frictional unemployment in EU countries, with a view to isolate temporary changes in the vacancy-unemployment relationship from structural...

This paper analyses the determinants and impact of labour market reforms in the European Union over the period of 2000-2011. The source of information on reforms is the LABREF database developed in DG ECFIN of the European Commission in cooperation with the Economic Policy Committee of the...

This paper introduces a simple rule for appraising the economic soundness of fiscal policies. It connects fiscal policy to a long-run debt objective, taken as an anchor, while arbitraging symmetrically between this debt objective and output stabilisation. The rule offers a benchmark to assess...

Whether free movement of international capital induces greater risk of foreign exchange rate and balance-of-payments volatility, or not, is an important question in international finance and economic policy making. The paper employs propensity score matching methodologies to estimate the impact...

This work aims to contribute to the policy debate on how to spur "digital growth" in Europe in the context of the crisis, by assessing the potential economic impact of structural reforms efforts either already undertaken or imminently foreseen in the field of European digital markets. Namely,...

This paper proposes to highlight the main features and key success factors of the design, conduct and implementation of spending reviews, based on the experiences of EU Member States. Public expenditure accounts for almost half of the annual wealth created in the EU (49.0% of GDP in 2013). A...

Quality, independence and efficiency are the key components of effective justice systems, a crucial condition to ensure the proper functioning of important drivers of growth in the EU. This paper focuses on judicial efficiency and investigates the impact of certain structural reforms affecting...

Based on a new database of bilateral financial flows among euro area countries and their major world partners, this paper explores the role of financial links in the accumulation and then adjustment of current account imbalances in the euro area. The data show that the geography of financial...

The cyclically-adjusted budget balance (CAB) is the backbone of the EU framework of fiscal surveillance, both in its preventive and corrective arms. The concept corresponds to the budget balance prevailing if the economy was running at potential. After correcting for the one-off and temporary...

This study examines the impact of reforms aimed at reducing red tape barriers for new firms and new exporters in 17 EU Member States. The results confirm that higher bureaucratic barriers are associated with lower entry dynamics and suggest that recent reforms in Portugal, Spain and Italy should...