In metropolitan France, in the absence of a child, only those aged 25 and older are eligible to the minimum income (called RSA since June 2009, or RMI before that date). This article assesses whether the RMI or the RSA discourages young people to work. If this was indeed the case, we should...

Potential growth estimates and forecasts generally rely on a decomposition of GDP growth into three production factors: the volume of labour, the volume of capital and a residual term called multifactor productivity (MFP). This residual term is often considered as the contribution to growth of...

We estimate the value of French domestic production in 2010, using the input method. We describe productive activities not currently covered by the system of national accounts (SNA) in a household satellite account (HHSA), following the recommendations of Eurostat. In line with previous studies...

At the beginning of 2008 was introduced in France a feebate on the purchase of new cars called the Bonus/Malus. Since January 2008, less polluting cars benefit from a price reduction of up to 1,000 euros, while the most polluting ones are subject to a taxation of 2,600 euros. We estimate the...

Since 1991, French taxpayers who employ someone to work at their home (for care, cleaning, etc.) can deduct 50 % of the employment cost from their income tax. In 2007, the tax reduction was turned into a tax credit, making lower income households eligible. However, this change was limited to...

We propose to evaluate the impact of the French Zones Franches Urbaines on economic activity. This public-funded place-based program, comparable to US enterprise zones, exempts new and existing firms from taxes for a period of at least 5 years. For the purpose of this evaluation, we merged...

We consider a model where exporting requires finding a local partner in each market. Contracts are incomplete and exporters must learn the reliability of their partners through experience. In the model, export behavior is state-dependent due to matching frictions, although there are no sunk...

In Europe, fiscal policy will be distinctly more restrictive from 2011 onwards. The fiscal consolidation efforts scheduled for 2011 represent 1.2 percentage points of GDP in the eurozone and 1.8 percentage points in the UK. Such adjustments hit short-term demand and depress activity by Keynesian...

During the 2008/2009 crisis French businesses were hit by a slump in domestic and world demand, while French banks encountered difficulties that may have encouraged them to tighten their credit conditions. This crisis strongly affected the number of business start-ups as well as the initial size...

The French cluster policy Pôles de compétitivité has been launched in 2004 to foster collaborations between firms, research institutions, and training institutions. Many firms taking part in these clusters have obtained subsidies to finance R&D collaborative projects involving other firms and...