The EU has ambitious goals for economic performance. The goals are to be reached in combination with social cohesion and environmentally sustainable development. The main economic policy instruments to be used by the EU member states are taxes and benefits. The economic and political framework...

For monetary policy purposes it is useful to apply a concept of potential output growth that looks through the fluctuations inherent in most model based estimates. Growth accounting can be a useful tool in this respect, given its focus on average developments in real GDP growth and supply side...

This paper discusses the risks of stagnation over the medium term in the euro area. It examines the consequences of longer-term growth trends that predate the crisis and the progress made in addressing the crisis legacies of high unemployment and debt. The paper illustrates in a downside...