This Policy Brief compares macroeconomic developments in France and Germany since the beginning of monetary union … more complex picture than commonly assumed: France has a much higher unemployment rate than Germany, but the volume of work … domestic demand in Germany has slowed growth for a long time while it played a significant role in France. This changed only in …

This Selected Issues paper analyzes France's fiscal stance using a structural stochastic model. The theoretical model … can help build buffers that could help France confront the next downturn from a stronger fiscal position. The analysis … highlights that, on average, fiscal policy in France exhibited a deficit bias over the past four decades, being unable to react …

France is often described as one of the last Western economies that has not been able to reform itself in the face of … interlinking historical, economic, and political factors, and by comparing France with other nations, this book offers keys for … understanding the puzzle found in the development of France. Dynamics at work in the French case sidestep the usual injunctions …