Proceedings of the 2004 first annual DG ECFIN research conference on “Business Cycles and Growth in Europeâ€

In October 2004, the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECFIN) held its first annual research conference. Its theme was “Business Cycles and Growth in Europeâ€. The thirteen papers presented are collected here in revised form in two volumes as Economic Paper number 227, 1/2 and 2/2. Some of the contributions are followed by comments made by the discussants. The conference was subdivided into four main sessions:Differences and commonalities in business cycles and growth: evidence from the EU and US; International transmission of business cycles; Business cycles in Europe; Business cycles and growth: theory and evidence from old and new Member States. The papers presented here are printed in the order of the programme.