While being a key sector in all developed economies, retail trade does actually appear to be one of the reasons for Europe’s lagging behind in potential output growth. One of the reasons for this lag could be regulation. By determining conditions for market access and for carrying out a...

The article summarises the main lessons of the Bank’s 2010 conference which focused on international trade and foreign direct investment. The research is based on a microeconomic approach to the behaviour of Belgian firms, with reference to developments in the scientific literature on the...

This article presents a summary of the main results produced by the Inflation Persistence Network (IPN), a network of researchers from the twelve national central banks of the euro area, the ECB and the universities, which aimed to conduct a joint analysis of Inflation persistence and pricing...

The liberalisation of trade and finance, the reduction in transport costs and progress in the field of information and communication technologies have brought about profound changes in the international environment. As a result, the interpenetration of economies has increased sharply, and this...

The article summarises the scientific contributions and discussions at the 2014 conference organised by the NBB on “Total factor productivity : measurement, determinants and impacts”. At this conference, six original contributions were presented and discussed. They addressed the following...

The article summarises the scientific contributions and discussions at the 2014 conference organised by the NBB on “Total factor productivity : measurement, determinants and impacts”. At this conference, six original contributions were presented and discussed. They addressed the following...

The article discusses developments over the past two decades in regard to working time and alternative forms of employment, placing the trends seen in Belgium in an international perspective. It also examines whether the Belgian regulations on this subject are stricter than those in the other...

The article looks at the impact that the 2008-2009 recession had on the Belgian labour market and, whilst taking account of the varying severity and duration of the economic downturn, draws a comparison with other European countries. More specifically, the consequences are investigated with...

The article summarises the main findings of the Eurosystem’s 2012 Structural Issues Report (SIR) and highlights some specific aspects for Belgium. It describes the main developments on euro area labour markets since the start of the Great Recession and its impact on mismatches and long-term...