The article examines developments in euro area cross-border capital flows, together with benchmark rates and bank lending rates, and shows that the process of financial integration among euro area countries over the first years of the monetary union went temporarily into reverse, starting in...

The current financial crisis has once again shown that the inherent pro-cyclicality of lending can trigger financial cycles with a potentially substantial impact on the real economy. Against that background, the article analyses the size and dynamics of the debt ratios of the various...

By making simultaneous use of macro-economic data (from the national financial accounts) and micro-economic statistics (from the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) and the Central Individual Credit Register), this article takes a closer look at the evolution and distribution of...

In 2013, the total tax burden in the euro area was almost back to the level prevailing at the beginning of the century. The financial and economic crisis had initially led to a reduction in the tax burden, but fiscal consolidation has generated a rise in revenue. However, there is no general...

The financial crisis that erupted during 2007 and intensified in 2008 and the ensuing economic recession led to a serious deterioration in the public finances of most advanced economies. That resulted in a sharp increase in the fiscal deficit and public debt in those countries, including...