This paper assesses whether or to what extent the macroeconomic imbalances, which emerged in the "North" and "South" of the European Monetary Union before the financial and economic crisis of 2008/09, are symmetric. First, we show that the imbalances stemmed from different growth patterns and...

Global economic activity continues to weaken. The crisis acts as a drag on the euro area economy. A slowdown is noticeable also in Asia's emerging markets. These developments dampen economic activity in Austria. Growth in the manufacturing industry is slowing. But the construction and services...

The cyclical upswing between 2005 and 2007 differs significantly in a number of ways from the last boom phase from 1997 to 2000. The most recent upswing was about one year shorter. A comparison of the two cycles also shows considerable differences in the structure of economic development: in...

This paper aims at empirically assessing the demand effects of changes in functional income distribution for the Netherlands. Based on a Neo-Kaleckian theoretical macroeconomic model, equations for the main demand aggregates (consumption, investment, exports and imports) are estimated. The...

The world economy continues to expand at a vigorous rate for the fifth year in a row, with real output growth exceeding 5 percent. Downside risks to global economic activity have increased mainly because of the aggravation of the real estate crisis in the USA, where real estate prices have been...

In the run-up to the economic crisis, distinctive macroeconomic imbalances emerged in the euro area. Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain experienced a considerable deterioration of their international competitiveness and incurred high current account deficits. By contrast, Germany, among...

An increase in the wage share has contradictory effects on the subaggregates of aggregate demand. Private consumption expenditures ought to increase because wage incomes typically are associated with higher consumption propensities than capital incomes. Investment expenditures ought to be...

The paper modifies a standard NAIRU model by implementing "pricing-to-market" as the basic assumption for the price setting behaviour of firms in an open economy. This entirely changes the outcomes of the model: First, inflation in equilibrium is stable at any rate of unemployment; the long-run...

Underpinned by expansionary economic policy, global economic activity has stabilised, with world trade expanding vigorously since the summer. In Austria, real GDP grew at a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter rate of 0.9 percent in the third quarter, according to provisional calculations....