Expressed in terms of GDP, tax revenues have been steadily decreasing in Greece since 2000. This is happening in a context of demand-driven growth, positive cyclical conditions and revenue-enhancing discretionary policies. It would therefore appear that factors other than growth strength and...

In Germany private consumption virtually stagnated for nearly a decade and clearly lagged behind GDP growth. This Country Focus uses the estimation of a consumption function to show that the drop in employment is the most important factor behind the reluctance to consume in the first half of...

Estonia's accession to the EU in 2005 led to a period of above-potential growth, fostered by expansionary monetary conditions. The predominance of foreign-owned banks accelerated the process of financial integration. Financial flows, while massive, were mostly directed at the non-tradable...

The extent to which exchange rate movements impact on consumer prices in a given country depends on a number of micro and macro determinants. This Country Focus discusses the relevance of the theoretical determinants of the exchange rate pass-through to inflation in the case of Slovakia....

The housing sector was a significant driver of Ireland's growth performance during the last decade, reflecting strong country-specific fundamentals. While supply and demand factors can explain much of the developments of prices during last 27 years, there is evidence of overshooting in the later...

This study reviews the labour market in Cyprus, with the focus on immigration and wage indexation, in the context of euro area participation and the need to safeguard competitiveness. Assessed vis-à-vis the usual macroeconomic and Lisbon benchmarks the Cypriot labour market performs better than...

The paper summarises UK house price developments since the mid-1990s and reviews evidence of demand and supply factors that have contributed to the house price boom. Strong growth in UK house prices since 1997 is partly explained by rising average incomes and falls in mortgage interest rates....

Prior to a recovery in 2007 and 2008, Germany's public finances had deteriorated substantially since reunification. The lack of efficient expenditure and budget rules was a crucial factor in this development. To limit future debt, proposals for a new budget rule are currently being discussed in...

Unemployment has fallen considerably during the recent period of record growth in the Czech economy. This has ended a long period of relatively jobless growth during which GDP was driven by advances in productivity and capital deepening rather than rises in employment. This country focus...

In 2005 the current account deficit attained 7½% of GDP, its worst position of the last 25 years, and in 2006 it might reach 8½%. Traditionally, Spain’s trade deficit has been partially offset by surpluses in other external balances, particularly service trade, as a result of large net...