This Country Focus discusses the factors underlying the external imbalances in Greece. The deterioration in the lending position of the Greek economy mirrors an increasing gap between savings and investment, resulting from a combination of both rising investment and falling savings. Public and...

Analysis of the real estate sector in Estonia in recent years: multifactor housing demand and housing supply constraints. Was the price right and is it now? What next?

The UK's self-sufficiency in fossil fuels shields public finances from the negative effects of higher oil prices on general economic activity. Changes in the international price of oil affect government revenues from the corporate and household sectors. Taxes on oil production are estimated to...

Prior to the recession of 2008/09 household saving was extremely low in the United States. In the context of the recession the saving rate has increased by about 2 percentage points to close to 4%. Such a rise is in line with the record from previous recessions. The study argues that, this time,...

With very low unemployment, a large and stable current account surplus, low government debt and a budget in surplus, the Dutch economy was assessed initially to be relatively well prepared to weather the financial and economic crisis. In 2008, however, the negative effects of the financial...

This Country Focus discusses the relation between public investment and economic growth in Poland. Theoretical and empirical work has shown that improvements in the quantity and quality of public infrastructure have a positive impact on growth in the medium and, possibly, in the long run. The...

Russia is now again one of the 10 largest economies in the world. Additionally, it is the EU’s 3rd largest trading partner, and an essential energy supplier. This recovery makes Russia an economic – and political – actor in Europe that cannot be ignored.This Country Focus describes...

The volatility of general government tax revenues has increased in Poland in recent years. The correlation between GDP growth and revenue growth appears to be lower in Poland than in many other EU Member States, which suggests that the instability of its revenues has a different. This Country...

Over the past four years, Romania has benefited from record FDI inflows, thanks to macroeconomic stabilisation, strong GDP growth, large-scale privatisations and the prospect of EU membership. However, privatisation-related FDI flows are slowing down since 2007, which have been an important...

The dominance of electoral considerations in determining budgetary outcomes has been evident in Hungary over the last 15 years, with government deficits reaching their highest levels in election years (1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006). This deterioration of public finances has largely been possible...