Is Europe Reforming? Evidence from Cross-Country Structural Indicators

With the adoption of the Lisbon Agenda in 2000, the European Union established for itself the ambitious goal of becoming the most dynamic and competitive economy in the world by 2010. Despite initial optimism, the first half of the decade has been dispiriting and targets established under the Lisbon strategy will be difficult to achieve. Many observers have concluded that governments have failed to implement the policies required to achieve these targets and that, without radical changes, the strategy will fail to deliver its promises. Without disagreeing with these conclusions, the present paper argues that they portray the situation excessively negatively. Using cross-country structural indicators compiled by the OECD, it shows that changes have occurred during the first half of the Lisbon programme, although not everywhere. The first part of the paper reviews recent developments in indicators of labour market policies and labour market performance. It shows that structural policies have moved in the right direction in several countries, notably tax wedges on labour income for low-wage earners and the implicit tax on continued work. This has been associated with a somewhat better labour market performance, notably higher employment rates. As well, the easing of product market regulation, which is deemed to increase the competitive pressure felt by firms and incite them to invest and innovate, has been associated with faster productivity growth in some countries and some industries. Nevertheless, the heterogeneity of performance across countries suggests that there is still a large room for countries where reforms are less advanced to adopt good practices. In these countries, more comprehensive implementation of labour market and product market reforms is needed to mobilise unused labour resources, put productivity growth on a faster trend and accelerate the growth of GDP per capita. Based on this overview, the paper raises some political economy issues related the method of coordination adopted by the Lisbon agenda.European Union, Economic Growth, Labour market policies, Employment, Product market regulation; Labour productivity

The Lisbon Strategy at Midterm: Expectations and Reality

CASE - Center for Social and Economic Research inspired an extensive discussion on the Lisbon Strategy, its goals and objectives, successes and failures. The fervent debate, which took place in Warsaw at the end of 2004, investigated the future of the Strategy in Europe and Poland. The publication, which we are proud to present, is a result of this discussion. The Polish context for achieving the Lisbon goals was explored at a conference on December 9, 2004 entitled “The Lisbon Strategy in Poland: Directions of Necessary Reforms”. Earlier, however, answering the question whether the Lisbon objectives successfully support competitiveness in Europe was of chief concern to a group of scholars and specialists attending the conference entitled “Lisbon Strategy as an Effective Tool of Increasing Competitiveness in Europe?” (The meeting took place in Warsaw on November 8, 2004). The conference dialogue resulted in systematic and inquisitive debate on the causes of successes and failures of the Lisbon Strategy against the background of the current economy in the united Europe. The perspectives for the future implementation of the Strategy and its desired effects also proved to be of great concern. The arguments presented by the authors of the present publication continue the discussion, which has now been enriched by the contributions by conference participants.Lisbon Strategy, European Union, enterprise policy, structural indicators, employment, productivity, innovation, R&D, pension system, liberalization, sustainable development, competitiveness, economic growth

Broadband Multi-wavelength Properties of M87 during the 2017 Event Horizon Telescope Campaign

Abstract: In 2017, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration succeeded in capturing the first direct image of the center of the M87 galaxy. The asymmetric ring morphology and size are consistent with theoretical expectations for a weakly accreting supermassive black hole of mass ∼6.5 × 109 M ⊙. The EHTC also partnered with several international facilities in space and on the ground, to arrange an extensive, quasi-simultaneous multi-wavelength campaign. This Letter presents the results and analysis of this campaign, as well as the multi-wavelength data as a legacy data repository. We captured M87 in a historically low state, and the core flux dominates over HST-1 at high energies, making it possible to combine core flux constraints with the more spatially precise very long baseline interferometry data. We present the most complete simultaneous multi-wavelength spectrum of the active nucleus to date, and discuss the complexity and caveats of combining data from different spatial scales into one broadband spectrum. We apply two heuristic, isotropic leptonic single-zone models to provide insight into the basic source properties, but conclude that a structured jet is necessary to explain M87’s spectrum. We can exclude that the simultaneous γ-ray emission is produced via inverse Compton emission in the same region producing the EHT mm-band emission, and further conclude that the γ-rays can only be produced in the inner jets (inward of HST-1) if there are strongly particle-dominated regions. Direct synchrotron emission from accelerated protons and secondaries cannot yet be excluded

L'impact social des programmes d'ajustement structurel : le cas des économies en transition

Lenain Patrick. L'impact social des programmes d'ajustement structurel : le cas des économies en transition. In: Revue d'économie financière. Hors-série, 1994. Bretton Woods : mélanges pour un cinquantenaire. pp. 371-381

Identification and caractérisation of Apollo as a new telomere protective factor

LYON-ENS Sciences (693872304) / SudocSudocFranceF

Enhancing Income Convergence in Central Europe after EU Accession

After nearly fifteen years of transition, the countries of Central Europe have entered the European Union on 1 May 2004. For the four countries that are members of the OECD (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovak Republic), accession follows multiyear efforts of economic stabilisation and structural transformation, which have brought them large benefits. Although convergence towards higher levels of income appears to be a distant prospect at current trend growth rates, this is not a predetermined outcome. The experience of prior entrants suggests that much leeway is available within the framework of the European Union to undertake pro-growth policies. The most promising prospect in this respect appears to reside with employment creation, which has been so far lacking and led to a rather imbalanced pattern of growth. Bringing down labour taxes, easing employment protection legislation and reducing out-of-work benefits would make important contributions in this respect. While ... Renforcer la convergence des revenus en Europe Centrale après les adhesions à l'Union européenne Le 1er mai 2004, après presque quinze années de transition, les pays d’Europe centrale sont entrés dans l’Union européenne. Pour les quatre pays accédants qui sont Membres de l’OCDE (Hongrie, Pologne, République slovaque et République tchèque), l’adhésion couronne plusieurs années d’efforts de stabilisation économique et de transformation structurelle qui leur ont été très profitables. Même si la convergence vers des niveaux de revenu plus élevés semble une perspective lointaine aux taux de croissance actuels, l’issue n’est pas pour autant déterminée d’avance. L’expérience des précédents entrants donne à penser que le cadre de l’Union européenne offre une grande marge d’action pour engager des politiques favorables à la croissance. La voie la plus prometteuse à cet égard semble être la creation d’emplois, qui a été jusqu’ici insuffisante et qui a engendré un profil de croissance assez déséquilibré. L’allégement de la fiscalité du travail, l’assouplissement de la législation sur la ...Poland, Hungary, transition, economic growth, productivity growth, Central Europe, Czech Republic, accession, catching-up, convergence, diffusion of innovation, Slovak Republic, European Union, labour utilisation, République tchèque, Union européenne, convergence, transition, accession, rattrapage, utilisation du travail, diffusion de l'innovation, Hongrie, croissance de la productivité, République slovaque, croissance économique, Pologne

The Polish Tax Reform

The Polish tax system has commendable features, in particular a capacity to generate strong revenue on a continuous basis. But it also has a number of less desirable features, which could hamper growth in the future and come under increased criticism both domestically and internationally. The authorities have introduced in 2000 an ambitious tax reform package that addresses some of these weaknesses. The present working paper reviews the main features of the Polish tax system, the forces shaping tax policy, and the recently introduced reforms. It also suggests areas where further reform could be beneficial. One such reform relates to the personal income tax and to social security contributions, which are particularly high in Poland and lead, together with the rigid labour market, to a low employment rate and an oversized underground economy. Secondly, the paper argues that the various tax rates on capital incomes should be unified in order to reduce possible distortions in the ... La fiscalité polonaise a beaucoup de points forts, en particulier une capacité à générer des recettes fiscales dynamiques de façon continue. Mais elle a aussi un certain nombre de points faibles qui pourraient peser sur la croissance à l’avenir et qui pourraient faire l’objet de critiques croissantes tant d’origine internes qu’internationales. Les autorités ont mis en place en 2000 une réforme fiscale ambitieuse qui vise à éliminer ces points faibles. Ce document de travail passe en revue les principales caractéristiques de la fiscalité polonaise, les forces qui déterminent la politique fiscale, et les réformes introduites récemment. Il propose aussi un certain nombre de réformes supplémentaires qui pourraient être bénéfiques. Le document suggère de réformer l’impôt sur le revenu des personnes physiques et les cotisations sociales qui sont particulièrement élevées en Pologne ce qui, dans un contexte de rigidité du marché du travail, conduit à un taux d’emploi particulièrement ...taxation, Poland, Pologne, fiscalité