Euro area governance: What went wrong in the euro area? How to repair it? Bruegel Policy Contribution 2010/05, June 2010

Bruegel Director Jean Pisani-Ferry focuses on the institutional response to the euro area crisis with the Van Rompuy Task Force being set up to reform economic governance. The task force is due to present its progress report shortly and the author examines two basic questions in this context– what went wrong in the euro area (and the lessons learnt from this) and consequently what are the three choices for reforming governance. He explains why implementation of existing rules need to be strengthened and why the Van Rompuy Task Force should revisit the fundamental principles on which the EMU is founded and resist the temptation to solely address divergences

The Surprising French Employment Performance: What Lessons?

Although widely regarded as a textbook case of a rigid economy, in the late 1990s France was able to increase employment by 10 per cent within five years and to cut down unemployment by more than a fourth. This paper investigates what factors may account for this surprising performance. The evidence suggests a significant shift in the demand for labour, that can be partially ascribed to cuts in social security contributions introduced in the 1990s and to the later move to a 35 hours work week. Although a large proportion of companies reported difficulties in hiring, the sharp reduction in unemployment did not result in significant wage pressure. Nevertheless, new measures aiming at fostering labour supply were introduced in the early 2000s. The emphasis on stimulating labour demand that characterised French labour market policies in the 1990s was more successful than expected by observers. This lends support to the advocates of active labour market policies. However, the budgetary cost of this approach has also been high. Whether this strategy is sustainable in the medium run is likely to become increasingly an issue.

There is room for improvement in the appointment of ECB executive board members

Jean Pisani-Ferry prepared this note for a hearing before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament.

Euro area governance: What went wrong in the euro area? How to repair it?

Bruegel Director Jean Pisani-Ferry focuses on the institutional response to the euro area crisis with the Van Rompuy Task Force being set up to reform economic governance. The task force is due to present its progress report shortly and the author examines two basic questions in this contextÂ? what went wrong in the euro area (and the lessons learnt from this) and consequently what are the three choices for reforming governance. He explains why implementation of existing rules need to be strengthened and why the Van Rompuy Task Force should revisit the fundamental principles on which the EMU is founded and resist the temptation to solely address divergences. 

The International agenda: immediate priorities and longer-term challenges

This policy contribution comprises Jean Pisani-Ferry's remarks at the Asian Development Bank Institute Annual Conference. For him, the challenge policymakers are facing, is to not to waste time before addressing the urgent tasks ahead of them and not to lose the momentum for reform created by the crisis. The sense of urgency and commonality should not be lost.

Mediocre growth in the Euro area: is governance part of the answer

Jean Pisani-Ferry's note was prepared for the European Parliament-National Parliaments Debate on "How to Raise Growth in the Euro Area?" in Brussels.

Speeding up European Reform: A Master Plan for the Lisbon Process - What's wrong with Lisbon?

Entwicklung, EU-Staaten, Economic development, EU countries

Progressive governance and globalisation

Jean Pisani-Ferry discusses the development of globalisation during the last decade and the challenges ahead. The speed and magnitude of the transformation affecting the world economy are larger than initially envisaged, while domestic policy reforms and redistribution have often been insufficient to cope with this adjustment challenge. Against this background, the definition of a renewed agenda that builds on the success of the initial one should be a priority for progressive governments. This paper was presented at the Progressive Governance Summit 2008.

Fiscal policy in EMU: towards a sustainability and growth pact

The goal of this working paper is to take stock of the discussions on the fiscal institutions of EMU, to confront the framework in place to what is known of the desirable properties of fiscal policy in a monetary union, and to discuss possible improvements.

The end of Europe's longstanding indifference to the renminbi

In this Policy Contribution, Jean Pisani-Ferry observes the lack of European interest towards Chinaâ??s exchange policy rate. He believes that Europeans, compared to Americans, are slower to react to external developments. The absence of significant external deficit, doubts about which policy stance is desirable, internal disagreements, an untested governance of exchange-rate relations, and a habit of following US leadership may have all contributed to a slow European response. That said, the Europeans have recently woken up to the issue as the euro has appreciated quickly against both the dollar and the renminbi, and they can be expected to adopt an increasingly active stance on Chinaâ??s exchange rate policy.