Even if it is likely to be averted in the second round of the Presidential election, France’s populist temptation should not be underestimated, as it highlights the difficulties of one of the founding members of the European Union. Conventional wisdom depicts France as a stubbornly rigid economy, whose allergy to reform makes it every day […]
Unemployment: EMU Policymakers Focus On The Wrong Problem
Last week François Hollande lifted the veil on the much-awaited measures for tackling French unemployment (3.6m/10.6%), defined as a “national emergency”. The plan made the news mostly for the pledge to soften the famous 35-hour working week, which nevertheless remains vague. Besides that, the plan consists of two legs: the first is an attempt to […]
The End Of German Hegemony – Really?
I was puzzled by Daniel Gros’ recent column in which he claims that Germany’s dominance of the EMU may be coming to an end. Gros’ argument is based on two facts. The first is the slowing growth rate of Germany, that seems to be heading towards the pre-crisis “normal” of slow growth (Germany grew less than […]