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1. Updated Estimates of Fundamental Equilibrium Exchange Rates

Author:
William R. Cline and John Williamson
Publication Date:
11-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
In 2008 we introduced a semiannual series providing estimates of fundamental equilibrium exchange rates, or FEERs (Cline and Williamson 2008a). The economic concept of FEERs was first set forth by Williamson (1983). An operational method for arriving at multilaterally consistent estimates of FEERs was developed by Cline (2008) and has been applied over the past five years in this series of estimates. This issue marks the valedictory round of the series for Williamson, who is retiring.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Europe and Lisbon

2. The Post-2010 Lisbon Process: The Key Role of Education in Employment and Competitiveness

Author:
Daniel Gros and Felix Roth
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This paper points out that education should be the central objective of the post-2010 Lisbon Process. Compared to other OECD countries, the member states of the European Union perform poorly when it comes to key indicators of innovative potential, such as the percentage of students enrolled in tertiary education and the educational quality of Europe's students. Education makes a three-fold contribution to a country's economic health. First it is beneficial for employment rates, second it is a key driver for long-term economic growth and third it appears to be beneficial for social cohesion. It will be crucial for European countries to attain higher levels of tertiary education and increase the quality of their education.
Topic:
Economics, Education, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe and Lisbon

3. Recalibrating EU Policy towards the Western Balkans

Author:
Michael Emerson
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The time is not only ripe but pressing for the EU and the states of the Western Balkans to recalibrate and reinforce the current pre-accession strategy. Trade policy should be moved beyond existing free trade commitments for all the Western Balkans to enter the customs union of the EU and Turkey. Eurozone doctrine should be adapted to realities. Rather than regarding the use of the euro by Montenegro and Kosovo as an unfortunate turn of events, the costs and benefits of unilateral adoption of the euro by not-yet member states of the region should be more openly appraised, and the option to 'euroise' recognised as a possibility. It is good that the EU has moved at the declaratory level toward s visa 'liberalisation', which means scrapping visas rather than just 'facilitation' measures. However the Commission has not yet published guidelines or timelines for this. The region should be put on track for access to the Structural Funds on terms and scales progressively approaching those from which new member states such as Bulgaria and Romania already benefit. The ratio of these aid receipts between the new member states and the Western Balkans is currently 4:1; the former are receiving more than they can handle efficiently, whereas the Western Balkans have huge unsatisfied needs. Overall the case is made for significant moves towards 'functional membership' of the whole of the region with the EU, which would be a highly useful advance, irrespective of how or when the EU overcomes its Lisbon Treaty hiatus.
Topic:
Economics and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Balkans, Romania, and Lisbon

4. Fixing the Services Directive

Author:
Stefano Micossi
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
In the spring of 2004, the European Commission approved a draft Directive on Services in the Internal Market and sent it to the Council and the European Parliament. The proposal is the cornerstone of the ailing Lisbon strategy to revive growth and jobs in the European Union: services account for 70% of GDP and employment in advanced countries, and their performance is a main determinant of overall productivity and employment growth. In the European Union, the markets for services are still organised along national lines, cross border trade remains relatively underdeveloped and competition is scarce. The productivity gap with the United States is largely explained by these obstacles.
Topic:
Economics, International Cooperation, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Lisbon

5. Employment and Competitiveness: The Key Role of Education

Author:
Daniel Gros
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
More than half way into the decade, it is clear that the ambitious goal to make the EU the 'most competitive economy' by 2010 will be missed. This contribution shows that investing more in education would be the key in terms of employment, a central element in the Lisbon goal. Improving the skills of the EU's population would have, inter alia, a direct impact on the employment rate. Reaching the Lisbon goal of an employment rate of 70% would be possible even without labour market reforms if the average level of qualification of the EU were to reach the benchmarks in this area (which in turn are very close to the values reached by the best performing member states).
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Europe and Lisbon

6. Is the European Economy a Patient and the Union its Doctor? On Jobs and Growth in Europe

Author:
Sjef Ederveen, Albert van der Hoorst, and Paul Tang
Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
A stronger focus on jobs and growth is part of an effort to renew the Lisbon strategy. Yet the view that economic expansion contributes to maintaining Lisbon's other goals of social cohesion as well as the environment is somewhat optimistic. First, there are structural trade-offs among the central elements of the Lisbon strategy. Escaping these trade-offs temporarily is sometimes possible but requires policy changes. Second, higher productivity (growth) may not provide more structural room for governments to manoeuvre. It leads to higher tax receipts but also to higher public expenditures since public sector wages and social security benefits are linked to productivity. In contrast, more employment (jobs) is associated with a smaller public sector. But to engineer the increase in employment, changes in welfare state arrangements are needed. In other words, focussing solely on the sick child will probably harm the other children.
Topic:
Security, Development, Economics, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Europe and Lisbon

7. Is Europe Becoming the Most Dynamic Knowledge Economy in the World?

Author:
Daniele Archibugi and Alberto Coco
Publication Date:
01-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
The paper discusses the condition and perspective of the European Union in the knowledge economy and the feasibility of the goal given by the European Council at the Summits held in Lisbon (March 2000) and Barcelona (March 2002), that is, to increase European R expenditure up to 3 percent of GDP by 2010. The paper focuses on two aspects: comparative performance with its direct counterparts, in particular the US..; and intra-European distribution of resources and capabilities. A set of technological indicators is presented to show that Europe is still in a consistent delay when compared to Japan and the U.S., especially in R investment and in the generation of innovations. A small convergence occurs in the diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), the sector most directly linked to the concept of the "new economy." In the field of knowledge collaboration, Europe reveals opposing paths in the business and in the academic worlds. Within Europe, the level of investment in scientific and technological activities is so different across countries that it does not merge into a single continental innovation system.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Europe and Lisbon