Economic Growth and Structural Reforms in Europe

A state-of-the-art overview of the impacts of structural reforms on growth, employment and inequality in Europe.

Nauro F. Campos (Edited by), Paul De Grauwe (Edited by), Yuemei Ji (Edited by)

9781108479110, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 2 April 2020

464 pages, ? b/w illus. ? tables
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.8 cm, 0.75 kg

'Structural reforms are typically viewed as the solution to Europe's sluggish growth. This important collection of essays explains when they work and how.' André Sapir, Université libre de Bruxelles

In contrast to the USA, Europe has struggled to return to the growth path it was on prior to the financial crisis of 2007–11. Not only has the recovery been slow, it has also been variable with Europe's core countries recovering more quickly than those on the periphery. It is widely believed that the best way to address this slow recovery is through structural reform programmes whereby changes in government policy, regulatory frameworks, investment incentives and labour markets are used to encourage more efficient markets and higher economic growth. This book is the first to provide a critical assessment of these reforms, with a new theoretical framework, new data and new empirical methodologies. It includes several case studies of countries such as Greece, Portugal and France that introduced significant reforms, revealing that such programmes have very divergent, and not always positive, effects on economic growth, employment and income inequality.

Introduction
Part I. Economic Growth and Structural Reforms in Europe: 1. Euro area growth and European institutional reforms Mariarosaria Comunale and Francesco Paolo Mongelli
2. Structural reforms and growth: the elusive quest for the silver bullet Alessio Terzi and Pasquale Marco Marrazzo
3. Regulation, institutions and economic growth in advanced, emerging and developing countries Balázs Égert
Part II. Macroeconomic Implications of Reforms: 4. Heterogeneous market regulation and divergence in a currency union Mirko Abbritti and Sebastian Weber
5. Macroeconomic imbalances in the euro erea: can they be managed? Michael Hume
6. Financial crises and liberalization: progress or reversals? Orkun Saka, Nauro F. Campos, Paul De Grauwe, Yuemei Ji and Angelo Martelli
7. Structural reforms and fiscal sustanability Davide Furceri and João Tovar Jallas
8. Transitions in the EU labour market before and after the crisis: the role of reforms Corrado Macchiarelli, Vassilis Monastiriotis and Nikolitsa Lampropoulou
9. On the complementarity between labour market regulation and tax reforms in the European Union Angelo Martelli, Nauro F. Campos, Michael Ganslmeier, Yuemei Ji and Orkun Saka
Part III. Case Studies: 10. Structural reforms in Europe: lessons from early experiences Orkun Saka, Nauro F. Campos, Paul De Grauwe, Michael Ganslmeier, Yuemei Ji and Angelo Martelli
11. Fiscal consolidation and inequality: the distributive effects of fiscal reforms in Greece and Portugal Fabian Mushövel
12. How openness to trade rescued the Irish economy Kieran McQuinn and Petros Varthalitis
13. Goulash labour market structural reforms: Hungary, 1986–2016 Nauro F. Campos
Conclusions.

Subject Areas: Economic & financial crises & disasters [KCX], Development economics & emerging economies [KCM], Economic growth [KCG], Monetary economics [KCBM], Macroeconomics [KCB]