Can structural reforms help Europe?
USA. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System - Washington, DC
2013
49 p.
competition ; economic recession ; economic reform ; EMU
International Finance Discussion Papers
1092
Economic development
http://www.federalreserve.gov/
English
Bibliogr.
"Structural reforms that increase competition in product and labor markets are often indicated as the main policy option available for peripheral Europe to regain competitiveness and boost output. We show that, in a crisis that pushes the nominal interest rate to its lower bound, these reforms do not support economic activity in the short run, and may well be contractionary. Absent the appropriate monetary stimulus, reforms fuel expectations of prolonged deation, increase the real interest rate, and depress aggregate demand. Our findings carry important implications for the current debate on the timing and the design of structural reforms in Europe."
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