Is France a restructuring case or Germany?

Bericht

This Policy Brief compares macroeconomic developments in France and Germany since the beginning of monetary union. Although the French economy has been growing slower than the German economy since the financial crisis, the two economies have grown at roughly the same rate since the beginning of monetary union. A comparison of the two labour markets also provides a more complex picture than commonly assumed: France has a much higher unemployment rate than Germany, but the volume of work (total hours worked) has increased more since the beginning of monetary union than in Germany. Finally, it is noticeable that domestic demand in Germany has slowed growth for a long time while it played a significant role in France. This changed only in the recent upswing after the financial crisis. This upswing in Germany has also been much more balanced than before. From a pan-European perspective, it is important that the labour market reforms of the Macron government maintain the balance of power in the French labour market. In Germany, on the other hand, the path taken by more expansionary fiscal and wage policy should be systematically continued in order to bring the inflation path back to the ECB's target.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IMK Policy Brief ; No. November 2018

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Horn, Gustav A. ; Watzka, Sebastian
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Institut für Makroökonomie und Konjunkturforschung (IMK)
• (where): Düsseldorf
• (when): 2018

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/206796
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2019022615180753971777
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET